National Family Appreciation Month

2008 National Family Appreciation Month
2008 Downloads
2007 Student Writing Contest winner
2007 NFAM in Action

Shine a light
on "family appreciation"
this October during National Family Appreciation Month

• Download a fact sheet or the PR tools below and get started.

NOW is the time for members to be planning their National Family Appreciation Month awareness campaigns for October 2008.

Beginning its third year, this OGR-only program offers an opportunity to give back to your community and heighten awareness of your Golden Rule funeral home, while shining a light on the need to appreciate family. You’ll be surprised at the good will and positive publicity you will generate.

The NFAM Student Writing Contest
This activity is the centerpiece of the program. To prepare for your local contest, we recommend you contact teachers/principals well in advance of October. Present the NFAM 2008 Fact Sheet explaining the program and the $5,000 college scholarship that will be awarded to the national winner. The scholarship is being sponsored for the third consecutive year by Aurora Casket Company. Additional support provided by the Funeral Service Foundation. Whether you involve one class or an entire school district in your contest, you will be helping to create awareness of "family appreciation."

NFAM packet were mailed this summer to all U.S. and Canadian main firms, giving instructions, resources and suggestions on running an effective campaign and writing contest.

Download the PR Tools below and get your campaign started! For questions, contact Janet Protzel, director of communications, (800) 637-8030, x108.

• Press release template (Word)
• Proclamation template (Word)
• Letter to the editor template (Word)
• Radio script template (Word)
• Student writing contest entry form (Word)
• Funeral Facts & Customs handout (Word)
• Display ad (request hi-res jpg)
• NFAM Logo (gif)
• Golden Rule logo (jpg)
• Feedback form (Word)
• Guide to Running Your NFAM Campaign & Student Writing Contest booklet (pdf)

Extra Posters
Main firms can request up to 10 extra posters with their funeral home name imprinted free of charge. Quantities over 10 may be ordered at $2 each, including postage/handling (order 15, pay for five.) To order, contact OGR communications by Friday, August 8, or call (800) 637-8030. Send your check, payable to OGR in USD, to: OGR Communications Dept., P.O. Box 28689, St. Louis, MO 63146-1189, noting “NFAM posters” on the memo line. Posters will be mailed in early September in time for your October campaign

Note: You can help spread the word about NFAM by adding a link from your web site to www.nationalfamilyappreciatonmonth.org. The consumer site includes a link to www.golden-rule.com, where visitors can locate the closest Golden Rule funeral home.

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National Family Appreciation Month 2007 concluded its second year, and momentum is clearly building for OGR's community awareness program, conducted each October.

A major focus of NFAM has been the Student Writing Contest, which saw a 20 percent increase in participation over last year. The 2007 contest offered a $5,000 college scholarship to the high school senior who best expressed the theme, “Why families matter.” Submissions are sent by participating Golden Rule funeral homes. The scholarship was sponsored for the second consecutive year by Aurora Casket Company.

This year’s contest was won by Dawn Wille, a senior in the Truman, Minn., public schools, for her essay, "Love After Disagreement,” submitted by Zaharia Family Funeral & Cremation Service. (See essay.) Wille, an A student, senior editor of her school’s yearbook and the prop master of her high school’s plays, will be honored April 17 at OGR's Annual Conference Awards Luncheon in Chicago. The essay will be published in the January/February 2008 issue of OGR's magazine, The Independent®. (Photo shows Dawn Wille with Teresa and John Zaharia.)

"Aurora is again proud to be associated with this fine program that affirms family appreciation," notes Jason Barrott, Aurora’s director of marketing development. "By sponsoring the scholarship, not only are we able to express our appreciation to OGR for its important service to the funeral industry, but to thousands of students and their families across the U.S. and Canada who are touched by the program’s message."

“I’m very grateful to everyone who helped me for their support,” says Wille. “I’d like to thank OGR for sponsoring the contest; Aurora Casket Company for funding the scholarship; John and Teresa Zaharia for offering the contest locally and for submitting my essay; my English teacher, Mrs. Kathy Krumwiede, for proofreading my essay; and my senior class for believing in me. Most important of all, I’d like to thank my family for tolerating my imperfect depiction of them and continuing to love me asI know they always will.”

