Final Day for TCF 36th National Conference Discounted Registration
June 1, 2013!
Registration for the upcoming national conference has been open for several months now and the end of discounted "earlybird" registration will be June 1. The conference is being held July 5-7 in Boston, MA at the beautiful Boston Sheraton. Regular pre-registration ends June 14, although there will be on-site registration. We recommend not waiting until the last moment to register as this is expected to be one of the best attended U.S. TCF National Conferences in history with 1600 now expected for the July 4th Holiday weekend event.
Online Conference Registration Form (Includes Walk to Remember Registration)--Click Here!!!
Conference Schedule
Full Registration Brochure--including Walk to Remember Registration (Use this to Register by Mail)
Conference Workshops
I would like to do more
FROM NEWS TELEGRAM (Worcester, MA) 5/20/2013: Bereaved friends seek strength together - Families who've lost children gather
PRESS RELEASE: Compassionate Friends Anticipates 1600 in Boston July 5-7 for 36th Conference to Remember Children
If you're seeking a way to remember and grieve for your child, sibling, or grandchild with people who understand and don't expect you to be "back to normal," give yourself a gift of hope and healing this summer by attending the 36th Compassionate Friends National Conference. This is a unique opportunity to be surrounded by a safe-haven that comes along only once a year. See old friends and make new ones while learning coping mechanisms and skills that will help you and surviving family members through the rough times.
If you're not able to attend the conference, there will still be plenty of opportunities to participate in the event whether you will be ordering this year's unique "Beacon of Love" (watch here for an online submission form to order this beautiful memento), by creating a memorial website and raising donations for TCF and its chapters through the Friends Asking Friends® Walk to Remember program, or by submitting the name of a child to be carried by volunteers in the Walk to Remember. Stop back here for more on these opportunities!
Conference Keynoters Named!
TCF is always known for having great keynoters and many have been waiting anxiously to find out who they will hear speak at the conference. We now have that information! They are:
- Dr. Heidi Horsley, Dr. Gloria Horsley, founders of "Open to Hope" Foundation and Phil Horsley (Chair of TCF Foundation's Board of Trustees), a family united after the loss of sibling and son Scott, will combine to welcome you as Opening keynoters at the National Conference.
- Tina Chery who, after the murder of her son Louis, created the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute with a mission to create and support an environment where families can live in peace and unity.
- Ken Druck, bereaved parent, founder of the Jenna Druck Foundation, and one of the nation's pioneers in personal transformation including healing after loss.
- Bill Hancock, director of the Bowl Championship Series (college football), author of Riding with the Blue Moth, and father of Will, who was killed during the January 27, 2001 crash of an airplane carrying members of the Oklahoma State University men's basketball team.
Plan to attend this year and hear some great speakers and participate in other activities.
Notice Regarding Banquet Tickets: This is
going to be a large national conference and overflow seating for the
Saturday night banquet may be necessary. Banquet tickets are sold on a first come first served basis with the main banquet room being filled, and then the overflow room, if required. Please include your banquet reservation with your conference registration. If you did not reserve banquet tickets, but wish to attend, call the National Office at 877-969-0010 to reserve your seating. Early discounted registration ends June 1, 2013 with pre-registration ending June 14. There will be NO banquet tickets available for sale at the conference.
Please note: The Thursday night meet and greet for siblings, listed in the registration brochure, has been canceled. We encourage all siblings to attend the orientation Friday morning.
Conference $19,000 Matching Grant Deadline Moved to June 15;
Please Help!
TCF needs your help now as the $19,000 matching grant in support of the 2013 TCF national conference in Boston has been extended to June 15. A national conference is full of hope and healing, but is very expensive to hold as 1500 members mourning the death of a child are expected to attend this year's event in Boston, a city that has known recent great loss and works now to heal. A group of TCF families from across the United States has offered to support the 2013 national conference in Boston with a challenge grant of up to $19,000. This means, thanks to this generous group, that individual donations totaling $19,000 would result in a total to TCF of $38,000! Right now, we are far short of the matching amount needed which is why we need your help!
To qualify for matching, an individual donation must be:
1) Separate from, or in addition to, contributions for available sponsorship opportunities such as conference workshops, etc.
