At Pinelawn Memorial Park, an event series aims to help connect families with loved ones

by Adam Rabinovitch | May 31, 2022 | Recent Press

COPE Founder Lillian Julien a Winner at the 4th Annual Long Island Imagine Awards

by Adam Rabinovitch | May 5, 2016 | Recent Press

May 4, 2016 – Bohemia, NY –  Six nonprofit winners of the 4th Annual Long Island Imagine Awards were announced LIVE at the gala awards reception on Tuesday, May 3, 2016, 6-9:30pm at the Crest Hollow Country Club, Woodbury, NY. This gala event was created to offer formal acknowledgement to some of Long Island’s most effective and innovative nonprofit organizations. Over 137 nonprofits submitted applications to win a $5,000 grant in five categories: Innovation, Leadership Excellence, Rising Star, Social Entrepreneurism and Social Impact. Of this pool of worthy applicants, 20 were selected as finalists and one in each category was awarded the grant, and a sixth organization was provided a Fan Favorite award through an internet vote. The winners were: Cerini & Associates Social Entrepreneurism Award – Big Brothers Big Sisters of Long Island Empire National Bank Innovation Award – School-Business Partnerships of LI, Inc. (SBPLI) The Business Exchange Rising Star Award – Best Buddies New York Certilman Balin Adler & Hyman LLP Leadership Award –  Lillian Julien, COPE Foundation, Inc. Cerini & Associates Social Impact Award – Long Island Gay & Lesbian Youth (LIGALY) Paychex Fan Favorite Award – Family and Children’s Association In its fourth year, the Imagine Awards are the premiere awards program on Long Island for the nonprofit sector.  “This year’s finalists and winners were all amazing … they truly exemplify the nonprofit sector at their finest,” said Kenneth Cerini, Managing Partner of Cerini & Associates, LLP, the Awards’ founders.  “Other nonprofits can learn from strong leadership, innovation, impact, and the entrepreneurial spirit from these organizations.”   The Long Island Imagine Awards recognizes the following major sponsors: Cerini & Associates, LLP, Certilman Balin Adler & Hyman, LLP, Empire National Bank, Paychex and the Business Exchange. Facebook Photos: http://bit.ly/1VKiljl Finalist Videos: http://bit.ly/1SP6QBf For more information visit www.imagineawardsli.com

GoodTherapy.org Lists COPE Foundation in Their 2015 Top 10 Websites for Infant and Child Loss Support

by Adam Rabinovitch | Feb 24, 2016 | Recent Press

The death of a child is perhaps one of the most traumatic events a parent can experience. Losing a child may feel like an insurmountable life event for many, and the experience of grief is often complicated by feelings of regret or guilt as parents consider what they could have done differently to save their child—regardless of whether any other outcome was actually possible. The range of complex emotions associated with this loss are likely to affect parents for the rest of their lives.

Navigating the life changes and grief accompanying the loss of a child is a process often made more difficult by feelings of isolation. Many parents find people in their lives have no idea how to react to their loss, and this can contribute to thoughts of isolation. Though family and friends may find it difficult to express their support, parents may find peer support groups to be helpful. Many therapists and counselors also specialize in helping people process the loss of a child, and there are a number of online communities offering support to parents who have lost an infant or child.

Grief is experienced differently by every person, and no timeline can predict one’s experience of loss. Feelings of bereavement can occur throughout a person’s life, but it is important to remember there is life after loss. We have compiled a list of the 10 best online resources for infant and child loss support—excluding GoodTherapy.org—in 2015. Our selections are based on presentation, depth of content, and functionality.

