Picaluna was able to bring together their amazing community of Charity Partners, Funeral Suppliers, Funeral Arrangers and supporters in a glittering night of celebration. We are grateful that six years ago the seeds of such a wonderful gathering of caring and genuine people were sown. More than worthy of a proper ‘knees up’ we think, after the added challenges of a pandemic over these past two years.
Since Picaluna’s inception we have donated more than $100,000 to over 170 charities.
2022 marking a special year for Picaluna donations as we built direct relationships with a few select charity partners, so that we could see our donations go further, with greater impact. These deserving charities are:
Chris O’Brien Lifehouse is a comprehensive cancer hospital based in Camperdown, Sydney. From screening to prevention, diagnosis, treatment and wellness, they treat all types of cancer, specialising in those that are complex and rare.
Gotcha4Life – is Australia’s leading mental fitness charity, working to end suicide by delivering presentations, workshops and sustainable training programs that create meaningful mateship, build emotional muscle and strengthen social connection in local communities.
Griefline supports Australians in their grief by providing space to be heard without judgment or labels and offering hope and healing after loss through their free helpline and online bereavement support groups and forums support.
Indigenous Literacy Foundation is a national charity working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander remote Communities across Australia.
They are Community-led, responding to requests from remote Communities for culturally relevant books and programs to support Communities to create and publish their stories in languages of their choice.
Street Side Medics – delivers a free, GP led, mobile medical service to people experiencing homelessness. Currently operating from several sites across Sydney on a regular weekly basis, each clinic is staffed by skilled volunteers who operate from a well-equipped mobile medical van, providing a primary health care service to the standard of a normal General Practice.
SisterWorks is based in Victoria. They deliver a range of vocational educational and pre-employment support programs to help women who are refugees, asylum seekers or migrants backgrounds to gain the skills, improve their confidence, mental wellbeing, sense of belonging and economic outlook.
We also partner with Monika’s Doggie Rescue, a popular choice for pet lovers. Along with the Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation and the Animal Rehoming Service both based in Victoria. We are so proud to partner with such an amazing group of charities carrying out important work for our community.
Such a glorious night of celebration was aided by the generous support of Sponsorship. We were thrilled to have these valued people representatives in the room, who make such a difference to our daily work in the funeral industry.
Search Rescue – our digital marketing agency, that specialise in SEO, Google Ads, Social Media Marketing. For all their work behind the scenes to make sure that Picaluna and its brand goes out on the internet and is seen by many, many sets of eyes. While we don’t exist in bricks and mortar, Search Rescue makes sure we exist and are visible to one and all.
One Crown, bringing together Northern Cemeteries NSW, Rookwood General Cemetery and Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries NSW. One Crown have some of our favourite chapels in their portfolio (not that we have favourites….) but we can often be found at the Lotus Pavilion at Macquarie Park Cemetery and Crematorium and will be forever grateful that such a flexible and nature-connected venue exists for our families.
Scientia, our key coffin supplier. We are more than appreciative of their innovation and knowledge in the coffin world. Scientia has understood Picaluna from the very beginning and go above and beyond to support our funeral arrangers and in turn grieving families. Their eco-coffin range is worthy of a gander.
Personal Services Australia and their marvellous teams at IMS at Tuggerah who support Picaluna from the Central Coast to Newcastle and PSA at Smeaton Grange supporting Greater Sydney. With their offering of services from Cremation, hearse hire, grave digging, coffin supply and more.
Dignified Transport, Leann and her dedicated team of hearse drivers. We are in awe every day of the way they enable and support Picaluna to do its best work for families in their time of need.
Copperbeech – The Flower Merchant, not only have they been with us even before we were Picaluna but provided all of the evening’s beautiful flowers. They do incredible work and bring detailed, bespoke briefs from funeral arrangers to fruition. In turn, they bring healing, happiness and pride to the bereaved.
Dignified Mortuary – DMS take mortuary care to the next level and continue to go above and beyond to assist our funeral arrangers to best serve a diversity of needs of families.
The Funeral Fix has risen to the challenge of engaging and training the open-minded funeral celebrants of the future. They have filled a much-needed gap in quality funeral celebrant training.
Ceremony Cast who have been extraordinary in their own growth over the past two years, particularly filling a the pandemic-powered service of live streaming funerals. Their quality and flexibility is second to none and they are a valued part of the Picaluna family.
With such a group of clever people in the room at Milestone Events, Manly, it was bound to be a success. Particularly with the star-spangled talents of Sandy Bottom of Drag Queen Funerals, at the helm as the evening’s hostess with the mostest. Sandy is a caring and compassionate funeral celebrant and the perfect person to guide us all in the night’s proceedings with sparkle and flare.
The Picaluna Ball was particularly about the Board and Management, paying tribute to the devotion, care and passion of our incredible community of Picaluna funeral arrangers and funeral celebrants. On a daily basis they work as a team to create space for grieving families to tell stories; to gather and to heal after loss.
At times the work can be intense and all-consuming and a highly skilled and organised mind-set is required alongside a delicate and compassionate approach. Picaluna arrangers are a special breed. Their work covers end-of-life consultancy, death midwifery and doula work, funeral arranging, ceremony crafting and funeral celebrancy in the sacred space of grief and death.
Picaluna arrangers deeply respect the importance of the healing space that quality celebrancycan create in a funeral service. We are the sum of all these amazing parts. We don’t often put aside the time to take a breath and reflect on where we are at and how Picaluna funerals has grown. To lay aside the tools of the trade for a brief moment, to be together as one and say to each other “thank you” for being human.
It is a privilege to serve our communities in this way.
Picaluna – changing the way funerals are done for the better.
Photos: Glenn Duffus Photography
