May Newsletter * Tu Nidito

Dear Tu Nidito Friends:

Dear Friends:

May is a busy month here at Tu Nidito. We are getting ready for our Remarkable Celebration, honoring Ann Lovell, Linda Hardy, Laura Baker, Sylvia Quigley, and Laurie Nelson Wetterschneider. We are excited for our Mamma Mia themed event, once again hosted by our friends, Jim and Vicki Click, at Tucson Country Club.

Our team at Tu Nidito is growing. Last month we welcomed Oliver Kammeyer to the staff, as our Manager of Philanthropy and Communications. Oliver is a Tucson native, having attended the Gregory School and UA. He completed his master’s degree in creative writing and spent several years on the philanthropy team at Easterseals Blake Foundation.

This month, we also welcome new team member, Sophia Dunne. Many of you might know Sophia. She has been a volunteer in several of our groups and just completed an internship with us. Sophia graduates this month from the University of Arizona with a degree in Public Health. She is looking forward to continuing to work with Tu Nidito children, teens, and families as a group coordinator and Pathways support specialist.

Over this past weekend we trained 18 new volunteers and welcome them to our Little Nest. Our work with grieving, children, teens, young adults, and caregivers is not possible without our volunteers. We are honored that these 18 individuals are joining our volunteer team, bringing the number of active volunteers to 139!

Have a beautiful month of May. Thank you all for being friends of Tu Nidito and helping us create a community of acceptance and understanding for those grieving a serious medical condition or death.

Yours,

Liz McCusker,

Executive Director

The Remarkable Month of May at Tu Nidito

This year's Remarkable Moms are Ann Lovell, Linda Hardy, Laura Baker, Laurie Nelson Wetterschneider, and Sylvia Quigley.

Children wait all year for Christmas, but at Tu Nidito we wait all year for May. This is a busy and exciting month for all of us, and even more so this year.

On May 13th Tu Nidito holds its biggest event and fundraiser of the year, our Remarkable Celebration! It's our own way to celebrate Mother's Day and this remarkable group of five wonderful mothers. For Abba fans, this year's theme is the musical Mama Mia. Be sure to buy tickets or check out our silent auction and the amazing gifts businesses have donated this year.

To get tickets, learn about the event, or our Remarkable Moms, visit TN's Remarkable Celebration.

Speaking of fundraisers, Tu Nidito is once again the beneficiary of Enterprise Rent-a-Car's 33rd Annual Golf Tournament! On May 20th at the Lodge at Ventana Canyon, participating sponsors and players will raise money for Tu Nidito's services. Last year, they raised more than $22,000. To learn more or sign up, check out Enterprise Golf. We cannot thank Enterprise enough for their continued support and generosity!

We're also changing up our Teen Night a bit! Teen Night at Tu Nidito is an opportunity for teens in our bereavement groups to come and get to know some of our teen volunteers and others. Seven to nine pm on the evening of Friday May 19th, Tu Nidito will have pizza, Eegee's, games like cornhole, and a tie-dye shirt station. Thanks to our partnership with Geico, we'll also have a photo booth with the Geico Gecko! Please RSVP by May 17th so we can get your teen's T-shirt size, but make sure to come regardless!

It's not just events and our social events that make this May remarkable. We've also made some interesting additions to our curriculum such as a puppet show illustrating the importance of grieving, and...

Telephone of the Wind,

The Newest Addition to TN Curriculum that's Already Changing Lives

An unassuming and simple disconnected phone is all that's needed.

A therapeutic concept originating from Japan, Telephone of the Wind is for anyone who has lost a loved one. Tu Nidito brought this into our curriculum in April, and we can already see the profound effect it has on those that use it.

Telephone of the Wind has participants call their special person who died and have a conversation. Participants can tell their departed loved one something they wish they'd said before, tell them how life is going, or simply that they miss them. It's awe-inspiring the impact such a simple activity can have.

One young woman shared that her father completed suicide and that he had called her the day before he died, but she didn’t take the call. On her own telephone of the wind, she finally had the call she missed with her dad, and later shared that this helped to significantly ease her mind.

Many others at Tu Nidito find the Telephone of the Wind an enormous comfort, and this is just its beginning!

The Remarkable Celebration! Only 2 Weeks Away!

The Remarkable Celebration honors five inspirational women, Ann Lovell, Linda Hardy, Laura Baker, Laurie Nelson Wetterschneider, and Sylvia Quigley, and is getting closer! We are all very excited to honor these Moms, as we raise critical funds for Tu Nidito programs. Remarkable Celebration is our largest fundraising event accounting for more than 25% of our annual budget.

If you can not join us on May 13, 2023 at Tucson Country Club for Mamma Mia, you can still join in the fun by participating in the Remarkable Celebration Silent Auction – online. The auction goes live (insert link) on Thursday May 4th, 2023 at 5pm. Everyone is welcome to partake. In fact, we encourage to sign up early and bid often!

Thanks to these generous businesses and partners, we once again have some amazing prizes to offer you this year.

Just some of the amazing things you could win are...

Two-Night Stay at the Phoenician Hotel in Scottsdale

Immerse yourself in the contemporary elegance at The Phoenician, a Luxury Collection Resort, Scottsdale. A timeless lifestyle experience awaits at this eye-catching and imaginative AAA Four Diamond resort. The Phoenician invites you to soak in the splendor of unparalleled resort amenities with a two-night stay in a deluxe guest room along with dinner at Mowry & Cotton where you will sample bold, simple flavors of Modern American cuisine along with spirited drinks in a lively yet laid-back setting.

Two-Night Stay in Healdsburg Wine Country

Enjoy a two-night-stay at the Vallette Guest Cottage, along with the Vallette's VIP Chef's Five-course tasting menu for two, including gratuity, at this exquisite eatery located in the town of Healdsburg. This picturesque town is located in the Russian River Valley of Northern California, bustling with wineries, boutiques, galleries, and acclaimed restaurants. And Chef Vallette is nothing short of an artist. The plate is his canvas, and local produce and proteins are his paint. You will also receive one bottle of 2021 Valette Sauvignon Blanc and one bottle of 2019 Valette Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir to enjoy with your dinner at Valette. Package includes Winspire booking and concierge service.

Seasonal Passes for Ava Amphitheater at Casino Del Sol

Enjoy each and every show and concert at Casino del Sol's Ava Amphitheater for its 2023 AND 2024 season at the Casino del Sol Event Center. Two season passes for both seasons will give you lawn seating to see some great entertainment from Rap & Hip Hop (Ice Cube on 5/27/23), Comedy (George Lopez on 6/27/23 and Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglesias on 8/26/23), Latin (Marco Antonio Solis on 9/8/23 or Jazz (Buddy Guy on 9/9/23) to name a few with shows being added for 2023 and soon to be announced for 2024.

The Remarkable Silent Auction Goes Live May 4th

and includes these experiences and so much more!