To Our Valued Community Members,

We are reaching out to you to notify you of our Spring Cemetery Clean Up. You may have seen our signs posted around our property or our notifications on Social Media of this upcoming event. This year we would like to actively engage the community to ensure that we both care for our Memorial Park as well as care for the families who have entrusted us with their loved ones. We will be breaking the Clean Up into 12 weeks during which time we will slowly move through our Memorial Park. This will be a time to not only clean and maintain grave spaces and gardens, but also to reset location finder pins, verify proper working of irrigation, address damage, and do regular lawn maintenance.

We will be asking the community to temporarily remove decorations from their loved ones’ graves prior to our entry into the scheduled sections. Should family and friends be unavailable or unable to remove decorations, we will carefully remove decorations and place them in bags and boxes with identification of the grave that they belong with noted on a tag. Care will be taken so as not to damage any articles placed on graves, and to keep all items contained and available. We will bundle fences and attach them to the parcels for easy access and keep the parcels close to the original grave location whenever possible. Decorations from larger, more heavily decorated gardens may need to be placed a small distance from the garden, but we will be placing them in a manner that makes them easy to find and we will cover the parcels for protection from the elements. Staff will be available to give items to families or assist in receiving items from their holding location. Unfortunately, we will not be able to replace items on graves, but we will work diligently to treat all items with care and concern so as to make it as easy as possible to redecorate. Fresh flowers will be left in vases at the grave location.

Starting the week of each garden’s clean up, we will be enforcing page 27 Section XIV.2.e-f from our Rules and Regulations and General Information for Owner(s) of Interment Rights of Chapel of the Chimes Memorial Park and Funeral Home, Hayward, California. Specifically, we will be enforcing the portion of the rule that prohibits fences (fencing often encroaches on neighboring graves and makes mowing difficult), as well as shells, stones, pebbles, etc. (these items become dangerous projectiles should a lawnmower inadvertently pass over them), unless granted prior written permission or written approval upon review. Approved vs. Non-Approved is at the discretion of Cemetery Management. It is not our intention to limit family and friends’ memorialization of loved ones’ grave spaces, but rather to bring Chapel of the Chimes back closer to the Rules and Regulations that allow us to properly maintain the grounds. A copy of the full Rules and Regulations is available from our front desk and is attached to this email. A map and schedule are attached for ease of use.

The schedule is as follows:

• February 27-March 3: Garden of Hope, Jardines del Recuerdo, Santo Nino
• March 6-10: Garden of Mercy, Sanctuary Circle, Courage Mausoleum, Mission Terrace
• March 13-17: Garden of Honor II, Serenity Terrace, Garden of Reflection, Our Lady of Fatima I & II
• March 20-24: Garden of Noor I-V, Sharray Chayyim, Garden of Tranquility, Garden of Eternal Life
• March 27-31: Bayview, Grandview, Bai En Yuan, Lotus Family Estates, Bai Ling Yuan
• April 1-11: No clean up in observance of Ching Ming
• April 12-14: Hillside Mausoleum, Grandview Mausoleum, Garden of Love, Sunset Garden, Sharray Shalom, Hillview
• April 17-21: Garden of Peace, Garden of Tribute
• April 24-28: Sunrise Garden I-III
• May 1-5: Garden of Honor I
• May 8-11: Hillside Garden, Garden of Memory, Garden of Remembrance
• May 12-20: No clean up in observance of Mother’s Day
• May 22-26: Cypress I & II, Serenity Garden, Court of the Apostles, Gulshane Rahmat
• May 29-June 2: Circle of Peace Mausoleum, Garden of Light & Freedom Mausoleum, Brookside Cremation Garden

Please be aware: we will not be removing items that are place ON upright markers nor any marker that rises above ground and cannot accommodate a lawnmower passing over top with clearance. For graves with markers that rise above ground level, we will remove and dispose of items that are obviously broke, are in extreme disrepair, or pose a hazard. Any items not on the marker itself will be placed, to our best ability, on the marker. In cases of larger quantities of memorabilia, items will be boxed or bagged as usual. After the conclusion of the Spring Clean-Up, property not replaced on graves will be held in an easily accessible area for a time. We will bear in mind that for many families, regular visits are not possible, and property may be held until the next clean-up. Please reach out with questions or concerns and our staff will be able to assist. If you would like to be notified of future clean-ups, please submit a request with your contact information in the Contact Us portion of our website.

Please reach out with questions or concerns and our staff will be able to assist.. To learn more, please contact the main office at 510-471-3363