Angel of Hope Memorial Garden in Maryland by joshfoundation (06/17/2010 12:20:14)
We are in the process of creating an "Angel of Hope" Memorial Garden to be a place for bereaved parents, families and friends to mourn the loss of a child, of any age, in any way.
Spearheaded by the J.O.S.H. Foundation (http://www.joshfoundation.org) will be fashioned after the Angel of Hope in the bestselling book, "The Christmas Box" by Richard Paul Evans (http://richardpaulevans.com/angel-statues) and will be physically located in Carroll County, Maryland. There are 100 statues around the USA, but this will be the first in our state.
We have already gotten the plot of land donated by the county, and have raised $14,500 for the statue itself. We are raising funds to cover the design, land clearing and landscaping (actually, we have already had a crew of volunteers do a rough lot clearing, but there is so much more work to do).
A little background about the foundation? Well, I created the J.O.S.H. Foundation in memory of my 21 year-old son, Joshua Hughes who was tragically killed in an auto accident on November 7, 2003. The death of a child, no matter what age, is a devastating experience.
The passing of Josh inspired the creation of the J.O.S.H. Foundation - "Joining Others Seeking Healing." The concept is simple: to create and organize remembrance initiatives to help bring grieving parents, families and individuals comfort and support.
Right now, we are not asking for money, we are just trying to located interested parties in Maryland. We would like you to know when we do the groundbreaking, and alert you about the Memorial Service once the park is open.
Also, if you have fundraising ideas, or would like to volunteer, that would also be great!
Some of the other resources we are putting together include a presentation that bereaved parents can give to friends and family members. So many times, loved ones are left at a loss of what to say or do for a friend who has lost a child. This presentation is a “dos and don’ts” list. Check it out at: http://www.slideshare.net/JOSHFoundation.
Find us:
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/JOSH-Foundation/114401848597639
Twitter - www.twitter.com/joshfdn
Thank you so much for listening, helping, and passing along this information!
Cindy