What is friendship? What effect have friendships had on your life and how have they changed over the years?
When we’re young, love and romance is what we all wish for, but as time goes by, if we are fortunate, we may also find lasting friendships that enrich us in different ways and provide a wonderful source of support and caring throughout our lives.
At Widowed Friends, our goal is to help members regain hope and begin the healing process after loss by connecting with people who’ve shared similar experiences and understand the life changing impact of losing a partner. While we recognize the grief that brought members to the community, our focus is on finding ways to connect members with each other, reduce isolation or loneliness, and encourage people to try new experiences while feeling the support of an understanding community.
One of the key lessons we’ve learned along the way is that helping others, where and when we can, not only benefits an individual or community but also ourselves as well. When we look beyond our own lives, we see how being of assistance to others provides connection, friendship and hope and provides us with a sense of gratification in helping others, in trying new things and finding enjoyment in different or challenging activities!
We’ve written before about the importance of volunteering and have offered many volunteer opportunities in our local communities at Acclaim Health, Food For Life, Carpenter Hospice, Dog Guides of Canada and more. Many members have taken advantage of these opportunities, volunteering and contributing their time and skills on a regular basis. Others have their own personal charities and volunteer options that they work with regularly.
As a national organization, Widowed Friends recognizes that members across the country may have their own charities and volunteer opportunities in their communities in which they engage. We look forward to sharing these with others in each community where members reside. If there is a particular charity or opportunity that you’d like others to know about, please let us know and we can add the name and contact info to our member portal so that other members in your community can become aware of it and take advantage if they choose.
The path to healing after loss is a long one and nothing can prepare you for the peaks and valleys of grief. At Widowed Friends we understand that although our lives have changed forever, what hasn’t changed is our ability to find purpose, value, and friendships through joining and contributing to the communities in which we live. Being a volunteer and helping just a few hours a month can be life changing, creating new connections, experiencing new opportunities, being part of something larger than ourselves. We hope you’ll join us!