In addition to Aurora’s support, NFAM 2007 received a grant from the Funeral Service Foundation to defray costs of the instructional materials sent to members.

For information, contact Janet Protzel, director of communications, (800) 637-8030.
See Dawn Wille's essay, "Love After Disagreement."
See NFAM in Action - results of members' 2007 "family appreciation" campaigns.




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“Love After Disagreement”

By Dawn Wille

Opening your heart, showing your weaknesses and being vulnerable are qualities usually not shown to just anybody for fear of being hurt. Nevertheless, everyone needs a safe harbor, and my safe harbor is my family. They stick with me through the good and the bad, will never abandon me and will always love me. This does not mean they are perfect or free from problems. In the end, it is the love that remains after a disagreement that defines why my family matters to me.

My dad grew up in a family where you did not complain, never stopped working and did not show your love verbally for others. Also “the way it was” was the correct way, and any other way was wrong, which aided my dad in developing a quick temper. Sadly, my dad’s quick temper has created a rift between us I fear we cannot bridge. I am unable to discuss my problems with him because he sees it as whining and complaining, and it will often end in him yelling or storming from the room. On the other hand, he has shown improvement in speaking his love, saying “I love you” when it is said to him first, and even initiating it every once in a while. Hugs are more acceptable and are tolerated with less grumbling. In return, he has helped me to realize and appreciate other ways of expressing love for others.

My mom and I are probably the most similar of anyone in our family. She understands who I am the best; she is always willing to lend a hand or listen to my problems. She stays home to help raise my brother and me, so I have spent more time with her than with my dad. She is also fairly creative in keeping me preoccupied with the little things in life: caterpillars, blue skies, a used book or laughter. Being creative may have been what kept me from becoming spoiled or noticing the lack of considerable funds from my dad’s dairy farming job. She helped to keep me grounded. My mom continues to help me by encouraging me in scholastic activities such as homework and more leisurely interests like reading and writing. But she does not discourage me from my love of archery or photography. She lets me be who I am. Life is not always a walk in the park though. The near constant togetherness sometimes creates friction. We do not always communicate well; our senses of humor clash; and she is overly strict on occasion. But it is always temporary because our relationship goes deeper and stronger — it will hold tight through anything we throw at it.

We may not look, sound or act alike, but that does not change the fact that my brother and I are related. Our relationship is different from any other in the family because he has special needs, including a mental disability. He shows his love for me by openly staring, misplacing or destroying my things, screaming, throwing my glasses, and pulling my hair. Although he knows right from wrong, he has fun doing naughty things for the negative attention he receives from his actions. It riles him up; he laughs and thinks it is quite hilarious. It takes a lot to calm him down, and I wonder if the process is even worth the effort sometimes.

Then again, having a brother with disabilities has had a few advantages. I have been able to become friends with an awesome group of kids from my Teen Siblings of Children with Disabilities Support Group and to get to know community members who are in the same circumstance I am. I have learned to be more patient and to not judge so quickly by how they look or act. I have gotten to know the person inside.

Diversely, I am like an only child in a lot of ways, with all the positive and negative aspects that accompany it. My parents know they only have one regular experience to raise a kid, so they are easier to negotiate with than other parents. I also am more likely to have the little things go my way because, most of the time, my brother does not know the difference. That does not mean that I get everything I want, especially when it comes to my parents’ time and attention. My brother is an expert at obtaining their attention, leaving me to scramble to acquire any myself.

My theory is thus: Because my brother has such a good reign over the negative attention (bad “kingdom”), I had two choices — go without attention or take control of the other side of the spectrum, the positive behavior (good “kingdom”). I chose the attention route and perfected my tactics of good grades, polite manners and happy smiles. My plan works sometimes, but it is still second rate. He gets the majority of the attention. Also, if he feels he still is not getting enough, he will do something to upset the balance and he will win, too. Finally, my relationship with my brother is quite normal in that we argue. Unusual, I presume, is our ability to love by fighting. He admires me, and I would defend him until the end of the age. We love, we fight, but it is the combination of the two that describes our different, yet ordinary, relationship.

