1. WINTER 2013/14
SeEavseoryn Volunteering Helps
Mike Pereira Bond with
Other Veterans and Work
Through Grief
Through his service to other veterans, retired U.S. Army Sergeant
Mike Pereira, 31, has come to terms with the grief and painful memories
of his wartime military service in Operation Iraqi Freedom and
Operation Enduring Freedom.
In Afghanistan, a close friend was killed by a roadside bomb. Many
other friends did not come back. Like so many fellow veterans, Mike
was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
“I was almost killed when a helicopter malfunctioned and was
forced into an emergency landing,” says Mike. “I felt like I should have
died. I lived through it in one way, but felt like I died in another way.”
Therapy for PTSD ultimately led Mike to seek out Seasons Hospice
& Palliative Care of St. Louis in 2012 to serve in the Veteran-to-Veteran
Volunteer Program. The need for these volunteers is significant.
According to We Honor Veterans, there are 26 million veterans, and
one in four Americans who will die in 2013 is a veteran.
(continued on pg. 2)
for
A Bereavement Newsletter from Seasons Hospice Foundation
small things
matter the most
Specially trained volunteers such as Mike provide veterans
at the end of life an opportunity to connect with someone who
understands military culture, language, and can help them review
their military service in the context of their life. Goals of these
visits often include reducing feelings of isolation and breaking
down barriers such as stoicism and secrecy, which are not
unusual for those who served in combat.

2. Veterans I meet with often
“In this role, I can
be there for them so they
know someone is looking out for them.”
– Mike Pereira
2
How Veterans
Can Become Volunteers
There is a great need for veteran
volunteers. If you are or know
a military veteran who might want
to help veterans who are enrolled
in your local Seasons Hospice &
Palliative Care program, visit
www.seasons.org/page/volunteering
or call 855-812-1136 for information.
“revisit a time when their life was
almost cut short, or was important
to them for other reasons,” says
Mike. “On a battlefield, you rely
on people to look out for you. It is
a sickening feeling when you are
out there alone. In this role, I can
be there for them so they know
someone is looking out for them.”
Seasons Hospice Social Worker
Allison Givens says serving veterans
is a big part of the hospice’s culture.
That’s why the We
Honor Veterans
Program of the
National Hospice
and Palliative Care
Organization (NHPCO)
recently recognized
Seasons Hospice of
St. Louis as a Level Four
Partner. Less than one
percent of hospice
programs in the nation have
earned the prestigious designation.
Givens recruits and trains
veteran volunteers, who then
help spread the word about the
program by making presentations
to veterans groups.
One of the more popular aspects
of the program is a pinning ceremony
in which all veterans can take part.
Members of the Seasons Hospice team
including clinical staff, volunteers,
social workers, Board-Certified
music therapists, and chaplains
are often part of the
ceremony. “The
ceremony is a way for all our team
members to say ‘thank you’ to all
our patients who are veterans. It
really makes a difference to the
patient – and to us,” says Givens.
For Mike, helping fellow veterans
has provided valuable perspective
on his combat experiences and is
helping turn negative life events
into positive ones. He also works
with autistic children and is a
full-time student at Washington
University, pursuing a Ph.D. in
psychology. After graduation, he
hopes to use equine therapy to
help children affected by trauma.
“Many veterans want to give
back, but don’t know how,” says
Mike. “This and other programs
provide meaning to life that can be hard to find
after experiencing war first-hand.”

