East Central Reporter

HSHS Home Care is inviting community members to participate in butterfly release ceremonies at several locations in central Illinois. The events will take place at the following Hospital Sisters Health System hospitals:

- HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital, Effingham on Thursday, May 15 at 5:30 p.m. in the Healing Garden.

- HSHS St. Mary’s Hospital, Decatur on Tuesday, May 20 at 5:30 p.m. in the Cancer Center Garden.

- HSHS St. Francis Hospital, Litchfield on Wednesday, May 28 at 5:30 p.m. in the circle drive by St. Francis statue.

- HSHS Good Shepherd Hospital, Shelbyville on Thursday, May 29 at 4 p.m. in the Healing Garden on the east side of the hospital.

- HSHS St. John’s Hospital, Springfield on Thursday, June 5 at 5:30 p.m., in the Pavilion Garden.

Families and friends can attend to celebrate and remember the lives of loved ones who have passed. The ceremonies will involve the reading of names of those being honored and the butterfly release.

Valerie Engelbart, Bereavement Services Supervisor for HSHS Home Care, stated, “These butterfly release ceremonies provide a special time for families in our communities to honor their loved ones. The butterfly represents the transformation of the spirit as our loved ones transition from this life. As we release butterflies together, we celebrate the lives that have touched our hearts and find comfort in our shared experiences of love and loss.”

Attendees can reserve a butterfly for a personal release in memory of a loved one. A reservation costs $15 and must be paid before the ceremony. To purchase a butterfly and RSVP, contact Engelbart by calling or texting 217-685-0702 or emailing [email protected].

Butterflies can also be reserved online. Visitors should navigate to giving.hshs.org/sae/donate and select "Hospice/Everlasting Memories/Butterfly Release" under the Designation section. They must also select "This gift is in honor, memory or support of someone" under the Tribute Gift section and fill in the name of the loved one.