May 2020

Page A22 MAY 2020 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on A UnSung Heroes of Covid-19 If we're protected, we can properly disinfect, sani4ze, and preserve these bodies to give the families exactly what they need. Ironically, this is what every funeral professional signs up for- to give families freedom to work through their own grief process. This is what we are prepared for. We're emo4onally connected to serving, we're educated, we're prepared to help these families, but we can't do it if we're being neglected in the personal protec4ve department. Vic Micolucci- And tell me about people that want to honor their loved ones. Obviously you are working in this industry every single day. What can they do to make sure that whoever was so very special to them is honored appropriately during these 4mes? Our Job is to Create a Proper Goodbye MATT SMITH- Unfortunately some may feel pressured to choose crema4on. A challenge with this is that the families may not have proper closure with a loved one. Our job is to create a proper goodbye with the family. For listeners, you have the op4on to speak with your funeral professionals. Speak to the funeral director, talk to them about alterna:ve ways to view. There are methods of livestreaming that can help. Let’s remember that it has taken an emo4onal toll on families losing their loved ones without closure and they need closure. We're talking about the problems with our health. Emo4onal health is vitally and equally important. Imagine losing your, your father, mother, friend, son, or daughter. You didn’t see them when they were dying and you couldn’t see them when they were buried. Funeral providers provide that for them. We can s4ll do that. For more go to www.professionalembalmers.com United States Families across the world are trying to grieve the loss of loved ones who died without a final visita4on and celebra4on of their life. MaR Smith, interna4onal speaker and founder of Professional Embalmers, wants to tell the story about the UnSung Heroes during this pandemic and how difficult their jobs can be. Funeral Services are so important right now. This is OUR Battlefield MATT SMITH- It is difficult for us in funeral services because we're on a baRlefield here taking on all casual:es. What's not being talked about is funeral services. We are hearing a lot about doctors and nurses which are vitally important. But now I'm star4ng to hear about restaurants and, they're being supplied PPEs with carryout orders. Here we are as embalmers and funeral directors, and no one is talking about us. I just want to bring awareness here; We are doing it too! Vic Micolucci- Tell me about the services and, and why it's so important to protect your staff and the people that come in and out of the doors of our funeral homes of our memorial services? MATT SMITH-The safest dead body is a well embalmed dead body. In order for us embalmers to do our best, we need to have the proper protec4on as well. It all starts with protec4on. Submitted by P rof e s s ional E mbalmers I nst i tute CORONAVIRUS INDUSTRY RESPONSE COVID-19 Eterneva assembles Industry Coalition with Good Grief, NFDA and Funeral Service Foundation to Raise Funds for Death Care Professionals Legacy provides Additional Support during COVID-19 Pandemic CHICAGO,IL— Legacy is taking steps to help the industry adjust to the changes brought about by the coronavirus pandem- ic. The online network of obituaries and death notices is assisting funeral homes with obituary publication and offering support through remote funeral participation. Funeral home staff members are encour- aged to reach out to Legacy’s support team, available 7 days a week, to assist with emer- gency obituary postings and updates. Con- tact at 888-397-9494 (press 0 and then se- lect option 2) from 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM Central time or email fhsupport@legacy. com from 5:30 AM - 10:00 PM Central time. Email response time is typically within an hour. Legacy also offers their services di- rectly to your families at info@legacy.com or 888-397-9494, option 0. Funeral homes may be struggling with the need to support social distancing while maintaining the public’s ability to offer their condolences for the passing of a loved one. In an effort to help with these difficulties, Legacy has teamed up with Tukios to offer remote video services. Any funeral home can use Tukios’s system to upload video of a funeral service for any family, so those unable to attend can watch the service once it has concluded. Tuki- os will host the video, create the URL, and then work with Legacy to get that video link added to an online Legacy obituary. To get started, contact Tukios at support@tukios. com or 801-682-4391. For those who have already uploaded a video online, email Legacy at fhsuppport@ legacy.com to have the link added to the obituary text. On their website, Legacy has provided some information and tips for funeral plan- ners who are dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. Just visit https://new.legacy.com/ coronavirus -information/ to find up-to-date details to help you as you help local families through this crisis. AUSTIN,TX— In the wake of COVID-19, grief-wellness company, Eterneva , is organizing a GoFundMe for death care professionals who are in dire need of PPE and N95 masks. Eterneva is partnering with the NFDA , Good Grief , the Funeral Service Foundation , and the SoGal Foun- dation to raise the funds necessary to get these essential workers the protection they need in order to continue serving families who have lost loved ones. Every funeral professional who receives a mask will also receive toolkits and grief resources on how to build resilience in children and families during and following this pandemic. With a goal of $200,000, which can supply approxi- mately 50,000 N95 masks, all masks will be given direct- ly to funeral homes most affected by COVID-19. “This is undoubtedly a dark and difficult time for our country, yet we are inspired by what we’ve seen. So many people have come together to serve and celebrate our first responders and while we are so thankful for each of them, we would also like to acknowledge our last responders,” says Adelle Archer , co-founder and CEO of Eterneva. “We know how important this is because we’ve already donated 500 masks to our partnered funeral homes and have seen how necessary they were and how quickly they were used.” While providing PPE to funeral professionals is the finan- cial focus of this GoFundMe, Good Grief’s CEO, Joe Pri- mo , says, “We need a multifaceted approach to address the practical needs for both professional safety and supporting families and communities. We are proud to provide grief re- sources for the families and communities that funeral pro- fessionals serve so that no child or family is left to grieve alone during this unprecedented and chaotic time.” A lead contribution to this GoFundMe has already been made by the Funeral Service Foundation, through its COVID-19 Crisis Response Fund. “The Funeral Service Foundation is pleased to support this worthy project through our COVID-19 Crisis Re- sponse Fund. As the National Funeral Directors Associa- tion’s charitable arm, the Foundation applauds this col- laboration among funeral service professional associations, industry partners and the grief community to source desper- ately needed PPE for our professionals in the field,” says Lee Wiensch , Funeral Service Foundation Executive Director. SoGal Foundation is the largest global platform for the education and empowerment of diverse entrepreneurs, with the mission to close the diversity gap in entrepre- neurship and venture capital. Most of the 40 million people in the U.S. acting as care- givers for aging family members identify as women, and more and more women are moving into death care profes- sional careers. The SoGal Foundation sees this PPE fund- raiser as crucial to supporting those women changing the death care industry for the better. As a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit, all donations to this effort are tax deductible. Supporting those who are putting their lives at risk by helping families who are grieving during uncertain times is crucial. If you or your funeral home is in need, please go to https://share.hsforms.com/2620022/8c815755- bcbb- 4b96-bdd1-68c9bb71d22a to submit your request. To donate to the cause, please visit https://www.gofundme. com/f/ppe- supplies-needed-for-funeral-homes.