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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – COSTA MESA, Calif., May 21, 2012 — An estimated 1500 bereaved parents, siblings, and grandparents will be converging on Costa Mesa, CA, for The Compassionate Friends 35th National/5th International Gathering July 20-22, 2012. Attendees are expected from many of the 30 countries around the world with Compassionate Friends sister organizations.
“Every year tens of thousands of families are emotionally devastated by the death of a child,” says Patricia Loder, executive director of The Compassionate Friends. “Our annual conference helps families who have suffered the ultimate loss connect with one another in a nurturing atmosphere of friendship, understanding, and hope.”
Keynote speakers include: Lois Duncan, award-winning author of Who Killed My Daughter?; Kathy Eldon, journalist, author, and producer, whose son Dan, a Reuters photographer, was stoned to death by an angry mob in Somalia; and Darcie Sims, internationally recognized grief speaker.
More than 100 bereavement workshops, including a complete sibling program, will cover a wide variety of grief topics. There will also be many sharing sessions, a pre-conference Spanish language workshop, a bookstore, memorial candle lighting, Butterfly Boutique, special entertainment, and much more.
The 13th annual Compassionate Friends Walk to Remember starts at the conference host hotel (the Hilton Orange County/Costa Mesa) at 8 a.m. Sunday following 7 a.m. registration. Many from the local area will join with those from the conference walking in remembrance of children, siblings, and grandchildren gone too soon.
For more information about the conference, visit http://www.compassionatefriends.org or call 877-969-0010. The Compassionate Friends is the country’s largest self-help bereavement organization with more than 640 chapters and locations in every state plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. Its mission is to provide comfort, hope, and support to every family experiencing the death of a child. Each month more than 17,000 bereaved parents, siblings, and grandparents attend meetings of The Compassionate Friends and outreach is provided to more than 182,000 bereaved family members and professionals. The Compassionate Friends has a national presence in at least 30 countries worldwide.
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