Background
Death affect us all and is an integral part of life. We will all die and we will all, at some time, face the death of beloved family members. Despite this, as a society we rarely discuss it and often very little is known about the options available for death care and funeral planning.
In times gone by, the family was responsible for the preparing of the body and other rituals associated with death. It was considered an honour – the definitive mark of respect and compassion – and also a very natural and important part of the bereavement process.
Tender Funerals is part of the community movement towards reclaiming the rites around death and dying, one of life’s most important experiences. For those who want to participate in this last significant rite of passage, it can be an enriching and life-affirming experience. We hope to empower people to take control of their dying, their deaths and their funerals.
Tender Funerals currently services Berry, Nowra, Shoalhaven, Kiama, Wollongong and the greater Illawarra. Our working group is looking to bring Tender Funerals to the NSW Mid North Coast, with our operations based in the Hastings.
Our Aim
To establish a sustainable, non-profit business, which offers caring, compassionate and highly personalised approach to after death care, funeral/celebration arrangements and body disposal options and can assist you to carry out these loving time-honoured practices.
Our Principles
Operating as a non-profit
The Tender model is a non-profit business model. We charge what it costs to deliver the services. We do not distribute funds or aim to make a profit.
Serving all community members
Tender’s services are available to all members of the community. We serve individuals from all different faiths, beliefs and backgrounds.
Being transparent
We are transparent about our pricing as well as all of our processes and procedures. We want our clients to know we have their best interests in mind.
Educating clients on their options
We will provide our clients with all available options so that they can make the decisions that are best for them. We want our clients to know their options/choices.
Empowering clients to be involved
We will share with clients how they might get involved with the funeral should they wish, from washing their loved one to hosting the ceremony. We want clients to feel safe and comfortable being as involved as they want to be.
Supporting clients in navigating the space
There are so many things to deal with once a loved one has died. We want to support clients in any way we can, including identifying potential financial supports and helping them to fill out all relevant paperwork.
Engaging the broader community
Tender is a true community undertaking. We engage the broader community, using volunteers and engaging community members to bring their unique skills and capabilities to the work.
Current Status
Our working group formed in June 2019, following a presentation about Tender Funerals at a Dying with Dignity meeting by Tender Funerals Illawarra founder, Jenny Briscoe-Hough. Her talk sparked a huge level of interest in establishing a Tender franchise in the Hastings. The working group formed shortly after and has met monthly to fortnightly since then.
We are a small, passionate group of community-minded people with a broad range of skills, including death education, support for people who are dying, community development, education, project management, and community engagement. Members of our working group care about creating community networks and infrastructure that allows us to be connected and support each other in an endeavour to live healthy, conscious and sustainable lives. The reason we have been giving time and energy to this project, is that we want to bring death and dying from a commercial environment back into the community and give all members of our community, regardless of income or cultural background, the opportunity to create low-cost funerals that honour their dead in the way they see fit.
With funding from the Vasudhara Foundation, we have employed a project activator for a 6-month period to accelerate the progress of setting up a Tender Funerals franchise on the Mid North Coast. We are currently in the process of identifying a suitable location for our operations, as well as building community awareness and support for the project.
Contact
Denis Juelicher | Project Activator | M 0419 607 516 | tendermnc@gmail.com
www.tenderfunerals.org | www.facebook.com/tendermnc
Please get in touch if you would like to volunteer to work with us.