[NFBOH-Cleveland] Pass It On: SWEET SORROW/Winter 2025 Edition
smturner.234 at gmail.com
smturner.234 at gmail.com
Thu Dec 18 16:08:25 UTC 2025
Happy Seasons Greeting,
Ohio, here is a message from one of our vendors at the 2025 NFB Ohio State Convention.
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From: Argerie and Priscilla, The PassingOn Collective <info at passingoncollective.com>
Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2025 9:30 AM
To: *|TITLE|* Suzanne *|LNAME| <smturner.234 at gmail.com>
Subject: Pass It On: SWEET SORROW/Winter 2025 Edition
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<https://mailchi.mp/12851fa59c10/winter-newsletter-2025?e=cb67770460> View this email in your browser
<https://passingoncollective.com/>
Sweet Sorrow
In modern society, death is often cloaked in clinical language and hidden from view, keeping us from meaningful connection. In this issue of Pass It On, our collaborators embrace this life passage — and each other. When life gets hard, call in your village. Pass it on.
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An empty plate at the holiday table.
Surviving the Holidays
As we mark the absence of loved ones at our tables, nobody says, “Man, I wish they could be here to give me one more present.” Instead, we wish we had more time, more laughter, more hugs with them. But still we have each other and the stories we remember, the memories we have, and the reality of who we are together because they lived.
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A celebration of family and friends
Foster presence with each other around the holiday table
by Argerie Vasilakes
At Thanksgiving this year, our family created a meaningful moment to remember our beloveds who have died. We shared stories — it felt like a prayer that blessed us all. Here are some ideas you can try at your holiday table:
* Save them a seat at the table
* Place a cardboard cutout at their seat
* Set up a candle and photo
* Raise your glasses in a heartfelt toast
* Invite everyone to say one thing about the person that makes them smile
* Cook their favorite dish
* Play their favorite card game
* Listen to their favorite songs
* Tell stories about cherished items
No matter how long ago the person died, holidays without them can be tough. Setting intentions can help. For example:
* <https://passingoncollective.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=8739021926bc0830130f7b4ff&id=276d160a50&e=cb67770460> Allow Emotions: Give yourself permission to feel sad and cry.
* <https://passingoncollective.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=8739021926bc0830130f7b4ff&id=ddf493d3a4&e=cb67770460> Involve Guests: Let family and friends know how they can support you and participate in remembering. It’s okay if others want to listen and not say anything.
* <https://passingoncollective.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=8739021926bc0830130f7b4ff&id=69f3c87852&e=cb67770460> Be Flexible: Bring out a traditional reading or adjust traditions as you wish.
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Tootsie Roll Bank
The Legacy of Stuff
by Priscilla Callos
In the very back corner of my office cabinet, in one of my house’s few remaining hiding spots, lives a cardboard Tootsie Roll bank with a white plastic top. The sides are creased and cracked from decades of being gripped too tight, popped open, dumped out, scavenged through; but still, it holds some of the same pennies my grandfather would give us when we wanted to play poker with him. (We “little ones” could not be trusted to play with quarters.) <https://passingoncollective.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=8739021926bc0830130f7b4ff&id=9561f9b9fb&e=cb67770460> Read more.
<https://forms.gle/c9qvT7cj975G1o5D8>
Vintage jacket laden with memories
Introducing…
The PassingOn Collections
Previously‑loved items are more than objects — they are vessels of memory and meaning. The PassingOn Collections is our new online gallery, a “bulletin board” where cherished artifacts are paired with the stories they hold. Some remain with their families, while others are offered for transfer, inviting new stewards to carry the story forward.
This storytelling space extends our <https://passingoncollective.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=8739021926bc0830130f7b4ff&id=a43efad98d&e=cb67770460> Legacy Forward <https://passingoncollective.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=8739021926bc0830130f7b4ff&id=5a7600b218&e=cb67770460> program, honoring loved ones while opening pathways for connection and renewal. Browse, reflect, and discover how memory can live on through both narrative and object. <https://passingoncollective.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=8739021926bc0830130f7b4ff&id=ce50c40c25&e=cb67770460> Visit the PassingOn Collections and explore the archive of remembrance and renewal.
