News Article 5

On Sunday, a day known as Children's Memorial Day, area residents plan to gather at Caffe Italia in Davis to light a candle in memory of the children they have lost.

They will be taking part in the Worldwide Candle Lighting, an annual event that was started six years ago by The Compassionate Friends, a grief support network with chapters in 29 countries.

They include TCF's Sacramento Valley chapter, which will gather for the candle lighting from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sunday at Caffe Italia, 1121 Richards Blvd. All families who have lost a child are invited to join them.

"The Worldwide Candle Lighting allows grieving families to know that their children have not been and never will be forgotten, whether that child died 60 years ago or yesterday," said Patricia Loder, executive director of The Compassionate Friends. "This event surpasses all artificial, religious and cultural boundaries, allowing us to mourn as one when death robs the world of its most valuable resource."

Held each year on the second Sunday in December, the Worldwide Candle Lighting calls for families and friends to unite and light a candle from 7 to 8 p.m., in their local time zone in honor of the children who left them too soon.

As the candles burn down in one time zone they are lighted in the next "creating a 24-hour wave of light that encircles the globe" says TCF's national Web site, http://www.thecompassionatefriends.org. 
Also on Sunday, the national Web site will host extended chat-room hours and a message board for families to share their thoughts throughout the day.

Limited space is available for the Davis candle-lighting gathering, and those who wish to attend are asked to RSVP by calling Cecilia Gabrielli-Villanueva at 219.9088 or Darlene Johnson at 916.457.4096, or by sending an e-mail message to maxzmom@balloonrelease.com. Information about the event is available at www.balloonrelease.com .

Those who attend may bring their own candles, but candles also will be available at the restaurant. Refreshments will be provided. Sponsors of the event include Caffe Italia, Absolute Mortgage of Davis, Re-Max Corporate Offices, and www.balloonrelease.com . 

The Compassionate Friends began in Coventry, England in 1969, when two sets of parents bonded following the deaths of their two young sons. They later invited other grieving parents to join them, and eventually organized as a self-help group called The Society of the Compassionate Friends. 

Today there are TCF chapters throughout the world, with 600 in the United States alone. In the U.S., chapters are open to all bereaved parents, siblings, grandparents, and other family members who are grieving the death of a child of any age, from any cause. 

Information about the organization and the locations of its chapters is at its website or by calling its toll-free number, (877) 969-0010. 

- Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net