New Item ANNUAL MEETING SCHEDULED for April 27
Our 2008 Annual Meeting
will be held April 27
from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. at the Springfield Main Library on State Street
in the Community Room - first floor. Parking is across the
street, or in the rear of the Quadrangle.
After a short business meeting including election of Officers and Board
Members, Andrew Sexton, MD from the
Medical Examiners Office will speak on "Everything you wanted to know
about what a Medical Examiner does, but were afraid to ask."
I'm sure we will all learn something!
Come to meet and support your Board. Come to ask questions,
obtain information and give your experience. Remember we are the
only organization doing what we are doing in the Valley.
Check out the following:
SPEAKERS NOW AVAILABLE FOR YOUR GROUP
On the topic of "What to Know
... Before you Go"
- see details on the PROVIDERS PAGE
FUNERAL HOME PRICE SURVEY 2006
Now available in association with our Funeral
Home Listings
Check out our Links Page
1. Good Article on "Planning
a Funeral"
Excellent general discussion and
references (details, including list of funeral homes, are specific to
the Greater Boston area for which this article was written). It is in
pdf file format. Note: click here if
you need to download free Adobe Reader to open pdf files.
2. New book by Mark Harris
titled GRAVE MATTERS (2007, Scribner, New York, ISBN 0743277686)
"This is an excellent exploration of several forms of disposition of a
body leading chapter by chapter to a very logical concluding chapter on
"green burial". Each chapter has been carefully researched and is given
sympathetic coverage." - quoted from an Amazon.com customer review.
Link to Amazon.com
information and reviews.
3. What to do if you have been violated
- complaint forms for
both the Federal Trade Commission and the Commonwealth's Office of
Investigations.
https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01
FCAWM Website continues to serve
hundreds of visitors each month
Click here to see the website statistics
(last full month reported - February 2007).
Volunteers needed to help with Funeral
Home Survey
FAQ - Questions we have been asked
Q: What is the Gorey Kit?
A: It is a
packet of forms and guidelines for end-of-life planning which the FCAWM
provides to new members. It is otherwise available from FCAWM for
$10.00.
Q: Is the book Dealing Creatively with Death (14th
edition) still available?
A: Yes; contact
FCA in South Burlington, Vermont, at 1-800-765-0107.
Q: Does FCAWM
hold final arrangements
documents that might have been filed in the past by members of the late
Springfield Memorial
Society?
A: It is not
clear to us whether this organization ever did maintain such files, but
we do not have any files of that kind now.
Q: Does FCAWM
have any special or discount arrangements with funeral providers for
its members?
A: No; our
priority at this time is to provide pricing information from area
funeral homes through our biennial survey.
Planning Ahead
Have
you considered what
immediate decisions must be made by your family when you die?
Have you and your family discussed these decisions and arrived
at an understanding?
Do your present plans provide for memorial or funeral
arrangements that you and your family would really want to have?
If the answer to any of these questions is "no," you may not be
facing the eventuality of death realistically. When death occurs in a
family in which there has been no advance planning, the survivors
generally will accept conventional and costly funeral arrangements
because of emotional stress, social pressures and lack of time.
The Need for Advance Planning - by making plans
now, you and your family can determine the procedures and services that
you will want. This should be done prior to need, when reason can
prevail rather than emotion. A meaningful departure from prevailing
custom, if carefully planned in advance and responsibly carried out,
will be readily accepted by family, friends and the community.
Considerable expense, uncertainty and often family tensions can be
eliminated when a person has previously indicated her/his wishes rather
than leaving these decisions for the survivors.
About Us
The purpose of the Funeral Consumers Alliance of Western Massachusetts
(formerly known as Memorial Society of Western Massachusetts) is to
provide, for residents of Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden and Hampshire
counties of Massachusetts, a non-sectarian, non-profit,
unpaid-volunteer membership organization whose mission is to promote
and protect a consumer's right to choose meaningful, dignified, and
affordable final arrangements: funeral or memorial services, care of
the body and disposition of human remains (including burial, cremation
or donation). The Alliance pursues its mission by:
a.
Encouraging and facilitating
advance planning by consumers;
b. Providing information on available options and resources,
related laws, regulations and practices;
c. Serving as a consumer advocate organization regarding current
and proposed laws, regulations and practices; and
d. Providing any other services consistent with this mission.
We can provide information that you will need for advance
planning and that will help you to put your beliefs into practice. We
do not presume to change or interfere in any way with existing beliefs
or ceremonies.
Other than information, we provide no services. We do not, ourselves,
provide funeral or memorial
services, care of the body,
disposition of human remains (burial, cremation or donation) or any
type of insurance, trust, or other financial arrangement to cover the
cost of such services. Nor do we normally negotiate on behalf of
individual consumers with those who do provide such services.
We do not charge for the information we provide. We ask only for
donations (no mandatory fees) to help our Alliance cover its costs.
Because we do not have 501(c)(3) status, donations are
not generally tax deductible. A
donation does entitle you to the benefits of membership.
We
are an affiliate of the national Funeral Consumers
Alliance, Inc.
(http://www.funerals.org)
The Membership
Page describes
the benefits of membership and provides links to the application form
as well as a list of helpful brochures that are available.
The Providers Page
presents
information about funeral homes,
crematories, and retail
casket outlets serving Western Massachusetts and an introduction
to the basic information
you should have before contacting these providers as part of
planning final arrangements for yourself or others. Learn how to arrange for one of our members to speak to
your group on the topic of "What to Know ... Before you Go".
The Links Page
provides
access to the wealth of information including that on the national Funeral Consumers Alliance
website.
Both
our federal
and state
website links include very helpful
consumer oriented sections in
addition to the actual regulations and laws which govern what funeral
directors, crematory and cemetery operators can and cannot do in the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Additional links lead to information on many other topics related to
end of life issues.
Current Trustees
Doug Bamshaw,
Springfield;
Carol Coan, Greenfield;
John
Fatherley, Chicopee
Cecelia
Lewonchuk, Springfield
Eileen
Pratt, Springfield;
Will Thayer, Springfield;
