2024 Concordia Memorial Butterfly Releases Honor Hundreds

During the month of August, our hospice agencies hosted three beautiful butterfly releases in memoriam of those who have gone before us. Concordia-IRMC VNA’s annual Hope Takes Flight release was held at Mack Park in Indiana, Pa., on Aug. 4. And on Aug. 18, Good Samaritan Hospice welcomed attendees to Cranberry Township Community Park and Concordia Hospice of Washington held its event 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 the patient’s family and friends through the challenges of grief as they adjust to loss. In addition to the released butterflies, attendees found comfort in inspirational music, children’s activities, readings and prayers from our leadership and spiritual care teams, and dedications to those memorialized. We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who attended or assisted in making all of 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 hard 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
• Monarch Sponsors: Joseph & Nancy Grillo, John Melville Harmon’s Loving Family and Mary Lewandowski
• Red Admiral Sponsors: BPO Elks #941, Indiana Moose Lodge 174, Klain, Heasley & Nettleton MD PC, Matthew Long, Mark Arbuckle Nissan and Oak Grove Realty

Special Thanks:

• Concordia-IRMC VNA Staff and Hospice Volunteers
• Faught’s Garden Center
• Ray Goss
• Hopeful Hearts Volunteers
• Musser Nursery
• Teresa Richardson
• Sophie & Gunnar Steen
• Twolick Valley Nursery and Gift Shoppe

Good Samaritan Hospice Butterfly Release Sponsors & Special Thanks

• Program Sponsors: Concordia Visiting Nurses and Martik Brothers, Inc.
• 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: Anonymous Donor
• Event Sponsor: Valley View Farms
• Silver Sponsors: Concordia Visiting Nurses, Hapchuk, Inc., HydroEdge Solutions and Maloney & Associates
• Bronze Sponsors: ECB Contracting, LLC, Meadow Ridge Development and Ryco, Inc.
• Patron Sponsors: Economy Services, LLC, Jeffreys Drug Store, Inc., Tri-State Neuropathy, Tyron Trucking, Washington Financial Bank and Wilson Tire & Wheel

Special Thanks:

• Concordia Hospice of Washington Staff and Volunteers
• Mallory Bozovich
• Brittany Blair
• Rev. Ron Cox
• Pastor Josh Green
• 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!