Genesys Hospice hosts Memory Tree ceremony

(GENESEE COUNTY, MI) Genesys Hospice will hosts its 16th annual Memory Tree lighting ceremony Thursday, Dec. 4, at 7 p.m., at Holiday Inn Gateway Centre in Flint (Hill Road at US 23).
The evening features the tree lighting ceremony, a musical performance, holiday caroling and refreshments.

A 17-foot tree is covered with hearts bearing names of loved ones. Hearts can be purchased in any amount. For a one-time donation of $500, members of the community can buy a special gold heart engraved with the name of someone special in their life. This heart will hang on the tree every year.

Proceeds from heart donations are used for room renovations at Genesys Hospice Care Center in Goodrich, a comfortable, home-like place where many people choose to spend their last days. Genesys tries to make these patient bedrooms as home-like as possible.

Genesys Hospice services are offered in a person's home, at a nursing home or at the Genesys Hospice Care center. The Hospice team of physicians, home health aides, social workers, therapists, volunteers and clergy provide skilled medical care and compassionate emotional support for patients and their families.

If you would like to purchase a heart for the Memory Tree, please call Genesys Hospice at 810-636-5010. Donations, accepted in any amount, are tax deductible. Anyone in the community can purchase a heart in memory or in honor of a loved one.

The Memory Tree will remain lit throughout the holidays. It will stand in the Holiday Inn lobby from Nov. 23 through Jan. 2.

To help those who are dealing with the loss of a loved one, Genesys Hospice offers these grief recovery services:

Monthly grief support meetings take place at the Genesys West Flint Campus lobby conference room (Beecher at Ballenger) on the first Tuesday of each month at 10 a.m., and the third Thursday of each month at 7 p.m.

In addition to this monthly support group, Genesys Hospice also conducts a five-week grief recovery program.

For children recovering from the loss of a loved one, Genesys Hospice sponsors Night Light, a free, six-week program for elementary school children in Genesee County. Camp BraveHeart, another service through Genesys, is an annual grief recovery camp held every summer for children ages 5 to 17 who have experienced a loss.

For details on any of these programs, call Genesys Hospice at 636-5000.

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