As you can see, my family and I do not always get along, but I think we are okay with that. We know that after any obstacle — a fight, a misunderstanding or a disagreement — that we will still be there for each other, loving, caring and simply being there for the good of the whole. We are and always will be our own safe harbor. It is not so much my family that means a lot to me, as it is the love that we all have for each other, no matter what happens between us.

Dawn Wille, a senior in the Truman, Minn., public schools., was selected as the winner of the International Order of the Golden Rule’s 2007 National Family Appreciation Month Student Writing Contest. She plans to attend Augustana College in Sioux Falls, S.D., this fall to study creative writing and to minor in archaeology. Her essay was submitted by Zaharia Family Funeral & Cremation Service, Truman, Minn.

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NFAM in Action - 2007

See how members used NFAM to promote "family appreciation" in their communities in 2007

	“We are so pleased that we belong to the International Order of the Golden Rule, which has given us the opportunity to take part in NFAM,” says John Zaharia of Zaharia Funeral Home, who submitted the winning student writing contest essay by Dawn Wille. “We are extremely proud that the national winner has been chosen from our small community. This shows that — much like in funeral service — being the biggest doesn’t necessarily mean being the best. “Dawn wrote a great essay, and this scholarship will give her the chance to develop her talents at a higher level.” [BACK TO TOP]
	On Oct. 1, 2007, Jon Cozean, Cozean Funeral Home, Farmington, Mo. (front row far right), joined OGR staff at the NBC-affiliate television station to announce NFAM 2007 to the St. Louis viewing area. [BACK TO TOP]
	Misiuk Funeral Home, Chesaning, Mich., received media coverage in The Tri-County Citizen, showing winners of their local student essay contest. All the students attend Chesaning Union High School. The firm awarded $150 to the winner, $75 to the first runner-up and $50 to the second runner-up. Their remaining 18 entries received a $5 gift card to McDonald’s.
	Rick Rega, Saloom-Peterson Funeral Home, Youngwood, Pa., utilized NFAM to initiate and sponsor a variety of community events in Mt. Pleasant, centering on “Family Appreciation Month.” Activities included holding a child safety program, distributing DNA kits to parents along with a DVD titled “Mouse Trap,” an instructional guide to protect children from Internet predators; Family Appreciation Month Essay Contest kick-off at the Mount Pleasant Area High School; Funeral School educational seminar, providing facts to know when planning a funeral, selecting a casket, vault and services, along with in-depth discussions on funeral and cremation options and a funeral home tour; a community Halloween parade, with a strobe light giveaway to children, a device used to protect and identify children as they trick or treat. "Thank you for allowing me to participate, we plan to make this an annual event." [BACK TO TOP]
	K.L. Brown Funeral Home, Jacksonville, Ala., received a Proclamation from the city and provided flyers to a local outreach center that serves the needy. The flyers were placed in food bags during the month of October as volunteers stressed the importance of positive family relationships. In January, Koven Brown and Billie Humphrey held an awards luncheon on the funeral home grounds, inviting the students, family members and school counselors as guests. A $500 prize was given to the winner and honorable certificates were presented to the other students who submitted entries. The contest, with photos of the award presentation, was reported in The Jacksonville News and ran in the Piedmont Journal. [BACK TO TOP]
	Linnemann Funeral Homes, Erlanger, Ky., received a Proclamation from the city in celebration of Family Appreciation Day. [BACK TO TOP]
	Nelson-Martin Funeral Service, Redwood Falls and Morgan, Minn., conducted a student writing contest at Redwood Valley and Cedar Mountain High Schools. They awarded $250 for the first-place winner, $125 for second place and $100 for third place. After presenting the awards, owner/director Phil Martin planned to submit a photo to the local newspapers. And in advance of October, Nelson-Martin used a new advertising campaign by the local paper, the Redwood Gazette, as the main venue to launch the writing contest and to showcase the funeral home as one of only a handful of Golden Rule homes in its part of the state. The paper ran a story, “A celebration of love and family,” a full tabloid size ad and photos.

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