Navigating the unknown with online events
“Oops, sorry, I’m muted!” may have been one of the most common phrases throughout the pandemic as our community learned how to navigate Zoom video communication to host safe online events and services.
The Winter Tea - a ritual for the grief group community to gather and pay tribute to loved ones over the holiday season - was hosted by master of ceremonies, Carol Shoji and co-hosted with other grief group volunteers. Each participant was mailed a candle and a packet of Davis Bay tea with their, Thinking of You package which included soup and bread from The Gumboot Cafe, and baked goods from Wheatberries - delivered safely to the clients’ doorstep by Hospice volunteers. Clients attended the tea online and participated in songs, poetry and remembrances of loved ones together. It was an absolutely beautiful ceremony, with several attendees describing it as, “meaningful” and, “a source of healing.”
This event was followed by an innovative Lights of Life mailed-out package in lieu of our traditional Lights of Life table and tree at local malls. Each household from our community was mailed two Lights of Life ornaments; one was mailed back to be placed on the Hospice House tree with a note in memory of a lost loved one. The other ornament was for the recipient to keep for their tree at home, with an encouraging quote and a phone number for a Sunshine Coast grief support line that Hospice volunteers staffed in shifts over the holidays. The ornaments were still placed into a ceremonial Lighting of the Memories bonfire at Davis Bay Beach on New Years’ Day, but this time the experience was filmed and shared by video. It’s been viewed by 2,500 people - more than any number of participants we’ve had for this ritual since its inception in 1993!
We held other successful virtual events during the height of the pandemic, including our first ever volunteer recognition event, which welcomed Mayor Darnelda Siegers and a musical guest based in Columbia, South America. We also hosted an online auction in support of our virtual 2020 Hike for Hospice. And we had our first ever Facebook Live streaming event called, Advance Care Planning in the time of COVID-19, which was attended by 62 people and has since been viewed over 880 times! We also held a four-session ACP Zoom workshop through Elder College, and six other ACP Zoom workshops through Hospice!
Considering how much of an unknown this foray into online events has been, we consider the shared virtual events to be meaningful experiences for the community. It was an honour to host them and we see virtual options for our programming as here to stay!
Carol Shoji, Master of Ceremonies for our Virtual Winter Tea
Client Services Coordinator Tatiana Velasquez joins others holding a memorial candle during the Winter Tea ceremony