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Thank you for your interest in the Memory Box Artist Program. We would love to have you join us! There are many ways to participate. Read down to find what works best for you. The Program has two aspects. First, we connect and follow up with hospitals to be sure that they have an active bereavement program, and that someone at the hospital will take responsibility for the boxes. We track the number of boxes going to each hospital each month so that no one hospital is bombarded with boxes while others do not have any. (This also prevents two groups from sending boxes to the same hospital because each talked to a different person on the staff - something that has been known to happen!) In addition, most hospitals do not have storage facilities so it is important that they are given their monthly needs rather than their yearly quota all at one time. We keep detailed records of each hospital in the program and their monthly needs. The second aspect of the program is to connect artist's with the hospitals. Some artists "adopt" a hospital in their area and provide all of it's monthly needs, however some artists only create one box a month, or one a year. There are no quotas or requirements. We are happy to have any boxes you have time to create. When you do have a box, or boxes, ready to send you contact us and we will tell you the next hospital on the list that needs boxes. Create/Decorate a Box It is important that you contact us so that we know a hospital's needs are being met (You do not need to "join" the group or our email list to be a part of the program. Creating a box and sending it to a hospital is all that is required.) and duplicate boxes aren't being sent by multiple artists or groups to one hospital when another hospital isn't getting any boxes. We have no desire to take credit for your work. We simply want to act as a facilitator to ensure that every hospital that needs boxes gets them, and that your work is received and used as intended. When you have a box or boxes ready, you e-mail Marie and she will give you the name of the next hospital on the list to send to. The next time you send boxes, you will probably send boxes to a DIFFERENT hospital. In this way, we can insure that each hospital gets what it needs, when it needs it. When e-mailing Marie, always include your State and Country, whenever possible we will give you the name of a hospital in your area. ALSO, please include your last name in your e-mail, because we keep records by your name and they are filed under your last name. Few of our participants are "professional artists". Ninety Nine percent are hobbiest/crafters that make boxes as a way to use the craft or art that enhances their own lives, to help someone else. Do not worry about not being "good enough". We can guarantee that the families that receive the boxes, are not critiquing them. They are grateful that someone else understands their pain and was willing to do something to help a stranger. Some artists get together each month to create boxes. We also have had high school students and girl scout groups participate in the program. As long as the boxes are appropriate and meet our guidelines, we are happy to receive them. Chapters or Art Guilds wishing to participate as a group can get more information on the Chapters page. Monetary Contributions If you are not an artist or crafter, but would like to support the program, you can contribute to our program through a financial contribution. This fund allows us to provide boxes to the artists who have time to paint, but do not have sufficient funds to pay for the boxes, helps pay the costs of running the program (long distance phone calls to hospitals and artists, postage, etc.), professional fees for the lawyers and accountants we need to make sure we are meeting our legal requirements as a non-profit. The program has no employees. It is a 100% volunteer effort. However, it is important for us to use the services of professionals to maintain our financial records and ensure our legal requirements are being handled properly. Hospitals wishing to become part of the program should contact Marie. She will need to know your name, address, the name of the person that is your bereavement counselor or that will take responsibility for the boxes at your hospital, and your best estimate as to the number of boxes you will need each month. Generally, we try to provide you with a 2 month supply within three weeks of the time we add you to the program and supply the estimate that you give us, each month thereafter, once you are added to the program. |
You will find more information about the program on these pages:
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