TAPS Friendsgiving for Surviving Military Families
November 1 - 30, 2023
Host a TAPS Friendsgiving
SPECIAL NOTE: All of our host spots have been filled for the 2023 TAPS Friendsgiving; however, you can still submit your ideas for hosting survivors at TAPS Togethers in your local community! If you would like to learn more about future opportunities like our TAPS Friendsgiving initiative, email tapstogethers@taps.org and we'll be sure to keep you updated.
We are grateful for your willingness to host local survivors , and hope you are still able to attend a TAPS Friendsgiving event - in-person or online!
This November and December 2023, we’re inviting our TAPS family to join us in our 2nd Annual TAPS Friendsgiving. Even in the strange, imperfect grief world, we can still get together and lean in to what we know to be true - that we aren’t alone, that we are part of something bigger than ourselves, and that it does help to share pie or turkey sandwiches with people who “get it.”
The Thanksgiving holiday, at its heart, is about gratitude, community, and the imperative to continue despite challenging conditions. Our “Friendsgiving” concept is the same - wherever you are, create and celebrate the community you need as you navigate your own new [grief] world.
TAPS Friendsgiving is an opportunity to support your local survivor community, or you may want to find a local survivor community. A Friendsgiving event is a great opportunity to do both. What’s important, though, is that whether you decide to throw a one-person party or bring together fifty people, you’ll be part of a larger story that we’re telling - one that helps us all remember that even when it seems like we’re trying to carve out an existence on our own, we’re actually part of a larger story. We’ll tell this story on TAPS social media.
Find an In-Person TAPS Friendsgiving
TAPS Friendsgiving events will be held all across the country on various dates in November. You might find one as part of your local care group, or you might decide that you want to lead the charge and get survivors in your community together. If you want to meet new people, we invite you to join a public event. If you want to gather your nearest and dearest, the rest of us will look forward to some great photos.
- November 2, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. - Pensacola, Florida - Blue Angels Homcoming Practice Show
- November 4, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. - Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Veteran's Day Parade Walk and Lunch
- November 4, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. - Daniel Island, South Carolina - Coffee Meet and Greet
- November 4 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. - Discovery Bay, California - Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner
- November 5, 12 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. - Hamilton Township, New Jersey - Meal, Dessert and Coffee
- November 5, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. - Alexandria, Virginia - Dessert and Coffee
- November 8, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. - Honeoye, New York - Dessert and Coffee
- November 9, 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. - San Antonio, Texas - Dessert and Coffee
- November 9, 6:30 to 8 p.m. - Hatbro, Pennyslvania - Dessert and Coffee
- November 11, 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. - Milwaukee Area, Wisconsin - Dessert and Coffee
- November 11, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. - Flower Mound, Texas - Traditional Thanksgiving Meal
- November 12, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. - Rockledge, Florida - Dessert and Coffee in the Park
- November 12, 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner
- November 15, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. - Perrysburg, Ohio - Dessert and Coffee
- November 16, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. - Seattle, Washington - Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner
- November 18, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. - Tampa, Florida - Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner
- November 18 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. - High Point, North Carolina - Starbucks Coffee
- November 18, 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. - Chester, Virginia - Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner
- November 18, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. - Southwest Michigan - Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner
- November 18, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. - Peoria, Arizona - Dessert and Coffee - CANCELLED
- November 18 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. - Spokane, Washington - Cookie and Dessert Exchange
- November 18 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. - Pensacola, Florida - Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner
- November 19, 1:15 p.m. to 3 p.m. - Oakdale, Minnesota - Games and Dessert
- November 20, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. - Roseville, California - Dessert and Coffee
- November 21, 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. - Fairfax, Virginia - Dessert and Coffee
- November 24 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. - Ware, Massachusetts - Traditional Thanksgiving Brunch
- November 30, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. - Akron, Ohio - Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner
- December 5, 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. - Baton Rouge, Louisiana - Dinner with Dr. Frank Campbell
Additional Friendsgiving dates and locations will be posted here as the details become available.
Find an Online TAPS Friendsgiving
Online Groups will be TAPS Friendsgiving, Dessert and Coffee events in November. We invite you register to join your peer group for this special event.
- November 2, 8 p.m. Eastern - Moms Mentoring Moms - New to Grief
- November 4, 2 p.m. Eastern - Dare to Lead Cohort 1
- November 4, 4 p.m. Eastern - Dare to Lead Cohorts 1 to 12
- November 8, 8 p.m. Eastern - Moms Mentoring Moms
- November 13, 8 p.m. Eastern - Surviving Parents
- November 14, 9 p.m. Eastern - Surviving Siblings
- November 20, 8 p.m. Eastern - Overdose Loss Survivor
- November 21, 8 p.m. Eastern - Surviving Parents of Only Child
- November 22, 12 p.m. Eastern - Women's Empowerment
- November 27, 6 p.m. Eastern - Peer Mentors
Online Friendsgiving dates and times will be posted here as the details become available.
Questions?
Care Group leaders, peer mentors, and community organizers - have questions? We’ve got you. If you want to discuss the options with us, we’d love to brainstorm with you and make it happen. Email us at tapstogethers@taps.org.