Business Owner gives back through Volunteerism and Creativity
Local business owner Marge Giralte never guessed when she opened her Cedarburg based bead shop, Giralte Gems and Beads, in 1998 that ten years later she would be beading for charity rather than con
tests. Marge is a mostly self-taught artist who is inspired by fantasy. She has received awards from national con
tests and the Ozaukee Art Show for her work. She became involved with Horizon Home Care & Hospice as a volunteer after meeting the CEO’s mother in a yarn store.
Marge’s husband Claude died in April of 2005. Due to high insurance deductible and other factors, Marge could not afford the time or money for private counseling for her grief. She instead focused her energies on knitting prayer shawls for Horizon. “Focusing on some unknown person’s grief was therapeutic for me.” When Horizon opened its
Grief
Resource
Centerin July of 2006, Marge had somewhere to go where she could receive the counseling and support necessary to work through her grief, all free of charge.
After attending the 2007 Matters of the Heart gala, a fundraiser for the
Grief
Resource
Center, Marge set to work on her masterpiece for the 2008 event. This year, Marge decided to use her talent and creativity to give back to the Center that gave her a “comforting, safe, caring, FREE, hopeful, professional, discrete, unique, available, universal, ecumenical, non-judgmental, educational and loving” place to go after her husband died. Over one hundred hours, several hundred Swarovski crystals and thousands of tiny Czech glass seed beads later a Matters of the Heart signature piece was created. The necklace, worth over $500 is to be auctioned off live during the 2008 gala which will be held at The Pfister Hotel on February 16. Marge has also been invited to say a few words on behalf of the Center and those it serves during the festivities.
After many years of volunteering and surviving the loss of her husband, Marge says, “The only way I can make any sense out of losing my beloved is by giving back. If by sharing my journey of grief I can help one other human to lessen theirs, then I have purpose, then there is a reason for me to go on living, then I have paid tribute to the amazing love that I have known.” Marge is not the only one who feels this way. The
Grief
Resource
Centeris funded solely by donations from individuals and businesses in the community. It is run by one full-time coordinator and an army of dedicated, caring volunteers.
Recognizing grief as a life-changing, yet common human experience, the
Grief
Resource
Centeris dedicated to serving those whose lives have been touched by loss. It is a walk-in Center providing a safe haven and resources for individuals, families, community groups and professionals. The Center is located within Horizon’s
Brown
Deer
Office
Buildingat 8949 North Deerbrook Trail. Since theCenter’s inception, utilization has increased monthly. Currently, 30-40 community members are served monthly through one-on-one counseling, family counseling, support groups, in-services, community presentations and phone contacts. An additional 40-60 people per week are given support from the Center via Horizon Hospice’s Bereavement Program.
Marge’s Matters of the Heart signature piece will be displayed in her shop, Giralte Gems and Beads, located at W62 N580 Washington Avenue in Cedarburg, from January 3-February 8. Bids on the necklace will be taken online at www.hhch.net/bids through midnight (12:00 a.m.) on Friday, February 16. The necklace will be auctioned live at the 2nd Annual Matters of the Heart gala on Saturday, February 16, 2008. Individual tickets may be purchased for $155 each at http://www.horizonhomecareandhospice.com/donate/ or by calling
Kelly Andrewat (414) 586-6268. Sponsorships are also available.
Horizon Home Care & Hospice has been serving Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee, Dodge and
Washingtoncounties since 1990. It is a private, not-for-profit organization sponsored by Froedert, Community Memorial and Columbia St. Mary’s hospitals. Horizon opened the first
Grief
Resource
Centerin
Wisconsin in July of 2006. The Grief Resource Center serves all of Wisconsin and beyond, providing phone support, counseling, groups, formal presentations and education opportunities to the community.
