• Request a Mayoral proclamation of “Help a Caregiver Week,” with ideas about how people can help
• Hold a forum for employers about caregivers’ needs
• Conduct “Caregiving 101” classes to help family members learn what to expect and what to do
• Encourage your local hospice to hold hospice open houses and public events
• Hold a hospice event for family practice/internal medicine staff
• Encourage your local hospice to hold recognition events for their volunteers
• Ask your hospital to hold “Ground Rounds” on palliative care
• Ask local TV/radio talk shows to feature hospice representatives during the month of November
• Create a directory of local hospice and palliative care resources

Information and other action ideas for your coalition are available in detail in the Finding Our Way: Living with Dying in America Community Action Guide. To receive copies of this booklet, email us with your name and mailing address and the quantity you are requesting at steeringcommittees@bballard.com with the subject line “materials.”

2. Tell Us What Action Ideas You Are Implementing
   If you already have copies of the Community Action Guide, tell us which activities you are organizing and if the suggestions made in the guide are useful. Additionally, we want to know what activities you have planned around the themes of grief and caregiving. Email us your comments at steeringcommittees@bballard.com and we will share them with other coalitions around the country. (If you don’t have copies of the Community Action Guide, let us know and we’ll send you some!)
    
3. Coalition Spotlight
   Correction
   In our last e-newsletter, we reported that the local paper in Merrill, WI that created a link to the Finding Our Way website was unwilling to run the series. We made a mistake. The paper that was unwilling to run the series is a different one from the region. After being turned down by that paper, the local coalition’s leader promoted the series by writing about the Finding Our Way website in her monthly column in that newspaper. We apologize for any confusion and are impressed with the creative way this coalition managed to get the series mentioned in the newspaper anyway!
   
   Gateway End-of-Life Coalition
   The Gateway End-of-Life Coalition in Saint Louis, MO is keeping busy with several events planned through January. In November, National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, they are planning several “Medical Directive Events.” Additionally, the coalition is planning on holding these events in January, encouraging people to sign directives as their “New Year’s Resolution.” In November, they plan to visit several senior housing developments and provide notaries and social workers to help residents complete medical directives. At one such facility, they have been invited as the “keynote speaker” at a special Thanksgiving dinner event. In addition to their medical directives initiative, the coalition has an ongoing speakers bureau. A panel of professionals will speak to social workers and marketers in long-term care in St. Louis on November 13. The coalition has also recently partnered with the Hospice Foundation of Greater St. Louis to co-sponsor some local educational events. Great Job Gateway Coalition!!
   
   Caring Community
   Caring Community in Philadelphia has successfully encouraged the Philadelphia Inquirer to run the entire Finding Our Way series. They have supplemented the series by working with WHYY, their local PBS station, to re-run On Our Own Terms: Moyers on Dying. Additionally, the coalition has developed talking sheets and local stories to accompany the series in the Inquirer and are hosting discussion groups in various venues including the Celebrate-Your Ave Expo that was held on October 3, 2001.
   
   If you would like to share information about your coalition’s activities, please email us at steeringcommittees@bballard.com.
    
4. Artist Incorporates End-of-Life Issues in Her Work With Fabrics
   Artist Deidre Scherer has been working with fabric and thread panels since the late 1970’s. Her work focuses on aging and mortality, highlighting the stories of elders and mentors in her community. She also often works with hospice or subjects in community nursing homes. Deidre’s new series is entitled “Surrounded by Family and Friends” and portrays the kinds of relationships often found at the end of life. In October of 2002, the series will be exhibited at the 14th International Congress of the Terminally Ill in Montreal, Canada.
   
   To view Deidre’s work, visit her website: http://www.dscherer.com/FamilyAndFriends.htm
    
5. Hold An Advance Directives Event At Your Church
   The following are excerpts from a report from Last Acts’ Sharon Latson in Chicago. Sharon helped organize a successful advance directives signing event at her church. Thanks for the report Sharon!
   
   With Sharon’s help, Deacon Rosalyn Priester, of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, IL, contacted Aging with Dignity and ordered 1,000 of the “Five Wishes” documents, customized them with quotes from Trinity staff and community residents and added the phrase "Embracing Amani" on the front of the cover. Embracing Amani means "The Ultimate Healing and Peace of Atonement with God". Deacon Priester announced the Advanced Directive Day Workshop in the church bulletin, on the website, via the phone, mailings and in the church newsletter. The Advanced Directive Day workshop was held on Friday, October 5, 2001 from 7:00pm-9:00pm. About 50 residents from the community and members of the church attended the workshop. They viewed the training video and filled out the document. Community residents continued to engage in conversations on end-of-life care well into the evening.
   
   If you would like to organize a similar event in your church or community center, check out the Aging With Dignity website: http://www.agingwithdignity.org.
    
6. Join The Discussion In Your State On The Finding Our Way Discussion Board
   The Finding Our Way website offers you and your coalition the opportunity to join others across the nation and in your state in a discussion about the series, end-of-life issues, and your activities. Remember, this website is viewed by people that none of us know as well as those already in our “circle of friends.” It’s a great way to publicize your work and it’s visited by more than 2,700 people each day. Maybe some of them are in your community!
   
   Join the discussion by visiting http://www.findingourway.net/forum/groups.htm.
    
7. New Fred Friendly Seminar on Caregiving to Air in Late October and November
   WHO CARES: Chronic Illness in America, a PBS program airing in late October and November (air dates vary by public television station) explores the critical health care challenge of chronic illness. Funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, an extensive outreach campaign is planned to inspire community dialogue around issues such as how to improve care, enhance quality of life, and provide choices for people with chronic conditions.
   
   This is another excellent opportunity to mobilize your coalition and maintain a focus on how we can improve our health care system. Each year chronic illness strikes more than 50 million American lives and affects over 20 million caregivers. As with end-of-life care, our health care system is not well designed to address chronic illness. WHO CARES project brochures in bulk, a highlight reel, and a 12-page discussion guide are all available to help you use this program in your community.
   
   WHO CARES: Chronic Illness in America is a Fred Friendly Seminar hosted by NBC DATELINE correspondent John Hockenberry. You can find out when it will air in your community by logging on to the project website at www.pbs.org/fredfriendly/whocares. This website includes an outreach resource toolkit as well as extensive information on the issues.
   
   Many community coalitions are already participating in this campaign, especially when public television stations are broadcasting WHO CARES in conjunction with rebroadcasts of ON OUR OWN TERMS. For support and information, contact Rose Lynn Marra at Kelly & Salerno Communications. Rose Lynn may be reached at 770-438-1778 or roselynn@kellysalerno.com.