Honor Your Loved One and Channel Your Grief After Hospice Care Ends
A legacy project sounds exactly like what it is: a project that honors your loved one’s life and shares their story. A legacy project doesn’t have to have a big, community-moving mission. It can be a small undertaking for the benefit of family members.
Legacy projects are what you make of them. Keep reading for project ideas and to learn how legacy projects can help you as you grieve.
What Is the Purpose Of a Hospice Legacy Project?
A legacy is how you’re remembered. Therefore, a legacy project in honor of someone is one that helps create a lasting memory of them and their life.
When your loved one’s hospice care ends and they pass away, you may be left experiencing a great sense of loss. Unsure of what to do next, sometimes you do nothing, which only deepens feelings of grief and hopelessness.
Legacy projects are a celebration of life and culminate into something tangible that preserves your memories of your loved one.
Legacy Project Ideas
Consider these legacy projects while your loved one receives hospice care. You may even find it valuable to get your loved one’s input or insight on your legacy project idea.
Start a Non-Profit
Pick up your loved one’s mission where they left off, or turn your experience into a nonprofit that helps others.
For example, after a bride filed suit for conservatorship and guardianship of her husband after a sudden major diagnosis that affected his cognition, she saw a need to establish a nonprofit. The nonprofit she founded now provides lower-income couples with attorney assistance in writing wills and durable power of attorney paperwork. Her goal is to educate others and help prevent them from experiencing what she went through fighting for her rights.
If your loved one had a meaningful mission in life, contribute to their preferred foundation or nonprofit, either financially or with the gift of time.
Paint a Portrait
An old adage says, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Paint an ode to your loved one in portrait form, capturing everything you adore about them on the canvas. Even if you aren’t a skilled artist, you’re creating a piece you can treasure and feel proud of as you look at it and think of your loved one.
Keep Warm With Your Loved One’s Favorite Shirts
If your loved one enjoyed dressing up or curated a particularly memorable wardrobe, you may want to keep their style close to your heart by transforming their favorite shirts into a treasured throw blanket.
If you sew, use a quilt pattern that reminds you of your loved one. Or, you can commission a blanket from a private company.
The end result is a piece you will treasure and use regularly as you honor your loved one.
Perform Meaningful Community Service
If your loved one made a big impact in their community, continue by pledging time toward supporting their favorite cause.
For example, if your family member loved animals, devote time volunteering at the local animal shelter. If your loved one was an avid environmentalist, help clean up public parks or natural spaces in your community.
Cook Their Signature Recipes and Host a Family Dinner
Food is such a meaningful part of many cultures, so cooking in honor of your loved one is incredibly special.
Connect with your loved one and their personal history by following their signature recipes and preparing a meal that honors them. Shop for fresh ingredients, cook a meal at home, and invite their favorite people over to indulge in dinner.
Create a Scrapbook
Keep your loved one close to you by compiling a scrapbook that details their life. Collect favorite pictures, old postcards and letters, award certificates, and newspaper clippings pertaining to your loved one’s life, and carefully design a scrapbook full of memories.
When you’re done, you can spend time flipping through it and reminiscing about your loved one and the mark they left on the world.
Get Bereavement Support As Part Of Your Loved One’s Hospice Benefit
Hospice isn’t just for those with a life-limiting illness. Hospice care benefits through Medicare, including in-home hospice care, offer bereavement assistance for remaining family members.
You can access bereavement care for 13 months following your loved one’s passing. Services can include support groups, help with memorial services, informational resources, counseling, or referrals to other community resources.
During this time of bereavement, you may get a great idea for a legacy project for your loved one, inadvertently finding inspiration in one of the resources available to you as you grieve.
Find In-Home Hospice Care For Your Loved One
If your loved one has a life-limiting illness and hasn’t begun seeking care, help them find hospice near you by asking for recommendations or using your favorite search engine.
