Thanksgiving is a time when we all gather with friends and family to eat delicious food, perhaps watch some football, and share what we are all grateful for.
With Thanksgiving a week away, you can continue to nurture your relationships with the families in your community and show your own gratitude for having served these families and their loved ones.
Below are some simple gestures that can make a meaningful impact on the families in your community, especially for those who have recently lost a loved one and are facing the first holiday without them in a long string of many.
Encourage participation in the National Day of Listening
The day after Thanksgiving is the National Day of Listening, a day created by the organization StoryCorps to encourage people across the globe to listen to the stories of our loved ones during a time when we are all gathered together.
Connecting with family and friends over the Thanksgiving weekend is a great time to share stories with those we don’t necessarily get to see and spend a lot of time with throughout the year. In the funeral profession, you can encourage families to have these conversations via your blog, on your social media networks, and in person if you are hosting a seminar or similar event before the holiday. StoryCorps often posts prompts like the one above on their Facebook page to help families begin the conversation.
This is a great way to connect with families before a loss has occurred, so they can share stories with those closest to them, stories they will be able to keep forever.
Send a card to families who have recently lost a loved one.
Thanksgiving can be a difficult time for those who have recently suffered a loss. A time to be with family and friends, Thanksgiving will inevitably be a bittersweet day with an empty seat at the dinner table. This presents a great opportunity for your funeral home to send a simple, yet heartfelt card to these families acknowledging their loss and letting them know you are thinking of them on this day.
Such an act will take very little of your time but leave a profound impression on the family receiving the card.
Write a blog or social media post saying what you are thankful for.
You always thank families at the service, but this Thanksgiving you can thank the families in your community on a larger scale by letting them know you are grateful to be the funeral home families turn to to help them at their time of need.
It can be a simple note of thanks on your Facebook page or a blog post outlining 5 things your funeral home is grateful for this Thanksgiving.
Donate food to those in need.
While many of us eat more than we ever thought possible at Thanksgiving dinner, there are countless numbers of families who are going hungry this Thanksgiving holiday. You can help those less fortunate by donating to your local food bank or other organizations who are accepting donations that will help feed the hungry.
Giving back is a surefire way to make you feel good inside and will certainly be appreciated by those who will now be able to eat a Thanksgiving meal.
All that being said, we are grateful at PFP to work with funeral directors who care so deeply about what they do and remain committed to serving families day in and day out. We hope you all have a very happy Thanksgiving!
