Wake

11/14/2025

We hope to see you there!

11/13/2025

Wake is thrilled to share that our Executive Director, Liz Dunnebacke, has been selected as a recipient of the Greater New Orleans Funders Network’s Restoration and Rejuvenation Initiative Community Champion Distinguished Service Award! This is a tremendous honor and represents a powerful statement about the importance of supporting the well-being of nonprofit leaders.

https://www.gnofundersnetwork.org/blog/0wdsm2rm7gwk3rfmvopcdjf7z6wxn8

11/12/2025

In the state of Louisiana, cremation must be authorized via one of the following
options...............

To learn more and support Wake's Mission: https://www.wake.education/donate

11/10/2025

Any interested party can arrange a burial; legal next-of-kin are not required to be involved, provided there is no conflict of interest. However, if there is concern about legal next of kin objecting to arrangements and taking action, it is best to have the necessary documents in place authorizing a chosen representative to have your primary right of disposition. Typically, the responsibility of arranging a burial falls to the person who can afford the services. If you assign your right of disposition to someone who lacks the funds to pay for your services, or you do not leave them sufficient funds, they will have to seek alternative means of fulfilling your wishes or transfer your right of disposition to your legal heirs or whoever can afford to pay. If no one can secure funding for final arrangements, the state will arrange for disposition (through the parish’s coroner’s office), and you will not have access to their cremated remains or their place of interment.

To learn more and support Wake's Mission: https://www.wake.education/donate

11/08/2025

Wake recommends that you start a “When I Die” folder (if you don’t already have one). This is a place for you to put important things that your people will need when you die or if you become temporarily incapacitated. Things like passwords, information about bills and accounts, and fun things like your favorite music, or foods you’d like to be served at your memorial service. You can download our comprehensive list of things to put in your “When I Die” folder on our website.

11/07/2025

11/05/2025

The deathcare industry in the U.S. has a heavy carbon footprint, which is only expected to grow in the coming years. Environmentally friendly solutions for disposition and memorialization are available; however, they can be challenging to access and expensive to implement. Wake works to make these options available to everyone and to make them affordable so that we limit the negative impact that our collective mortality has on the planet.

11/03/2025

When a person dies in Louisiana without having made pre-arrangements, their families are compelled to purchase expensive services from a for-profit industry, or the deceased person will be considered abandoned, and the state will step in to take over. Many families struggle to afford basic services for a deceased loved one. Wake helps families connect to affordable solutions for end-of-life care, and provides support with memorialization so that the amount spent on a funeral does not have to equal the amount of love we have for our loved one.

11/01/2025

What You Need to Know About Organ Donation in Louisiana...............

10/30/2025

Wake is dedicated to fostering a sense of agency, providing education and access to help people make informed, personalized choices when navigating end-of-life decisions.
We work towards systems change by reducing obstacles to equitable deathcare, promoting environmental sustainability, and normalizing death and grieving.

10/28/2025

Deathcare is healthcare. Quite literally, when a heart stops beating, or a final breath is taken, there is still a body to attend to. Until we lay that person to rest, we must caretake the body. And yet when someone dies, all healthcare systems fall away, and a family is compelled by law to purchase the services of a private funeral home to shelter and handle that person, a cost that runs into the thousands.
Wake is honored to help guide families through all of these events. You can help families by donating to Wake's mission today.

To donate: https://www.wake.education/donate

10/20/2025

We can not do this alone. We need your help to raise $15,000 to map the process of what happens to unclaimed individuals across our region so that we can make this information public.
When you donate, you join Wake in ensuring that everyone has access to affordable deathcare.

To donate: www.wake.education/donate