Special Projects
Executive Producer and Project Founder Bernadette Winters Bell, LMSW PLLC
at the Telephone of the Wind Ribbon Cutting in Oneonta, NY
Discovering Bridges Through Bereavement to Blessings.™
From Heartache to Healing and Hope LLC
proudly presents
Telephone of the Wind:
Oneonta Connection
a special community project
now available for you to experience
in Lower Wilbur Park, Oneonta NY, just past the pool
across from the pavilion
SPONSORED BY
THE ALZHEIMER'S ASSOCIATION
in collaboration with
The City of Oneonta
Oneonta Parks and Recreation
BOCES
Executive Producer: Bernadette Winters Bell, LMSW, PLLC
Produced by Beatrice Georgalidis, BGCA
Mayor of Oneonta, NY Mark Drnek at the Telephone of the Wind Ribbon Cutting
Celebrating One Year of
Phone Calls for Healing and Hope
Click below to watch the one year anniversary episode
Featuring personal experiences with The Telephone of the Wind by Oneonta and Cooperstown residents, as well as an interview with Ann Thayer, Associate Director of Programs & Services at the Alzheimer's Association Northeastern Chapter, who shares her thoughts on how the Telephone of the Wind can support the loved ones of those suffering from Alzheimers.
(Oneonta, NY) Bernadette Winters Bell, LMSW, PLLC, a life, loss and grief therapist with a private practice in Oneonta, New York, and host of the podcast From Heartache to Healing and Hope, presents "Telephone of the Wind: Oneonta Connection."
Catskill forest locations offer solace in a peaceful setting for those grieving a significant loss. Whether it be the loss of a loved one such as a family member, a close friend, or a beloved pet, a significant loss can feel hopeless and unmanageable. The loss of life as we knew it pre-pandemic is another example of such a significant loss.
This special project offers solace for such experiences. From Heartache to Healing and Hope LLC has curated a location set on a forest trail in Lower Wilber Park, Otsego County, for a “rural phone booth” where community members may visit a private setting to “make a phone call” to loved ones they have lost, to communicate with someone they may be experiencing conflict with, and for those in anticipatory grief.
Cooperstown, NY resident Elizabeth Dunn at The Telephone of the Wind
The Oneonta Connection is the premiere location of this revolutionary project in the Mohawk Valley region of Upstate New York, with several more locations planned for future Bridges through Bereavement to Blessings™ everywhere.
Under the tutelage of master carpenter and instructor Doug Anderson, BOCES students of carpentry built the rural phone booth that resides in Lower Wilber Park, easily accessible from a main trail across from the Bill Martin Pavillion, just past the pool.
Pictured above; BOCES carpentry student Barry Ellis III with phone booth buildout in process.
Two vintage phones donated by community members are accessible in the phone booth; one is placed for ease of access for those who, like Bernadette, are "vertically challenged."
One year after the ribbon-cutting, we are celebrating the anniversary of The Telephone of the Wind.
We have heard from countless organizations and individuals of all ages and backgrounds about how the Telephone of the Wind has supported them during emotionally challenging experiences and events. Community members have shared their stories of finding comfort and consolation as they express feelings of grief, sadness anger and confusion.
Some have asked, "Why would a phone connected to nothing be helpful?"
Winters Bell offers that a sacred space allows the opportunity for private, personal conversations with others who cannot (or will not) respond. The release of concealed emotions and private thoughts can offer relief for many. This relief is similar to that of expressing ones self through poetry, music, and other art forms.
Winters Bell, committed to ensuring that the Telephone of the Wind could be accessible by as many as possible, installed two phones at different heights.
An unplanned bonus was that the two phones made "conference calls" possible!
Oneonta youth residents making calls on the Telephone of the Wind
If you would like to join other organizations and private donors in sponsoring this project, please make donation checks payable to:
From Heartache to Healing and Hope LLC
and mail to
50 Dietz Street, Suite J4, Oneonta, NY 13820
TO MAKE A DONATION TO TELEPHONE OF THE WIND WITH PAYPAL OR A CREDIT CARD KINDLY CLICK HERE:
No donation is too big or too small.
Every dollar supports the care and upkeep of our community project.
Thank you for supporting
Bridges through bereavement to blessings.™
SPONSORSHIP BENEFITS FOR BUSINESSES
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Company logo included on “From Heartache to Healing and Hope (“Hope”) website homepage (SEO value)
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Company logo included on “Hope” website sponsor page
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Recognition in “Hope” project press releases sent to more than 300 media outlets
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Three exclusive social media posts recognizing partnership
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Video message featuring Bernadette Winters Bell, LMSW, PLLC, host of the podcast “From Heartache to Healing and Hope” (more than 75,000 downloads and streams) to be shared on social media, introducing project partners and sponsors
Please email beatrice@bgcagency.com for further details and donation levels.
TO SPONSOR A TELEPHONE OF THE WIND AT A FUTURE LOCATION
CLICK HERE:
SPONSORSHIP OF A TELEPHONE OF THE WIND AT LOCATION OF YOUR CHOICE
Your name, in memory of a loved one, or business of choice featured on a beautifully engraved plaque at future Telephone of the Wind location
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Company logo included on “From Heartache to Healing and Hope (“Hope”) website homepage
-
Company logo included on “Hope” website sponsor page
-
Recognition in “Hope” project press releases sent to more than 300 media outlets
-
Three exclusive social media posts recognizing partnership
-
Video message featuring Bernadette Winters Bell, LMSW, PLLC, host of the podcast “From Heartache to Healing and Hope” (more than 75,000 downloads and streams) to be shared on social media, introducing project partners and sponsors
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A little backstory...
As seen on CBS Sunday Morning: On both sides of the Pacific Ocean, telephones have become a tool for the grieving to connect with lost loved ones. Correspondent Lee Cowan looks at how a rotary phone at an Olympia, Wash. park, connected to nothing but the wind, has become a source of solace for those left behind.
View the video here:
Meet The Team
