Compassionate Friends hold balloon launch
Members of the Compassionate Friends of the Pee Dee gather together outside, saying a prayer, before releasing their balloons.
Photos by Melissa Rollins
By Melissa Rollins, Editor, editor@newsandpress.net
It was a bittersweet moment Saturday morning as the Compassionate Friends of the Pee Dee gathered for their balloon launch at Palmetto Street Church of God. The event is done in remembrance of loved ones who have passed away.
The local chapter of the organization was founded after Debbie Dewitt Louder experienced loss first-hand and saw a need for families to have a safe place to grieve and talk about their loss.
“I lost my son in 2002 and I started searching the web because I was trying to get help,” Louder said. “My pastor helped me a good bit and he referred me to Joe Baroody but I just needed a support group.”
In her searching, Louder found the group she was looking for but unfortunately they were too far away.
“I found Compassionate Friends but it was in Myrtle Beach, Greenville and Charleston,” Louder said. “I just couldn’t do that while working a job. I’m a hospice volunteer with McLeod and I had talked with the coordinator there and told them that I wanted to do something. They said that there was another mother who wanted to do something too so we met together and started the group.”
Since 2004 when the group began, Louder said that they have touched a lot of families.
“We’ve covered the Pee Dee and from our meetings, a Marion Chapter and a Camden Chapter were born,” Louder said. “By touching one or two people, it touched 600 or 800 people just like that.”
Though events like the balloon launch and the candlelighting held in December are open to the public, Louder said that meetings are only open to people who have lost a child, grandchild or sibling.
“There is a bond like no other between the members of this group because there is no greater loss than the loss of a child,” Louder said. “To be able to sit down and talk and look someone in the eye and they know exactly what you are going through is really comforting. This group formed in 2004 and a lot of the people who come are original members. This is a group you don’t want to be a part of, I promise you.”
During the balloon launch event, participants wrote letters to their loved ones on the balloons. Forget-me-not flower seeds were in each of the balloons so that when the balloon reached its final location, the seeds would be planted and a reminder of those lost.
Before the balloons were lost a prayer was said, asking God to comfort those who were hurting.
Compassionate Friends of the Pee Dee can be found on Facebook, at www.compassionatefriends.org or by calling 843-496-3254.
Balloons with messages to loved pnes float away after being released.
