On Saturday, August 30, VCU Health honored National Grief Awareness Day. This day is very important to many across our enterprise. Many units lit candles during their huddles to honor grief experienced by their staff and patients. Light shone from the windows of the VCU College of Health Professions building. And at six locations across the health system, the Spiritual Care Department and the Grief Bereavement Committee offered resources and support as well as a community mural project.

As I sat at one of the resource tables in the P2 bridge on Saturday afternoon, I watched person after person stop and look at what the table had to offer and then begin to walk away. Then something amazing happened. They would notice the mural with leaves added by others before them. These leaves shared grief honored loved ones, and proclaimed strengths learned through grief. At this point, many who had begun to pass the table by would stop, read what others had offered up from their hearts and then turn back. In witnessing others' vulnerability, they gained the strength and willingness to share their own.

By the end of the day, our community mural tree was filled with colorful offerings of the heart. It reminds us that we are what make each other strong; we are what makes VCU Health strong. Together, unbreaking. Thank you to all who participated.