'Good Grief' Benefits Open Arms Children's Program

St. John Providence Health System
Community Health
Thursday, October 06, 2005

Media Contact: Wende Berry, (313) 343-7458

Open Arms, a grieving children’s service sponsored by St. John Community Health, will host the Seventh Annual ‘Good Grief’ fundraiser on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Roostertail in Detroit. The evening includes a strolling dinner, silent auction and award reception. During the evening, Delores Bennett and Communities in Schools will be honored with the Vernice Davis Anthony Award of Dedication for their commitment to youth in the community. Good Grief helps Open Arms extend its unique outreach and services to children who have lost a loved one due to violence, illness or accident.

The hidden cost of violence is the damage done to children’s in its path. Unless they receive the care they need to break the chain, violence inflicted or witnessed can become a dire inheritance. Ending the cycle of violence starts with compassionate counseling and healing grief services offered through Open Arms. All services are provided at no cost to children and their families

“The donations we receive from the community for Good Grief support the focus of Open Arms, which is to provide support for grieving children and their families and educate the community on the issue and impact of grief. We help participants learn to cope with feelings of sadness, anger, or frustration in positive, constructive ways,” said Karen Sheffield, Open Arms program director. “Addressing grief in children is critical to their long-term emotional and physical development. Statistics have shown that unacknowledged grief can lead to unhealthy behaviors such as violence, substance abuse, suicide and poor performance in school.”

This year’s Good Grief event chair is Diana Jones, Vice President of Community Affairs of Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Michigan. Honorary co-chairs are Donna Burke, Vice President of External Affairs of SBC; Donna Badgett, Vice President, Community Development of Charter One Bank; Jimmy Settles, Regional Director, UAW Region 1A; and Brenda Pye of the O. H. Pye Funeral Home. (more) ‘Good Grief’ Benefits Open Arms Children’s Program Page 2

Tickets for Good Grief are $75, or $600 for a table of eight. For ticket information, more details about Open Arms, or to make silent auction donations please call (313) 921-7983. To view silent auction items online, please visit the Open Arms website at www.realmedicine.org/openarms.

St. John Community Health is a program of St. John Health, the largest provider of inpatient care in Southeast Michigan and one of the largest employers in metro Detroit. St. John Community Health is committed to providing health care that works, health care that is safe, and health care that leaves no one behind. Through the Community Health division, SJH provides numerous programs and services such as school-based clinics, parish nurse programs, community health centers, health education and screenings, safety net services and participation in numerous community partnerships. In addition, SJH provided more than $130 million in uncompensated care in 2004. St. John Health provides comprehensive prevention, primary care and advanced treatment programs with more than 125 medical centers, and eight hospitals spanning five counties.