Looking Back
Our collaborators show how strong villages can hold each other during challenging — sometimes tragic — transitions and bring them out stronger.
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Winding up toy turtles for a memorial race
Neurodiverse grief is real
Our presentation at the Neurodiversity Culture Fest in October acknowledged that people’s different ways of grieving and memorializing loved ones is legitimate (as long as we’re not hurting ourselves or others.) On that occasion, a wind-up turtle race lovingly memorialized a grandfather’s love and playfulness. <mailto:info at PassingOnCollective.com?subject=Other%20ways%20of%20grieving&body=Could%20you%20present%20to%20our%20group%20about%20what%20neurodivergent%20grief%20and%20how%20to%20support%20it%3F%0A%0A> Contact <mailto:info at PassingOnCollective.com?subject=Book%20a%20Presentation%20or%20Workshop&body=We%20would%20like%20to%20explore%20an%20engagement%20about%20grief%20in%20all%20its%20guises%20and%20finding%20renewal%20after%20transition%20and%20loss.> u <mailto:info at PassingOnCollective.com?subject=I%20work%20with%20grieving%20people&body=I%20would%20like%20to%20learn%20more%20about%20grief%20in%20all%20its%20guises.%20This%20will%20help%20me%20support%20people%20experiencing%20transition%20and%20loss.> s to present about grief in all its guises.
Clergy need support, too
A clergy working group of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh needed a website featuring practical wisdom about their end-of-life ministries. Since Spring, we have worked with them to collect and present their stories about accompanying families through death — an accumulated experience for clergy that can be complicated and weighty. Thank you to generous sponsors and to The Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Akron, Ohio, for hosting the pilot website. We are seeking <mailto:info at PassingOnCollective.com?subject=Sponsorship%20Opportunity&body=I%20would%20like%20to%20learn%20more%20about%20the%20Clergy%20Care%20project%202.0%20and%20how%20I%20might%20support%20it.%0A%0A> new sponsors to scale up this program.
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Practicing sacred preparation
“The room became a sacred space”
Participants in our Sacred Preparation workshop learned how to ritually care for a person’s body before burial (a live person served as a stand-in.) One participant unexpectedly used those lessons in a deeply meaningful lay-led ritual only a few weeks later. “This is what I want for myself,” they said afterward. The PassingOn Collective helps families talk through and document <mailto:info at PassingOnCollective.com?subject=Final%20Wishes%20Planning&body=I%20want%20to%20book%20an%20appointment%20to%20complete%20our%20advance%20directives%20and%20to%20document%20our%20final%20wishes.%0A%0A> final wishes.
Insights for business
An Ohio-based group of organization development professionals invited The PassingOn Collective to share insights about village-building. They saw how the practices, tools and values we shared are relevant to the needs of the organizations and communities they work in and consult with. <mailto:info at PassingOnCollective.com?subject=Train-the-Trainer%20opportunity&body=How%20can%20you%20help%20my%20caregiving%20or%20consulting%20help%20their%20clients%20suffering%20through%20a%20transition%3F%20%0A%0A> Invite us to present to your professional association.
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At the National Federation of the Blind Convention
Blind peers support each other
The process of aging significantly increases the risk of vision loss. Speaking with seniors at The National Federation of the Blind’s Ohio convention, we saw how people who are born blind can be great supporters for people who have lost their sight later in life and are experiencing mourning that can be profound. <mailto:info at PassingOnCollective.com?subject=I%20am%20part%20of%20a%20team%2Forganization&body=Our%20group%20would%20like%20to%20explore%20an%20engagement%20about%20finding%20renewal%20after%20a%20challenging%20loss%20for%20us.%20> Invite us to help your group find renewal after loss.
