Volunteer Connection Newsletter

 TRU Volunteer Connection Zoom Meeting Schedule and Opportunities

 10/14  TRUvies Movie Night: Choosing to Die 6:30pm to 8:30pm.

Zoom Code: 850 229 3682

 Join Michael McHale, President and CEO TRU Community Care in discussion of this month's TRUvie Movie: Choosing to Die Note: This film may be difficult for some to watch. It is a film about UK where assisted suicide is illegal.  People go to Switzerland where it is legal.  The Director, Terry Pratchett has Alzheimer’s and is considering his options.  He interviews people who are considering it and their families.  The end of the film takes us to Switzerland with one of those couples.  We watch the two doctor evaluations.  We watch him swallow the medicine and we watch him die. Note: The death is difficult to watch, but there is also a sense of satisfaction that he died on his terms.

 Link to Colorado End of Life Act: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1i1x_N2yep5m61VWGd7BJa72eaeVU4cpA/view

 

10/16 New Volunteer Training – No Zoom Today

10/23 Green Burials – Mary Reilly-McNellan, Project Manager, Columbia Cemetery Preservation Project; City of Boulder Parks and Recreation Department (retired) m.mcnellan@msn.com

Mary Reilly-McNellan has long been interested in death, dying, and old cemeteries. After working as a Boulder Mountain Parks Ranger for many years, Mary’s interest in history landed her a position as a preservation manager for Boulder's historic Columbia Cemetery. She spent 17 years obtaining grants and managing the Cemetery’s preservation efforts for the Boulder Parks and Recreation Department. During this time, she founded and coordinated the award-winning Columbia Cemetery Conservation Corps, a group of dedicated community volunteers who perform simple repairs and documentation tasks in Columbia.  Mary has provided cemetery conservation workshops for various groups around the country, and is a co-author of the award-winning book,“If These Stones Could Talk; Tales from Columbia Cemetery.” As much as she loves old graveyards, her interest in environmental conservation has led to a newfound passion for promoting greener death care and burial options. A founding member of the non-profit “Green Burial Boulder County,” Mary also enjoys being a volunteer and writer for “Natural Transitions,” a magazine that helps to promote holistic and green death care. She will not Rest In Peace until green burial is an option in Boulder County!

10/28  Death Café 5:30pm-7:30pm - Kim Mooney, ADEC Certification in Thanatology Practically-Dying.com

10/30  “If these Stones Could Talk: Tales from Columbia Cemetery, Boulder, Colorado” – Mary Reilly-McNellan Project Manager, Columbia Cemetery Preservation Project; City of Boulder Parks and Recreation Department (retired) m.mcnellan@msn.com

Mary Reilly-McNellan has long been interested in death, dying, and old cemeteries. After working as a Boulder Mountain Parks Ranger for many years, Mary’s interest in history landed her a position as a preservation manager for Boulder's historic Columbia Cemetery. She spent 17 years obtaining grants and managing the Cemetery’s preservation efforts for the Boulder Parks and Recreation Department. During this time, she founded and coordinated the award-winning Columbia Cemetery Conservation Corps, a group of dedicated community volunteers who perform simple repairs and documentation tasks in Columbia.  Mary has provided cemetery conservation workshops for various groups around the country, and is a co-author of the award-winning book,“If These Stones Could Talk; Tales from Columbia Cemetery.” As much as she loves old graveyards, her interest in environmental conservation has led to a newfound passion for promoting greener death care and burial options. A founding member of the non-profit “Green Burial Boulder County,” Mary also enjoys being a volunteer and writer for “Natural Transitions,” a magazine that helps to promote holistic and green death care. She will not Rest In Peace until green burial is an option in Boulder County!

For your own enjoyment: Ask the Mortician: Girl Talk with the Dead! (Learn about the birth of Spiritualism - Don’t be scared by the ads. Proceeds will be donated to support the work of an individual: Cheyney McKnight, a performance artist and historian who creates educational programing about slavery and the African experience during the 18^th and 19^th Centuries. Even the out-takes are fun to watch! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPMJin0BTqE

11/4   TRUvies Movie: Go In Peace, Director Maker Karen Van Vuren

11/5    Coping with the Holidays When You Are Grieving

1:00 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)

Brandy Queen, LPC Seniors Counselor and Resource Education Coordinator | she, her, hers - Senior Services | City of Longmont

Join Zoom Meeting:
https://zoom.us/j/95871996933
Meeting ID: 958 7199 6933    Dial by your location: 720-707-2699

11/6    Book Club: When Breath Becomes Air - Dr. Paul Kalanithi

11/13  Veteran Program: Qualified Listeners - Greg Goettsch will share his personal story of being a Vietnam Veteran and how he started his program.

11/20  Veteran Program: Pending: Stray Dog Documentary

11/27  Veteran Program: Pending

12/2 1-2:30: The Conversation Project: New Volunteer Training. We are looking for volunteers! If you are interested in becoming a trained Conversation Coach for The Conversation Project in Boulder County, please join us for our last 2020 session. You will learn about the history of The Conversation Project, advance directive basics, and how to help people have these vital conversations with those that matter most. AmandaMeier@trucare.org

12/4    Book Club: Final Gifts by Maggie Callanan and Patricia Kelley "For everyone who has been or ever will be close to someone who is dying, this book is aimed at helping them to understand not only what the experience of death is like, but also how to interpret the symbolic messages by which the dying attempt to communicate their needs to us. ... Google Books

Additional Book Club Option: The Five Invitations by Frank Ostaseksi

12/9 1-2:30: The Conversation Project: New Volunteer Training. We are looking for volunteers! If you are interested in becoming a trained Conversation Coach for The Conversation Project in Boulder County, please join us for our last 2020 session. You will learn about the history of The Conversation Project, advance directive basics, and how to help people have these vital conversations with those that matter most. AmandaMeier@trucare.org

12/11 PBS Newshour: Why African-American seniors are less likely to use hospice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dypoYEvBfs4  Black seniors are more likely than whites and Latinos to forgo hospice care. Due to deeply felt religious beliefs and a long history of discrimination in the U.S., African-American patients are often reluctant to plan for the end of their lives, and more skeptical when doctors suggest stopping treatment. Special correspondent Sarah Varney reports on efforts to change some of those beliefs. Gather with us to watch this short video and engage in some insightful discussion following.

12/18 Volunteer Holiday Celebration

12/25  NO Meeting Today - Merry Christmas!!!