I am so proud of all that we accomplished together this year to inspire hope and healing for our MetroWest community members of all ages in need of compassionate end-of-life care or bereavement support. Most outstanding was our championing the reopening of the Miriam Boyd Parlin Hospice Residence in Wayland. After this facility’s closure, as well as other local hospice residence closures in 2021, we worked tirelessly to find a quality hospice partner to help us bring back this much-needed hospice site. In October, with significant financial support from The Parmenter Foundation, made possible by generous donors like you, Good Shepherd Community Care re-opened the Miriam Boyd Parlin Hospice Residence and admitted its first hospice residence patients. We are grateful to have this cornerstone of   compassionate end-of-life care returned to our community.

Another highlight in 2022 was the creation of an innovative educational program that will help children enhance their coping skills, resilience and compassionate support of peers. Last year we partnered with The Children’s Room, a leading children’s bereavement organization known for its quality family grief support and school-response programs, to create a social-emotional learning program, Pathways of Change. The Pathways of Change program, currently being piloted at the Loring Elementary School in Sudbury, is designed to help children learn how to navigate transitions and difficult experiences, including change, loss, and grief. With 1 in 14 children in Massachusetts grieving the loss of a parent or sibling, we believe this program will be pivotal to expanding the reach of our mission to build a stronger, more resilient community.

Finally, we continue to provide grants to nonprofit organizations providing services to individuals and families in our mission area. In 2022, we awarded more than $500,000 in grants to thirteen nonprofits, several of which are new grantees and are providing access to services for MetroWest families that may not have been possible without our funding. In the attached 2022 Perspectives, you will learn more about two new grantee programs through stories generously contributed by their recipients. We are proud to have amazing grantee partners providing critical services for our community members in need.

It is only with your partnership that our work can proceed. Your donation will enable The Parmenter Foundation to continue providing resources that offer hope and comfort to our MetroWest neighbors. Please consider a gift today!