The Compassionate Friends

Seattle-King County Chapter

If this is the first newsletter you have received, it is because someone who cares

about you has asked us to send you a copy in hopes it may offer some comfort to you.

TCF is a nonprofit self-help organization offering friendship, hope, and support to bereaved parents and families. The Seattle-King County TCF mission is to reach out to bereaved parents and to be of help to them in their grief journey. The purpose is to promote and aid bereaved parents, grandparents and siblings in the positive resolution of the grief experienced upon the death of their loved ones and to support their efforts to achieve physical and emotional health. If you have questions about TCF, please contact us.

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Seattle-King County Chapter Phone: 206-241-1139

Seattle-King County Chapter Mailing Address: P. O. Box 66896 Seattle, WA 98166-0896

Seattle-King County Chapter Website: www.tcfseattle.org

Western Washington Regional Coordinator: Jacqueline Russell 360-457-7395

TCF National Office Phone: 877-969-0010

TCF National Mailing Address: P. O. Box 3696 Oak Brook, IL 60522-3696

TCF National Website: www.thecompassionatefriends.org

¨TCF National Website Chat Schedule (NEW additions to the schedule are indicated by an * )

(check national website for more information and login instructions; the times listed below are Pacific Time Zone):

General Bereavement:

M, T, W, Th 6-8pm; Fri 7-9pm*; Sa 7-8pm; Su 6-8pm*

Men’s Chat: M 7-8pm

Siblings: W, Th 6-7pm; Sa 7-8pm*; Sun 6-7pm*

Pregnancy Loss and Infant Death: T 6-8pm*

No Surviving Children: Th 5-6pm

Bereaved One Year or Less: W 6-7AM

Iraq/Afghanistan War: Sa 6-7pm*

Our chapter needs YOU! We need you at our sharing groups to help other newly bereaved!

We need more facilitators for our sharing groups. (Facilitator training will be provided.)

We need a newsletter editor and more helpers planning our annual retreat.

Won’t you please consider how you can take an active role in our TCF chapter?

Call the TCF office 206-241-1139 or Mike 253-874-8611 or email Marge at tcfmarge@aol.com

This newsletter comes to you from the support group The Compassionate Friends of Seattle - King County. We want to assure you that you can survive this greatest of tragedies, the death of your precious child. It does not matter how old or young your child was nor how he or she died. What does matter is that we care about you, and hope that these pages will bring a message of love and understanding. Not every article or poem will apply to you, but we hope you will find one or two ideas that will assist you. All of us in this group are grieving the death of our children. We cannot change what happened, but we are helping each other learn to cope with where we are now, and find reason to go on when we feel our world has been destroyed. We invite you to attend our meetings when you feel ready. We suggest that you proceed in your grieving in your own way and in your own time. Many people wanting to help will advise you to hurry this process - and put it behind you. We will not advise you to “get on with your life.” If you have a need to talk with someone who has endured a similar experience, please join us. Try to believe you are not alone. We will help in any way we can, just as others have helped and supported us. ♥