Dear Family & Friends –

We have been sharing the past few months about the Brian Dagle Foundation’s 10 years of hope and healing. Words cannot describe how our community of people have inspired, motivated, and supported us to create something so beautiful from the broken pieces of our hearts.

Ten years ago, our family was still so lost. We were searching for a way to honor Brian’s spirit and unconditional love for his family, friends, and school. We remembered this passion to help others, to be there for someone when no one else would. Project Brian grew into the Brian Dagle Foundation, Brian’s Healing Hearts, and our latest addition, the Cottage at Brian’s Healing Hearts.

Now, 10 years later, we continue to expand our reach to meet the increasing needs of our community. We are humbled and honored to serve thousands of people through our mission: anchored in hope – dedicated to the healing of grieving adults as well as community education on mental health and suicide awareness.

We couldn’t think of a better way to honor our little Irishman Brian than with a St. Patrick’s Day celebration. Our family would be honored if you could join us on March 15^th at the Garde in New London for a pre-concert VIP reception and performance with Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy.

Tickets are available but beginning to go fast!

With love,
Ann & the Dagle Family

For tickets and information: BriansHealingHearts.org/10Years
Scholarships are available.

Dear Brian Dagle Foundation Friend,

I hope this letter finds you and your loved ones well. We are pleased to share with you that the Brian Dagle Foundation is now in its 10th Year!

When our family started the Brian Dagle Foundation ten years ago, we honestly had no idea what we were doing or if it would last. In 2014, we were still deeply grieving and trying our best to navigate life without Brian. We weren’t even sure how to survive, we just knew we needed to honor Brian. 

People who have lost someone they love need a community of others who speak the same language of grief. We are humbled and honored to walk with them on their journey of loss, hope, and healing. This includes being part of difficult and necessary conversations on mental health and suicide awareness throughout Connecticut. 

We will all at some point in our lives, experience loss. We all know or are touched by someone struggling with mental health. We are determined to continue this work and we could not have achieved this milestone without the dedication and support of donors, volunteers, and the courageous participants in our community. 

To honor this decade milestone, we are starting the Brian Dagle Foundation Endowment Fund to provide long-term financial stability to support our mission and people we serve. 

While the foundation, as an organization, looks different than it did in 2014, our goal is still to serve those whose lives have been impacted by loss and to educate communities on mental health and suicide awareness. Thanks to your support, the Brian Dagle Foundation has had a significant impact on our community in the last several years.

In 2024, alone, we have had:

• 1034 support group attendees (January-October)
• 103 average monthly attendees in support groups & 13 in closed support groups
• 9 average new support group attendees per month
• 22 average monthly attendees for special events
• 28 average monthly attendees learning at educational events
• 17 average monthly inquiries who understand it is ok to ask for help
• 1000+ student athletes & coaches and 1000+ family members & friends learning that it’s okay not to be okay through our LAX2LIVE Mental Health and Suicide Awareness Program 

We are grateful to be able to offer traditional grief support programs for anyone grieving the loss of someone in their life as well as non-traditional healing events such as Sound Healing, Meditation and Energy work, Mindfulness with Horses, and a special Mother’s Day Retreat for Moms who are grieving the loss of a child. Our educational events include QPR (Question, Persuade, and Refer) and other evidence-based suicide prevention trainings, Survivor Stories, as well as workshops on Supporting Clients through Grief for mental health professionals. 

Your support and encouragement during these past 10 years inspires us to keep doing this work. We are proud to have grown to become a respected resource in our state and understand the value of our work. Help us continue in the years ahead by investing in the Brian Dagle Foundation Endowment Fund. 

Please consider giving to our 10th Anniversary Campaign from now until March 2025 through one of the following donation options. Any dollar amount is greatly appreciated. 

• Online, through our website at BriansHealingHearts.org/Donate 
• Venmo @BrianDagleFoundation
• Mail, check can be mailed to: The Brian Dagle Foundation, 461 Main Street, Niantic CT 06357

It is my sincere hope that you know how deeply grateful we are for your invaluable confidence and support in our mission or being brave enough to reach out for support and find your community with us at the Brian Dagle Foundation and Brian’s Healing Hearts Center for Hope and Healing.

Warmly,
Ann Irr Dagle
President, The Brian Dagle Foundation

P.S. We are celebrating our 10 year milestone in March and would be honored if you would join us. More information is available on our website.

An important part of grief is learning to cherish; how do you love and honor someone who has died and all your memories with them as you heal from their loss?

What smells, foods, objects, and places remind you of your loved one? How can you incorporate those things into your daily life? Consider sharing a photo or other cherished item with someone.

Grief rituals are also a helpful way to do this. Here are a few ideas:

Honoring Rituals:

• Visit gravesites or burial grounds at regular intervals to remember the deceased and honor their life.
• Continue tasks, chores or traditions that were important to the deceased as a way to build their legacy.

