2011 Service of Remembrance - October 2, 2011

“If I had a single flower
for every time I think about you,
I could walk forever in my garden.”
— Claudia Grandi

October is National Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Month. Each year HAND families gather for a Service of Remembrance.

HAND would like to invite you to come together with other families and celebrate the memories of your precious babies. The service will have music, poetry readings, and a potluck meal afterward where you can reconnect with old friends or make new ones with families who have experienced the loss of a baby. Families and friends are welcome to attend this memorial celebration.

HAND will provide beverages. Please bring a potluck dish to share.

Sanborn Park is a County park and charges a $6.00 entrance fee. Parking is available close to Sequoia Peterson Grove. Please keep in mind it gets cool under the trees so you may wish to bring a sweater or jacket. There will be picnic tables available for the potluck after the service. You can find out more information about the location at www.parkhere.org.

We realize that after the loss of a child it can be painful to see other children. Please remember that the children present at the service have suffered the loss of a brother or sister or may be subsequent children. Parents who have children in attendance are very sensitive to the fact that there are newly-bereaved families present. We all attend the service for the same reason: to honor these special family members who have died.

Sunday, October 2, 2011 1:00pm - 3:00pm
Sanborn Skyline Park, Sequoia Peterson Grove
16055 Sanborn Road, Saratoga, CA

2011 Service of Rememberance Invitation

For more information, contact Eddie Vergara at eav_hand@yahoo.com

Please check all that apply and mail your responses and donations to:

HAND – Service of Remembrance, P.O. Box 341, Los Gatos, CA 95031

Please make all checks payable to HAND.

Donate On-line: Please click on the button below to connect to PayPal and note "2011 Service of Remembrance" in description.

Items must be postmarked by August 31, 2011.

After that date, HAND can not guarantee your baby's name or any material submitted will be included in the printed program.

___ I’d like to donate an hour or two of time to help with the Service of Remembrance. My phone number is: ___________________

___ I plan to attend the Service. There will be ______ adults and ______ children attending.

My potluck dish to share will be: ___________________________

___ I am submitting a copy of a poem, reading, or song for the program. Please enclose a copy.

□ I would like to read it □ I would like someone else to read it

___ I’d like my baby’s name included in the program and read during the Service. (Include phonetic spelling if name is unusual)

Baby’s Name ____________________ Date (b) ________________ (d) _________________

Baby’s Name ____________________ Date (b) ________________ (d) _________________

Baby’s Name ____________________ Date (b) ________________ (d) _________________

NOTE: if your baby was not named, you can specify “Baby <your last name>”
___ I am unable to attend this year, but please send me a copy of the program (Please enclose a check for $5 or more)

Directions from East Bay or South Bay
Take I-880 (CA-17) heading South to Los Gatos. Exit North on
CA-85 toward Mountain View. Take the Saratoga Avenue exit
Left. Saratoga Avenue becomes Big Basin Way. After downtown
Saratoga, turn Left on Sanborn Road. Sanborn Park is at the
end of the road. Sequoia Peterson Grove is the first right after
the Ranger Station at the entrance.

Directions from the Peninsula
Take I-280 (North or South) and exit CA-85 South toward
Gilroy. Take the De Anza Boulevard exit Right, which becomes
Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road. Turn Right onto Big Basin Way. After
downtown Saratoga, turn Left on Sanborn Road. Sanborn Park
is at the end of the road. Sequoia Peterson Grove is the first
right after the Ranger Station at the entrance.

HAND'S Annual Service of Remembrance

October is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month and each year HAND holds a Service of Remembrance in Northern California to provide families in the community with an opportunity to honor and celebrate their baby's life.

The Service usually consists of music, parent poetry, a reading of our children's names and keepsakes for families. Afterwards, there is a potluck which gives parents the chance to talk and spend time with other families who have experienced a similar loss.