• Share: This organization was founded in 1977 by hospital staff members who were urged to create a support group at St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, Illinois. Share’s mission is to serve those who have lost a baby during pregnancy, from stillbirth, or in the first few months of the infant’s life. They offer resources and personalized bereavement support and host a popular blog with related subject matter.
• Hope After Loss: Formerly the Hygeia Foundation, Hope After Loss was founded by Dr. Michael R. Berman in 1995. The organization’s original mission was to offer online support to women and families who experienced a pregnancy loss or neonatal death. It has since grown to include a community of more than 24,000 registered users and began offering in-person bereavement support in 2007.
• COPE Foundation: The COPE Foundation began as a group of families meeting in each other’s homes. It has since grown to a network of more than 700 families, who are dedicated to providing emotional support and healing to those grieving the loss of a child.
• Unspoken Grief: A site created to share information and offer support to those who have experienced miscarriage, stillbirth, and neonatal loss, Unspoken Grief also works to end stigma surrounding the impact of perinatal loss and grief. The site provides educational resources and peer-to-peer support through the anonymous sharing of feelings, inspirational quotes, and personal stories.
• Through the Heart: In early 2013, Through the Heart founders Karen and Sean Kelly lost their first child, 20 weeks into the pregnancy. They created Through the Heart out of compassion and with the desire to help others experiencing similar loss. The Comfort Kit program—one of the organization’s most visible programs—provides individuals or couples who have recently suffered pregnancy loss a kit containing personal care items, snacks, and a movie rental code.
• Miscarriage Association: The Miscarriage Association was created in 1982 by a group of people experiencing the pain of miscarriage. More than 30 years later, the association continues to provide support, information, and an online community to individuals, couples, and families affected by pregnancy loss.
• The Compassionate Friends: This website made our Best of 2012 list of websites for grief and loss, but we decided to include it on this year’s list because the organization specializes in providing grief support to families after the death of a child. Today, The Compassionate Friends has approximately 660 chapters in all 50 states, in addition to Puerto Rico and Guam. These chapters are dedicated to offering highly personal comfort, hope, and support to bereaved parents, siblings, and family members.
• Bereaved Parents of the USA: Bereaved Parents of the USA (BP/USA) is a national non-profit self-help group. Its many chapters around the country hold monthly support meetings, publish newsletters, and host an annual National Gathering where bereaved families can participate in workshops, sharing sessions, and hear guest speakers. BP/USA is free to join, and there are no paid salaries within the non-profit.
• MISSFoundation: According to MISSFoundation, more than 80% of the 120,000 child deaths each year in the United States occur before the child’s first birthday. This volunteer-based organization provides both crisis and long-term support to families after a child or baby’s death. They refer to their approach as C.A.R.E.—Counseling, Advocacy, Research, and Education.
• griefHaven: This online community was created by Susan Whitmore, who lost her only child in the early 2000s after she had been diagnosed with a rare sinus tumor. In the months following her loss, Whitmore started a website she hoped would become a grief haven for parents, siblings, family members, friends, and specialists, who could visit to find a collection of available resources. Today, visitors to her site can find support groups, support organizations, music and reading recommendations, and leave a message honoring someone’s life on the memory wall.

© Copyright 2015 by www.GoodTherapy.org Naperville Bureau – All Rights Reserved.

Permission to publish granted to GoodTherapy.org. The preceding article was solely written by the author named above. The view and opinions expressed are not necessarily shared by GoodTherapy.org.

Original article posted here:  http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/best-child-and-infant-loss-websites-2015-1229155

Press Release: COPE Foundation to Honor Legislator Judy Jacobs at 10th Annual Golf Outing to Support Bereavement Programs Including Children’s Bereavement Camp, Camp Erin NYC

by Adam Rabinovitch | Feb 23, 2016 | Recent Press

LONG ISLAND, NY, February 23, 2016 – COPE Foundation, Inc. (Connecting Our Paths Eternally), a grief support organization for parents and families living with the loss of a child, will hold its tenth annual golf outing on May 23, 2016 at the Muttontown Club in East Norwich, New York. Over 250 golfers and supporters are expected to attend COPE’s biggest event of the year, which raises 75% of the organization’s annual budget. The event brings together individuals, families and organizations to pay tribute to loved ones and honor supporters, and has raised more than $1 million from generous corporate and individual sponsors over the past nine years. For more information about the 2016 COPE Golf Outing, visit www.copefoundation.org.

This year’s COPE event will honor Nassau County Legislator Judy Jacobs. Legislator Jacobs is in her eleventh term as a legislator, having previously served four consecutive terms as Presiding Officer of the Nassau County Legislature. She represents Legislative District 16, which is comprised of the communities of Plainview, Old Bethpage, Jericho, Syosset, Woodbury, Hicksville, Old Westbury and Roslyn Heights. Legislator Jacobs serves as a member of the Rules Committee and Health and Social Services, as well as Ranking on Planning, Development & Environment and Government Services & Operations.  During her tenure in the legislature, Legislator Jacobs has led the way with legislation banning smoking in all restaurants, bars and workplaces in the County. For the first time she has brought together elected officials from New York City, Suffolk County and Westchester County to work on developing a regional approach to this important health issue. She is also advocating for the adoption of Tobacco 21 (raising the legal smoking age to 21), and legislation to control the use of electronic cigarettes. In addition, she has worked together with Suffolk County leaders on several island-wide issues such as Medicaid reform, economic development, planning, and public health and safety concerns.

