Our group has been exchanging crazy amounts of emails regarding her. Some people are interested in making her surviving family our "charity" for the year. I'm kind of hesitant about giving money to the family even though I know the treatments and funeral arrangements must have been costly. I would much rather give money to fund Breast Cancer Research in memoriam of her or find a way to give it directly to the children.
Money just doesn't seem appropriate to me because no amount of money would bring the parent back and in no way compensates for that sense of loss. The Breadwinner's Aunt died at the age of 29 from Hodgkins Lymphoma and left behind a toddler and a baby. His Aunt's husband remarried within a year of her death. He wound up remarrying several times and I think the children were really affected by all the mother figure changes. This is why I would want to do something that would directly benefit the children. Death has profound effects on children and it shapes the rest of their lives (not to take away from the pain an adult feels-- but children can't grasp a lot of "adult" concepts).
What are your thoughts? What do you think would be the best way to help a family through this period of time?
I actually would like to participate in Passionately Pink For the Cure. Has anyone participated in this at all? Do you have any other ideas to support Breast Cancer awareness/research?