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Community art
Connecting hearts through art
A community art project with blind and low-vision participants produced a garden — complete with a blue bird in a grassy nest and a flower patch featuring a daisy with a cane-tip center. The shared art-making was a platform for dialogue about grief and renewal. Looking for an activity for your group? <mailto:info at PassingOnCollective.com?subject=Activity%20Inquiry&body=I%20am%20looking%20for%20assistance%20to%20design%20a%20community-building%20activity%20for%20our%20group.%20%0A%0A> Contact us
Love is listening to grief
Since Spring, people living at a senior living residence near Cleveland have practiced supporting each other during monthly Listening Circles facilitated by The PassingOn Collective. When a fellow resident suddenly died, surviving residents and staff already knew the healing power of listening, and they called us in for extra support of their fresh grief. Book or sponsor a <https://passingoncollective.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=8739021926bc0830130f7b4ff&id=28a6bc5df2&e=cb67770460> Listening Circle.
It takes a village to support peers
“We grew closer to each other — and learned about ourselves — by learning how to help others in their grief.” This comment came from a participant in our multi-week pilot program to build a peer support group for end-of-life situations in their community. We are now ready to launch Care Village for teams whose communities experience death, loss, disempowerment, etc. <https://passingoncollective.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=8739021926bc0830130f7b4ff&id=1ee0453b39&e=cb67770460> Read more.
Looking Ahead
Visit the new PassingOn Collections shop, and join us at an upcoming event.
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Ritual kit with sage, Rhodonite stone, and chime
Our friend Jonathan keeps a small box of ritual items in his car, always ready for a visit to the cemetery. That practical idea inspired The PassingOn Collective ritual kit for use at bedsides, gravesites, and impromptu places. The contents work with sensory sensitivities and appeal to sound, smell, touch and sight. The cross-body bag has room for your own special items. Each kit is decorated with a unique upcycled mandala, representing the ever-renewing journey to the sacred center. Kits are available for purchase on our website. <https://passingoncollective.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=8739021926bc0830130f7b4ff&id=f271a5ddd2&e=cb67770460> Order one for holiday ceremonies.
A Time for Village-Building
In this new year, are you part of an organization transitioning out of old and cherished habits and traditions to those that are new and unknown? Does your family or group want to strengthen its capacity for renewal and support peers at the same time?
Book a program
Listening Circle — a structured, compassionate way for communities to gather in the wake of significant loss or transition, where people can speak from the heart and be heard.
Legacy Forward — a guided experience which co-creates a customized plan that describes ways to connect with others about your legacy and your end-of-life or other transition wishes.
Care Village — a 12‑week journey of presence and renewal, where peers learn to support one another through grief and transition. Participants strengthen their capacity, emotional intelligence and bonding in their communities.
Invite us to Present
Invite us to present to your group on:
* The Renewing Power of Listening
* Grief in all its Guises
* Grieving While Neurodiverse
* Designing for Village-Building
Schedule a Retreat or Activity
We’re continuing to host village-building retreats and community art activities with Cleveland-area groups (senior living residents, social groups, faith-based congregants, business teams, etc.)
For institutions and the professionals and dedicated volunteers who work within them – hospice workers, medical and emotional care teams, death doulas, teachers, clergy, congregation members, and employers – The PassingOn Collective designs service packages of caregiver care, and grief and renewal experiences for the community.
Sponsorships
We’re currently seeking sponsors for:
* Clergy Care, Part 2
* Public Listening Circles
Sponsorships can finance work for individuals and groups where funding is absent or limited. If you are in or know of a group or institution that may wish to explore sponsorship, contact us at <mailto:info at PassingOnCollective.com> info at PassingOnCollective.com for a list of benefits and a conversation with us.
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The PassingOn Collective supports individuals, groups, and organizations to navigate loss and transition by strengthening and engaging their village – whatever that village looks like to them. We can’t take away the suffering, but we can offer simple practices and experiences to help you find peace in grief. Through our village-building programs grounded in life passages, we find renewal and ease each other’s burdens together. When life gets hard, call in your village.
Contact us at <mailto:info at PassingOnCollective.com> info at PassingOnCollective.com
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