2) Received by June 15, 2013
3) In an amount of $50 or more
Donations may be made by personal or business check with memo "2013 conference match" and sent to: The Compassionate Friends, PO Box 3696, Oak Brook, IL 60522. Or a credit card may be used through TCF's national website at www.compassionatefriends.org. Click on any DONATE button and use the linked donation page. On the second page, in the comment box, write "2013 conference match." Please include your name and the name of the person in whose memory the donation is being made. Unless you request otherwise, sponsorship information will be included in the program. Thank you for helping us to make this conference an event filled with hope and healing for all who attend!
I Would Like to Do More
Submit a Child's Name to Be Carried in TCF's 2013 Walk to Remember in Boston--that no Child Will Be Forgotten!
Even if you cannot attend the TCF's Walk to Remember in Boston, July 7, 2013, your child--loved and remembered--can be a part of this much anticipated annual event. Volunteers will be carrying the names of thousands of children from across the country. By using our name submission form, the names of all children you submit will be printed on sheets of paper and inserted in sheet protectors. Then, those hundreds of pages will be handed out to willing volunteers to be carried during the Walk to Remember. There is no charge to have a child's name carried, but donations are gratefully accepted. To submit the names, whether it be one or 100, go to our Name Submission for Walk to Remember page and follow the easy instructions! There is no reason for any child not to be remembered through the Walk!
Remember a Child, Support TCF in the "Friends Asking Friends" Virtual Walk Fundraiser Continues
TCF's Friends Asking Friends® Fundraiser for 2013 is designed to honor the memory of your
child, sibling, or grandchild and also to support the work of The Compassionate
Friends is now open. By building a remembrance website and participating in the eighth "Friends Asking
Friends®" virtual walk fundraiser, you can help to guarantee TCF will
always be there, even if you are unable to attend the actual Walk in Boston, MA July 7.
Visit www.tcfwalktoremember.org for complete information and to build your memorial website, whether as
an individual or team (including teams created by TCF Chapters). You
can also join an existing team. Then, using e-mail, your social media page and other
methods, you can receive pledges and donations from friends, relatives,
and
businesses that you frequent. The annual Friends Asking Friends program
has
raised as much as $100,000, critical in the outreach programs of The
compassionate Friends, both on a national and local basis, as all TCF
chapters are invited to participate. We ask for your help so that no one
need walk this difficult grief journey alone! (Note: participation in
the Friends Asking Friends®
fundraiser does not register you for the Walk to Remember).
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Order Online a Beacon of Love TCF Conference Memento of a Special Child, Sibling, Grandchild, Relative or Friend!
Every year the unique conference mementos become more popular. This year, in honor of the City of Boston hosting the 36th National Conference, the Boston Lighthouse, first lighthouse built in America (in 1776) our memento is the beautiful Beacon of Love picture. Whether or not you can attend the conference, you can bring the conference to you through this memento of the event which you can proudly display with the picture of your child, sibling, grandchild, relative or friend professionally embedded in this lovely picture. The memento includes an acrylic frame and is only $10 (if picked up at the conference) or $15 if mailed to you. All Beacon of Love mementos will be on special display during the National Conference. Visit
Photo Upload for more information and to place your orders. To see an enlargement of this beautiful memento, visit
Beacon of Love.
Reserve Your Conference Hotel Rooms Now!
You can now make reservations for the 36th TCF National Conference host hotel, the Boston Sheraton, 39 Dalton St., Boston MA 02199. Reservations can be made through the Online Reservation Form or by calling the hotel at 888-627-7054.
Although The Compassionate Friends has arranged a large room block for the conference, we recommend you reserve your room early if you wish to guarantee that you can stay at the host hotel as we believe the room block, although large, will be filled. The room block is available from June 29-July 11, subject to availability. Latest date to reserve rooms, if still available, will be June 11. Room charge is $129 per night plus tax (SEE NOTE IN RED BELOW). Rooms are available as follows: King--holds 3 (king plus rollaway); Queen--holds 2; Doubles hold 4. Rollaways are at no extra charge for the King rooms, but the hotel only has 100. Rollaways do not fit in the other rooms. There may be an additional $40 charge for the person staying on the roll-away.
To reserve your room online, please go to Online Reservations. Please note that at the time of reservation, a one day deposit is required for each room reserved. Should your plans change, this deposit will be refunded as long as the room is cancelled 72 hours prior to arrival.
