This is nice: Hospice celebrates patients | hospice, Monarch, Hillside - Local - Colorado Springs Gazette, CO

The annual Pikes Peak Hospice and Palliative Care Commemorative Celebration Monday drew more than 375 family members, friends, employees and volunteers to Hillside Gardens and Nursery to remember patients who died over the past year.

The celebration, which included the reading of names, concluded with the release of Monarch butterflies symbolizing renewal and the celebration of life. The butterflies flew into the gardens where children watched them up close.

"Families who attend tell us that one of the highlights is to see members of the care team who provided care and support for their loved one(s)," said Bereavement Manager Deb Kinnan. "The ceremony also helps us, as caregivers, tend our own losses."

Guests received postcards to share hospice experiences in words and art and the results will be part of a 30th anniversary online storytelling project.