3. Seasons ‘Memory Bears’
Offer Loved Ones Something
Cherished to Hold Onto
Susan House cherishes the memories of her mother,
Jo Toone, in a beautiful blue pleated dress she wore on
very special occasions. The Poway, Calif., resident smiles
when she remembers the way Jo lit up a room and made
her family feel special and loved.
After Jo’s passing two years ago, House was faced
3 Ryana Goldberger,
director of Supportive Care
for Seasons Hospice
of San Diego
with the painful task of sorting through her mother’s
clothes. When she came across the blue dress and
other treasured items of clothing, she realized
she couldn’t part with them.
“So many memories of my mom are
wrapped up in that dress and a pretty purple
shirt,” House recalls. “I just couldn’t give
them away.”
Then House’s husband Lawrence
reminded her of Seasons Hospice &
Palliative Care of San Diego’s Memory
Bears program, which gives surviving
loved ones something to hold onto when
they need it the most.
Begun in 2010, the Memory Bears
program offers three handmade teddy
bears, lovingly sewn by Seasons volunteers,
to the surviving family of Seasons Hospice
of San Diego clients.
“I was only going to ask for one bear, but my husband
convinced me to get three, and he was right,” she adds.
House chose the blue dress and a purple shirt
for her bears.
“The call that the bears were ready… and would
be delivered came just minutes after our realtor had
called and said the sale of Mom’s house was final,”
she recalls. “It was a bittersweet moment to know that
I had just sold our childhood home. Then came the call
about the bears… and the delivery of such a treasure.
It was like Mom and Dad were smiling down on me.”
House keeps her treasured memory
bear on a shelf in her den.
“It’s very comforting to me,” she adds.
“I like to see it whenever I’m in the room.
I’m so appreciative to Seasons for creating
this program and these beautiful bears for
our family.”
House had the opportunity to personally
thank the volunteer seamstress who created
her bears when she attended a special tea
hosted by Seasons Hospice last spring,
A Bear Affair to Remember.
“It was an opportunity to tell her how
I felt,”she said. “I felt completed. It brought
closure in a way that was very pleasant.”
Seasons Hospice Foundation funds all the
supplies and delivery costs
of the program.
“We are looking for people
who can provide financial
support to help us jump-start
this wonderful program at
Seasons Hospice programs
around the country,” says
Greg Grabowski, President
and CEO of Seasons Hospice
Foundation. “Once we

4. I’m so appreciative to Seasons for creating this program
and these beautiful bears for our family.”
- Susan House
www.seasonsfoundation.4 org
have support for starting
a new Memory Bears
program, donations from
those local programs
will keep it growing.”
Memory Bears
program founder Ryana
Goldberger, director of Supportive Care
for Seasons Hospice of San Diego, says the bears
receive glowing reviews from both grateful
recipients and the program’s talented
volunteers.
Eight enthusiastic seamstresses,
ranging in age from 40 to 80, sew tirelessly
throughout the year, crafting a tangible
memory for which recipients are
forever thankful. On average, each
bear takes about six hours to create.
More than 250 have been delivered
since the program started.
“Every bear has its own
personality,” Goldberger explains.
“Each is about 12 inches tall and is
created using a revised version of
a Simplicity® pattern, but they’re all
unique based on the clothing and
what our clients tell us about their
loved ones.”
Seasons Hospice volunteer
seamstress Cynthia Harrison, who
has sewn more than 140 memory
bears herself, says a help-wanted
flyer caught her attention in 2011.
“I thought, ‘Wow, that would
be fun,’ and I emailed Ryana
that afternoon,” Harrison said.
“The Seasons Hospice Memory Bears have become
a serious hobby, forsaking all others. Each time Ryana
brings a new batch, it’s like Christmas. I never know
what kind of clothing families will send. Of course, there
are pajamas and robes, but there are well-loved jeans
and tee-shirts with writing on them
that are significant to the families.”
Harrison lovingly sews each
memory bear using a Singer Feather-weight
® sewing machine that her mom
purchased in 1948!
At a Memory Bears
tea event earlier this year,
she was reunited with a bear
that showed signs of being very
well-loved.
“This bear had been through
the mill. But the family explained
that the toddler who had been so close
to his grandmother had recognized
the fabric of the bear as being his
grandmother’s and immediately
embraced it,” she explained.
The Memory Bears program is
available to surviving loved ones of
Seasons Hospice of San Diego clients.
For more information about
the San Diego program, call Ryana
Goldberger, director of Supportive
Care, at 858-592-2000.
A Bear-y
Good Idea
Currently, the Memory Bear
program serves only the
San Diego area.
However, if you would like
to sponsor a Memory Bears
program, you can!
A donation of $5,000 can bring
the joy and healing of this
program to your community.
For information, please call
Gregory Grabowski at
Seasons Hospice Foundation,
847-692-1000
or send him an email at
ggrabowski@seasons.org.

