Olds High School students are doing their part to help residents honour the memory of loved ones.
Students in the school's stained glass art program have made 100 stained glass stars that will be available for those who want to remember a loved one who has died. They can be hung on the Olds and District Hospice Society's (ODHS) Tree of Remembrance and/or on their own Christmas tree.
The stars will be presented to ODHS member Maureen Gustafson Nov. 1 in the stained glass classroom in the TransCanada Theatre.
The annual Tree of Remembrance service will be held Nov. 24 in Centennial Park.
Gustafson is a member of the ODHS operations and development committee.
Last year some stars were purchased for the same purpose.
"It was my idea to approach the stained glass teacher as a way of involving a different generation in the operation of the hospice," Gustafson says.
"I have a personal connection to the stained glass program at OHS because a very close friend of mine developed the program. Unfortunately she died seven years ago, very quickly from cancer."
The current teacher is Rhonda West.
"Typically, the hospice is associated with an older generation but I felt it was appropriate to expose younger students to the idea of a hospice," Gustafson says.
"Some students may have lost a loved one, but many may only be exposed to death when they lose a grandparent. It's a part of our life's journey that's not easily talked about.
"By creating these stars for those who have lost a loved one, they are helping those individuals on their grief journey."
"Typically, the hospice is associated with an older generation but I felt it was appropriate to expose younger students to the idea of a hospice." MAUREEN GUSTAFSONOLDS AND DISTRICT HOSPICE SOCIETY
