A Milestone in Our “Piles of Stones”
By Dr. Marty Brunson, CEO
Throughout history, people have taken opportunity to establish memorials or “places of remembrance” for events, accomplishments, people, and even blessings of great significance. In biblical times God’s people erected individual stones or piles of stones to help them remember God’s goodness and special events in their lives and national history. Other cultures have used statues, buildings and, in more recent times, parks, stadiums, lakes, highways and many other physical features to memorialize or “remember” these same “things or people of significance” to their ways of life.
We even dedicate organizations and programs, whether charitable or for-profit, to the memory of loved ones or significant events. As a matter of fact, Catch-A-Dream itself was originally conceived as a memorial; when Bruce Brady died in early 2000 he left a rudimentary idea that others would embrace and eventually Catch-A-Dream would be born. The first few donations to the “start-up” account were made in Bruce’s memory and it was inevitable that subsequent gifts to Catch-A-Dream by many different people might be made in the form of memorials for loved ones.
Not long after Catch-A-Dream was established as a non-profit organization, I lost my mother, Alice Calhoun Brunson. My two sisters, brother and father all immediately turned to me and asked that our family request gifts to be made to Catch-A-Dream in lieu of flowers. Though we’d not yet had anyone make such a designation, and weren’t quite sure at the time how to handle such gifts on the Catch-A-Dream side, we embraced the idea. A permanent “Memorials list” was established, and soon thereafter our online Memorials Page was established. Since that time my father, one of my sisters, my father-in-law and mother-in-law, and even my best friend, have also joined the ranks of those honored with this “pile of stones.” People, organizations and companies from across North America have now honored the memories of loved ones, friends, employees, and sometimes even strangers, in a permanent way as they support the mission and vision of our Program.
Just today, we had the privilege of adding the 1000th name to this hallowed “pile of stones” and before I could even finish this article, 2 more memorial gifts had arrived, adding 2 more names to that precious and perpetual list. What an amazing way to pay homage to the life and legacy of a friend, colleague or loved one! Not only will their name be permanently etched on the Memorials Page, but we’ll send a card of acknowledgement to their family or individual designated by the donor.
We’ve made it easy to find a specific individual on this list by simply visiting catchadream.org/tributes/memorial/ and typing the name (first, last or part) in the search box. And its easy to donate in memory of a friend or loved one by navigating to the online donation link on that same page. Most recently, we have simplified the donation process even further; now you can simply text the keyword INMEMORY to 91999 and enter the information and donation on any mobile device.
Losing a loved one, or watching friends go through the experience of a death in the family, is never easy. But we can derive consolation, and extend a blessing, during times of grief by making gifts to charities that these loved ones would be proud to support. Won’t you consider adding to our “pile of stones” the next time you, your family, a colleague or a friend say goodbye to a loved one? Its easy, and … it makes a difference!
catchadream.org/tributes/memorial/ or Text INMEMORY to 91999