Letting Go Rituals:

• Journaling or writing about painful emotions, and then choosing a symbolic way of releasing those emotions, such as burning the pages or releasing them over a body of water.
• Choosing symbols to look for that remind us of the loved one (red birds, butterflies, rainbows, etc.), noticing how they come and go in your daily life.

Rituals of Self-Transformation:

• Journal or create art which represents the things you learned from your loved one and the way your relationship with them changed you. Ask yourself, how will I carry these lessons forward?
• Meditate and complete a value card sort to identify what is most important to you moving forward. Identify actions to move you closer to these values and take steps toward accomplishing these actions.

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 Books and Resources

 Book: Cherishing: The Art of Fully Living While Still Honoring Those Who’ve Died by Dr. Alan Wolfelt
Video: The Art of Cherishing during the Holiday Season with Dr. Alan Wolfelt
Article: The Art of Cherishing by Dr. Alan Wolfelt
Article: Small Rituals for Mourning by Carol Ricks Bowman

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Inspiration

“Grief cherishing makes you better at life cherishing.” Dr Alan Wolfelt

“How do you learn to cherish yourself, your life, when grief has made it unrecognizable? I am starting to feel that we do so not by trying to fill a void that can never be filled but by living as best as we can in this strange, yawning terrain our loved ones have left behind, exploring its jagged boundaries and learning to see it as something new.” Nicole Chung

“I learned that his story did not end when his life did.” Ann Irr Dagle

“When it’s the holiday season and someone you love has passed, it can feel like the rest of the world has moved on so very quickly. I hope you find moments of peace as you process your grief and moments of joy recalling cherished memories. Be gentle with yourself.” Christi, Written Hug Designs

“If you wish to love me still,
when I leave,
you can,
by loving others,
by giving new love,
by not losing hope,
by still seeing joy,
by living your life like it cries to be lived,
by letting go when the natural order demands it,
by being at peace with the circle of time.

If you wish to love me still,
when I leave,
you can,
by loving life,
by loving all that is life,
by loving yourself most of all,
the way that I loved you.
For now that I cannot, you must.

Love yourself
and you will love me still.

Love your life
and you will love me still.”

Donna Ashworth
From her grief poetry book ‘LOSS’

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If you have found healing and hope through the Brian Dagle Foundation, please consider us in your year-end giving.

In 2011, my life as a mom of three boys, with very different personalities and who were transitioning into young men, was far from perfect. But one thing was sure: they all knew how much they were loved by their parents, their large extended family, and so many friends.

I think this was especially true for Brian, the youngest of the three. His charismatic personality, sparkling blues eyes and sensitive soul melted many hearts.

Brian lost his life to suicide in November of his sophomore year at Castleton University in Vermont. I equate Brian’s death to a tsunami that hit my family, friends, and anyone who was blessed to have known him. Everyone questioned, “How could something like this happen to a family that seemed to be so loving and connected to community?”

In the weeks and months following Brian’s death, life was a blur. Grief was exhausting, isolating, physically and mentally painful. I struggled to find a reason to live but my focus turned to my surviving sons. I needed to always keep them close by and spoiled them with anything they needed.

I also became fixated on searching for other mothers like me. It felt like my grief left me alone on a deserted island. I needed to find other loss survivors. Sadly, I found them — moms who lost children to suicide and also to tragic accidents. They understood. We talked and we walked, we cried and shared about our kids without judgement, silly cliches, or advice we did not need. I also discovered the benefits of a grief support group for survivors of suicide loss. Twice a month on Friday nights, we shared our similar stories and found ourselves saying, “Me too, I feel the same way.”

For our family and Brian’s friends, the landscape of our lives was undeniably changed. My family of five suddenly became a family of four. Each person’s grief was uniquely their own – mother, father, brother, aunts, cousins, roommates, neighbors – their relationship with Brian was special based on every life he touched. Years later, I cherish the stories from people who I never knew but who were touched by Brian’s kindness.

The next few years, the roller coaster ride of emotions was overwhelming. The ups and downs of grief were relentless. The dance between two steps forward and twenty back left me feeling confused, lost, frightened and unsure of my place in the world. I wondered when I would ever find solid ground.

As I reflect on my journey, the year 2014 was a pivotal time in my healing. It was when I could finally fully embrace the long road ahead of engaging in the grief work that would be necessary to my healing. Until that point, I could only survive but I knew I needed and deserved more than that, to maybe even thrive.

Without a real plan, mission or any ideas on what we wanted this to look like, in 2014 my family and I opted to give purpose to the unimaginable pain we experienced and start the Brian Dagle Foundation.