Donna Cooperman will receive the COPE Parent Recognition Award for her support of COPE throughout her 20 years with the organization, since she lost her son 20-year-old David in 1995. Donna has been an active member of the COPE Golf Committee for the past ten years (since the first event), where she has chaired the Raffle and Silent Auction Sub-Committee, she has helped with entry-level fundraising at the onset of the COPE Walks, and she has forged partnerships with local businesses and individuals in order to garner support for the organization that helped her through her tragic loss. She currently is office manager at Lymphedema Therapy in Woodbury, New York.

Dr. Norman Fried will receive the COPE Professional Service Award for his contribution to the grief community. Previously Director of Psychosocial Services for the Cancer Center for Kids and the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Winthrop University and North Shore University Hospitals for 18 years, Dr. Fried is now in full-time private practice and is well known for his extensive work as a grief and bereavement specialist. He lectures on the Practice of Psychotherapy with Critically and Terminally Ill Children and their Families at conferences across the U.S. and Europe, as well as at the Jewish Theological Seminary in NY.

Funds raised from the golf outing event will enable COPE to develop and expand its programming and outreach and fund COPE’s support groups, workshops and programs, since the organization does not ask families to pay for most of COPE’s services. Additionally, proceeds from the event will go towards supporting Camp Erin® NYC (August 26-28, 2016).

“I am proud that COPE has grown over the past 17 years from a small group of parents meeting for support in each others’ homes to an organization that helps so many people, about 20% more families every year,” remarks Lillian Julien, COPE’s President and Co-founder. “We are proud to honor not only an incredibly generous individual such as Judy Jacobs, who does so much for the Long Island community, but also a parent who has been the embodiment of our philosophy that the next level of healing is helping. Donna Cooperman has given so much back to the organization that was there for her early in her loss. And to also be able to pay tribute to someone so gifted and so generous within the grief community as Dr. Norman Fried is such an incredible honor for our organization. ”

Among COPE’s supporters and previous event participants are New York Knicks producer Spencer Julien, whose family started COPE, and many former players and announcers from Madison Square Garden, including former New York Knicks superstar and Hall-of-Famer Walt “Clyde” Frazier; Al Trautwig, host of MSG’s Knicks and Rangers telecasts; Dave Maloney, Former NY Ranger and MSG Analyst; Jill Martin, Today Show correspondent and Knicks reporter; and Butch Goring, four-time Stanley Cup Champion with the NY Islanders and current analyst for MSG Networks.

Sponsors of this year’s golf outing include Northwell Health, Madison Square Garden, Moneywatch Advisors, Plainview Oral & Maxillofacial Associates, P.C., BC Enterprises (Bill Cooperman) in memory of David Berg, Lillian Julien in memory of Michelle and Robert Julien, Judy and Richard Berg in memory of David Joshua Berg, Patti and Dave Greenberg in memory of Sharon Gallucci, Sammi’s Circle Charitable Fund in memory of Samantha “Sammi” Mergentime, and Ken & Sandy Morris, among others.

About the COPE Foundation

COPE, a not-for-profit foundation, 501(c)(3), is dedicated to helping parents and families living with the loss of a child. Since 1999, COPE has served the needs of approximately 850 families on Long Island by providing emotional, therapeutic, and spiritual programs. These include parent and sibling support groups, individual support, integrative healing workshops, and a variety of special programs for clergy, funeral homes, schools and mental health professionals. In addition to assisting local families, COPE’s grief hotline (COPEline) and website have enabled the non-profit to provide grieving individuals outside of Long Island with immediate support, resources, and referrals.

About Camp Erin® NYC

Offered in more than 40 communities nationwide, Camp Erin® is a free weekend bereavement camp for children and teens ages 6-17 that combines traditional, fun camp activities with grief education and emotional support, facilitated by grief professionals and trained volunteers. COPE partners with the Moyer Foundation as the New York City affiliate for Camp Erin NYC, held annually at Camp Wayne in Preston Park, PA, to help children from the tri-state area who are grieving the death of a parent, sibling or someone close to them.  The weekend, which will be held August 26-28, 2016, includes a concurrent parent camp for caregivers.

Contacts:

COPE Foundation Named as Finalist in 4th Annual Long Island Imagine Awards

by Adam Rabinovitch | Feb 8, 2016 | Recent Press