Concordia Butterfly Releases Provide Comfort and Remembrance  

This August, over 700 people came together across our hospice agencies’ annual butterfly releases, sharing in the release of more than 1,300 butterflies in honor and memory of loved ones. Concordia-IRMC VNA hosted its Hope Takes Flight event at Mack Park in Indiana, Pa. on Aug. 3. Good Samaritan Hospice welcomed families and friends to North Boundary Park in Cranberry Twp., Pa. on Aug. 17, and Concordia Hospice of Washington concluded the month with its release on Aug. 25 at Valley View Farms in Waynesburg, Pa.

Our annual butterfly releases represent some of the many bereavement support services our hospice agencies have designed to guide patients’ families and friends through the challenges of grief as they adjust to loss. In addition to the released butterflies, attendees found comfort in dedications to those memorialized, readings and prayers from our leadership and spiritual care teams, inspirational music and children’s activities.

We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who attended or assisted in making all the events special and memorable. Special thanks go out to our volunteers, who make every event that much more welcoming, and all of the families who have allowed our staff and volunteers into their homes and into their lives during difficult times.

Lastly, a huge thank you to our sponsors and community friends for their generous support:

Concordia-IRMC VNA Butterfly Release Sponsors & Special Thanks 

• Event Sponsor: Indiana Regional Medical Center
• Angel Wing Sponsors: Concordia Community Support Services and The Reschini Group
• $500 Event Sponsors: Joseph & Nancy Grillo, Mary Lewandowski, Oak Grove Realty and Punxsutawney Eagles #1231
• $250 Event Sponsors: Bowser-Minich Funeral Home, Fraternal Order of Eagles #1468, Indiana Moose Lodge #174, Dr. and Mrs. Alex B. Juhasz, Matthew Long, Mack Arbuckle Nissan and Dr. Timothy Wilson

Special Thanks:

• Concordia-IRMC VNA Staff and Hospice Volunteers
• Dale Oxygen, Inc.
• Faught’s Garden Center
• Ray Goss
• Hopeful Hearts Volunteers
• Musser Forests, Inc.
• Teresa Richardson
• Terry Sabo
• Twolick Valley Nursery and Gift Shoppe

Good Samaritan Hospice Butterfly Release Sponsors & Special Thanks

• Program Sponsor: Concordia Visiting Nurses
• Patron Sponsors: D’Alessandro Funeral Home & Crematory, Ltd and Thomas M. Smith Funeral Home & Crematory, Ltd
• Refreshment Sponsors: Gordon Food Services and Monteverde’s Produce

Special Thanks:

• Good Samaritan Hospice Staff and Volunteers
• Matt Kearns
• Matthew Nocera
• Ashley Trott

Concordia Hospice of Washington Butterfly Release Sponsors & Special Thanks

• Gold Sponsor: Myers Water Transfer, LLC
• Event Sponsor: Valley View Farms
• Silver Sponsors: Concordia Visiting Nurses and Meadow Ridge Development
• Bronze Sponsors: Pittsburgh Cremation & Funeral Care and Ryco, Inc.
• Patron Sponsor: Wilson Tire & Wheel
• Volunteer Shirt Sponsor: Bee Graphix

Special Thanks:

• Concordia Hospice of Washington Staff and Volunteers
• Mallory Bozovich
• Brittany Blair
• Pastor James Adam
• Brad Wilson

Check out the photos in the gallery below (click to enlarge), and if you have any pictures from the event, share them with us on Facebook and Instagram! For more information about what’s happening at Concordia, visit the Events page of our website!

Founded in 1881, Concordia Lutheran Ministries is a faith-based, CARF-accredited Aging Services Network and recipient of the inaugural Pennsylvania Department of Aging Excellence in Quality Care Award. As one of the largest nonprofit senior care providers in the country, the organization serves 50,000 people annually through in-home care and inpatient locations.