UPDATE: (Monday, April 29, 1:30 p.m.) Because no more rooms are available at the Westin Copley Place, our overflow hotel for the National Conference in Boston, we have now added a second overflow hotel, The Boston Marriott Copley Place, 110 Huntington Ave. This is a short walk from the host hotel, the Boston Sheraton. Rooms are available in Standard only (King or 2 double) and, regrettably, the best price we could negotiate was $179 (plus state and local taxes). Normal rate is $249 These rooms are available starting today with a cutoff date of Friday, June 7, 2013. Valet parking is $47 per night. Self parking is available in the Central Garage located between the Marriott and Westin Hotels (this garage is not owned by either hotel) and prices range from $9-$37.00 per day. To reserve a room, call 877-513-6305 or 506-474-2009 and identify yourself as being with The Compassionate Friends. Or, you can use their online reservation form specially made for The Compassionate Friends at Boston Marriott Copley Place. Please note that all rooms reserved for TCF national conferences require a first day deposit, which is refundable with proper notice prior to check-in date. Because of the short notice, the online reservation form for Copley Place does not request the first day deposit, but you will be contacted by the hotel for the deposit after the reservation is made.. Thank you for your understanding. Call the hotel at 617-236-5800 if you have questions regarding transportation.
GOOD NEWS--REGISTER NOW AT THE OVERFLOW HOTEL WESTIN COPLEY PLACE, BOSTON (Announced today, Friday, March 28, 2:30 p.m. EST): A room block has been negotiated and is now opened for reservations at the Westin Copley Place, Boston at 10 Huntington Ave., about a 10 minute walk to the host conference hotel. The negotiated price is $169 and reservations may be made by calling the Westin Copley Place at 1-888-627-7216 and indicating you are there for The Compassionate Friends National Conference. A one day deposit is required. This will be returned to you if you cancel at least two days prior to the start of your reservation. Because of unprecedented demand for hotel rooms for this conference, we recommend you reserve soon to avoid disappointment!!
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REGARDING OVERFLOW HOTEL (Announcement today Thursday, March 27, 2013, 4 p.m. EST): An agreement has been reached for overflow rooms to be available at the Westin Copley Place, Boston, 10 Huntington Ave. The Boston Sheraton is about a 10 minute walk from the Westin Copley Place. The negotiated price will be $169. Reservations will not be accepted until next week. We will advise you here as soon as reservations can be made at this rate.
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UPDATED ANNOUNCEMENT (Wednsday, March 27, Noon EST): We understand that no rooms are remaining from the additional room block referred to in the announcement below. We are working hard to negotiate more rooms and will advise you here as soon as we have any news whatsoever. Thank you for your patience. The conference will be well worth it!
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IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT (Friday, March 22, 4:45 p.m. EST): TCF has been working hard on behalf of our membership to increase the size of our room block at the Boston Sheraton. This is to announce that additional rooms have been placed in our block today. However, they are at $169 instead of the original $129 negotiated price. We apologize for the increase in price, which is out of our control, but feel fortunate to be able to offer rooms at this price. Please use the form linked above for Online Reservations or call the hotel at 617-236-2000 and ask for "reservations." However, we recommend that you reserve immediately as there remains a high demand for rooms for the conference. We apologize for any inconvenience caused by the room situation.
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PLEASE: If you find you are unable to attend the conference but have already
reserved a room or rooms at the $129 price at the Boston Sheraton, please call the National
Office at 877-969-0010 M-F from 9-5 CST and we will handle the cancellation. Do not call the hotel.
Please do not hold extra rooms beyond your needs.
Some additional information: Shuttle available from and to Boston Logan Airport at $17 a person. See information at Airport Shuttle. Advance registration required. Taxi should run about $32 from Logan to the Hotel (includes tolls) and $28 from hotel to Logan.Valet parking is available at $46 a night. Since the Sheraton does not own any of the adjacent parking lots, if you are planning to drive, attached is information provided by the hotel on valet and self-parking in nearby parking structures: Sheraton Parking Options . You may wish to call to verify pricing and in and out privileges. NOTICE: AMTRAK does have the Back Bay station on Dartmouth which is about a 10 minute walk to and from the Boston Sheraton.
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To learn more about TCF National Conferences in general, visit national conferences.
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The 2012 35th TCF National Conference/5th International Gathering in Costa Mesa, CA received high reviews from almost everyone attending. Many are planning to attend this year's 36th National Conference in Boston, MA July 5-7, 2013 and the conference committee and National Office staff are working hard to plan another event filled with friendship, understanding, and hope for all grieving the death of a child.
To get an idea of what you'll experience this year, here's an article by writer Diana deRegnier, herself bereaved, who attended last year's conference in Costa Mesa and recalls the experience: Bereaved Mom Experiences Conference for Grieving Families.
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