5. Brother and sister Rick
Weigand and Melody Stried
are among a growing number
of people who are partnering
with Seasons Hospice
Foundation to raise money to
fund programs that they are
passionate about.
Every year since 1996,
Melody and Rick have organized
Strike at Cancer, a bowling
event in Arlington Heights,
Ill. The annual fund-raising
event is a way for the family
to honor the legacy of their
mother, Mary Weigand, who
transitioned after living with
breast cancer for 10 years.
To date, the event has raised
more than $500,000.
“We are a bowling family,
Brother and Sister
Team Up With
Seasons Foundation
to Take a
‘Strike at Cancer’
so it seemed like a great activity
to honor her memory,” says Melody, who also serves as
Director of Support Care and Support Services for Seasons
Hospice & Palliative Care. “Plus, we have found it is a
pretty simple event to organize.”
The fund-raising focus of the 2013 Strike at Cancer
event shifted to recognize the passing of Rick and Melody’s
father, Ray Weigand, who was a patient in Seasons
Hospice. “In addition to the wonderful care, the program
that really impressed my brother is Seasons Remembered:
Leaving a Legacy,” says Melody.
Seasons Hospice Foundation’s Legacy program
captures life stories, lessons, sentiments, memories, and
traditions. Legacies convey what we want remaining
generations to know and understand about our life
experiences. For loved ones, these legacies help us
remember and heal as we carry on important traditions.
The program has many options, including video
and voice recordings, filling out cards to mark special
days in loved ones’ lives for years afterward, creating a
musical timeline, or even writing and recording a song
with a Music Therapist.
“With Seasons, it is easy to
work with the Foundation to
direct gifts to a single program,”
says Melody. “That way, the
funds go directly to support
a program you have a
connection to.”
Seasons Hospice Foundation
also partners with people who
stage fund-raising events on
its behalf by offering support
to publicize the event, help
connect events to potential
sponsors and provide
on-site assistance.
“Raising funds for programs
like our Legacy program is
a beautiful way for people
to express their passion for a
cause,” says Greg Grabowski,
President and Chief Executive
Officer of Seasons Hospice
Foundation. “Perhaps even more importantly, this is a way
to get involved in your community, have some fun, and
know that you are bringing comfort and joy to others.”
The 2013 Strike for Cancer event featured more than
100 bowlers and raised more than $11,000 for Legacy
programs. The brother-and-sister pair is already planning
the 2014 event and will be working with Seasons Hospice
Foundation once again to help other families create
legacies that will last for generations to come.
5

6. Helping Others through SEASONS HOSPICE FOUNDATION
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Seasons Hospice & Palliative Care
333 N. Sam Houston Pkwy. E., Suite 333
Houston, TX 77060 • Toll free: 855-893-0530
8610 Greenville Ave., Suite 200
Dallas, TX 75243 • 214-528-2200, xt 4050
Toll free: 866-570-6484
5237 N. Riverside Dr., Suite 220
Fort Worth, TX 76137 • 817-887-0017
Toll free: 866-746-0009
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San Antonio, TX 78258 • 210-471-2300
Toll free: 855-425-1055
SE A SONS HOS P I C E BE R E AV EMENT GROU P S
Dallas/Fort Worth
2nd Tuesday of each month at 12 noon
Vista Ridge UMC
2901 Denton Tap Road, Lewisville, TX 75067
For more information, call 817-887-0017
6
Dallas Maverick Branch
Grief Support Group
2nd Monday of each month, 6 p.m.
8610 Greenville Ave, Suite 200, Dallas, TX 75243
Facilitator: Chaplain Ron Scott
214-355-4097
®
please contact Seasons Hospice Foundation at 847-692-1000.
“Tears of grief are unique. They contain chemicals that
aren't found in the more mundane droplets of moisture
that bathe the eyes, as if our tears wash us free
of some noxious cause of sorrow.”
– Carol Cassella
With your help, Seasons Hospice
Foundation is able to provide assistance
to hospice families in need.
Through the granting of wishes, we are able
to enrich lives with fond, lasting memories.
You can be confident that your generous gift
stays close to home and makes a difference
to the patients and families.
To honor your loved one by making a gift or to learn more about
the Seasons Hospice Foundation, please visit seasonsfoundation.org or call 847-692-1000.
Foundation
Fast Facts
Wishes - Past, Present & Future Goals
Wish Utilization Cost of Wishes Total Wishes Avg. Cost per Wish
2011 $70,000 141 $496.45
2012 $95,318 439 $217.13
Jan-Jun 2013 $72,767 275 $264.00
2013 Goal $118,000 550 $214.54