Businesses, friends and people we didn’t know stepped forward to help us organize fundraisers. 2014 was the first year of the Niantic Jingle Bell 5K, our biggest fundraiser. It has grown to one of the top 5K’s in the state, with more than 1,500 registrants, raising more than $100,000. I learned to share my story, Brian’s story. I learned that his story did not end when his life did.

I educated myself by attending suicide prevention trainings. I received a certification in Grief and Death Studies to support anyone grieving the loss of someone and became a QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) certified trainer (just like CPR, QPR is an emergency response to someone in crisis and can save lives) to teach others the signs I did not see. I’m sure I gained as much healing in helping others as they received from me. But it was so hard. It was hard to be so vulnerable about my story, about Brian, about the darkest times in my life, but it was my way to honor Brian, and still is today.

In 2018 one of our greatest accomplishments in this journey was opening Brian’s Healing Hearts Center for Hope and Healing. At the Center we offer HOPE to hundreds of adults grieving the loss of a loved one from any loss: spouses who’ve lost the loves of their lives to disease or an accident, bereaved parents who’ve lost a child tragically to accidents, illness, drug overdoses or suicide. It’s a safe place to feel connected and understood by others who are also on this journey.

Now, 13 years after Brian’s death, we’re celebrating ten years of incredible accomplishments at the Brian Dagle Foundation and Brian’s healing Hearts Center for Hope and Healing. I’ve learned to hold joy and sadness together: I hold the joy for my beautiful family and fulfilling life, and I hold the sadness for the cost it took to get here.

The tragic loss of Brian has led us to this work. He is my reason. Together we make a difference in the world one person at a time.

Dear Friends, Family, and Supporters of the Brian Dagle Foundation,

I hope this letter finds you and your loved ones well. We are excited to share with you that we are in our tenth year of the foundation and dedicated more than ever in our mission: anchored in hope and empowered to support the healing of grieving adults as well as community education on mental health and suicide awareness.

Each day we share Brian’s love and light in everything we do and are deeply honored to walk with many of you on your journey of loss, hope, and healing. We are grateful to have had the opportunity to work with hundreds of you to spread awareness and education about suicide prevention and trainings throughout Connecticut. We could not have achieved this milestone without the dedication and support of donors, volunteers, and the courageous participants in our community.

We would like to invite you and your friends to join us to celebrate this momentous milestone with a night of Irish music on March 15, 2025 at the Garde Theater in New London, CT.

Before we open sales to the public, we wanted to reach out to you today for this very special opportunity to celebrate with us.

We couldn’t imagine any other way of honoring our special Irishman, Brian, by having a 10th Anniversary Irish themed Celebration with a VIP pre-show reception and night of Irish music with Natalie MacMaster & Donnell Leahy.

We have reserved 168 tickets at the Garde in a special section of this beautiful historic venue and are offering you a chance to purchase tickets for a limited time before promoting the event to the public in November. Our goal of the event is to raise $10,000 for our ten years of hope and healing.

Reserve your spot to join us for the reception and concert now at BriansHealingHearts.org/10Years.

With hope-
The Dagle Family and the Brian Dagle Foundation Team

In September, we acknowledge the role that hope plays in grief and life as we recognize Suicide Awareness and Prevention Month.

Hope is what keeps us going and reminds us there is good to come even if we can’t see or feel it now.

But feeling hopeless (without hope) is a very real experience and it can often feel like there’s no choice but to harm yourself. That is why we do what we do: to remind everyone that there is always hope.

It’s okay to not be okay. And it’s okay to say you need help.

If you or a loved one are in a mental health crisis, please do not hesitate to call or text 988 for help.

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Take a moment to reflect:

• What is something that gives you hope?
• Who do you know who inspires hope in others?
• What does hope mean to you? What does it look like? What does it feel like? What color is hope?

➡️ Have a thought, resource, or quote you want to share with us? Reply to this email or tag us on social media @BTDFDN

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Books and Resources

The Mourners Book of Hope by Dr. Alan Wolfelt
Making Hope Happen by Dr. Shane Lopez
Documentary: A Voice at the Table
Video: The Science and Power of Hope
Article: Hope is the antidote
Article: The Science of Hope
Article: The Importance of Hope
Blog: Finding Hope in Grief
Blog: Finding Hope When Grief Feels Hopeless
Blog: Hope and Grief
Journal Prompts on Hope

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Inspiration

“Something will grow from all you are going through. And it will be you.”
TobyMac

“They grow together in the same field – grief and hope. So compactly and in such unison that it’s difficult to tell which is which and just when you may be tempted to think grief is choking everything, hope blooms.”
Lori Hetteen

“Place your hand over your heart, can you feel it? That is called purpose. You’re alive for a reason so don’t ever give up.”
Joyce Meyer

“The bravest thing I ever did was continuing my life when I wanted to die.”
Juliette Lewis