Statue Dedicated For Children Who Have Died
Posted at: 10/21/2012 8:24 PM
| Updated at: 10/21/2012 11:16 PM
By: Laurie Stribling
lstribling@wdio.com
A statue was dedicated Sunday in Virginia at the Children's Memorial Park on the south shore of Silver Lake. The statue is called the Angel of Hope and is meant to bring comfort to grieving family members who have lost a child.
Planning for the park started in 2009 after Committee Chairman Cheryl Weappa's son died. She planted a tree in the park in memory of her son, and decided more parents needed a place of comfort.
"The goal of our park is for people to share grief with their angel and to know that they're not alone," Committee Secretary and Treasurer Scott Weappa said. "That's been our goal since day one."
"Our son Benjamin, he was an amazing young man," Cheryl Weappa said. "We are celebrating his life. He started this park. It was his tree that started the park."
Many people gathered for a service Sunday in the park to dedicate the new statue. Several speakers shared stories and family members laid white flowers by the Angel of Hope.
"It felt amazing," Parent Deb Meckola said. "It just felt like they were all here, all the ones that are gone. We have an awesome community that supports us."
The park is meant to give grieving families a place to remember their loved ones. There is an Angel of Hope in Grand Rapids. One has recently arrived in Duluth, but it has not been dedicated yet.
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