National Children’s Grief Awareness Day

1 in 7 Americans lose a parent or sibling before age 20.

In December of 2000, when I was 21 years old, the world as I knew it came to a screeching halt when I lost my mother following complications from a surgery that was supposed to repair a leaky mitral valve in her heart. I was 21, but the youngest of my four siblings had just turned 12. The journey that each of us took to deal with our grief was very different.

For the past two years, I’ve had the honor of being involved with a local charity that is dedicated to providing grieving children and their families with the resources that they need to manage the loss of their loved ones in healthy ways. If you have read my bio, you know I speak of the one and only, Camp Koala.  Camp Koala started out as an overnight weekend camp for children ages 7-12, however, it has grown to include a workshop program that provides support group services to adults, teens, and children. When I look back on the period of time in my life following the loss of my mother,  I often wish my siblings and I had a place like Camp Koala, where we could meet other children, teens, families, who had experienced similar losses and know that we were NOT alone.

During my past two years of being a volunteer with Camp Koala, I’ve had the opportunity to see MAGIC happen. To see kids open up and share their stories of loss. To see kids feel safe enough to let the tears flow. To see kids who are further along in their grief journey lift up and encourage their peers who have experienced more recent losses. These moments touch my soul and fill me with hope that even the smallest act of care and concern can go a long way in helping a child grieve.

Join me in wearing BLUE on November 15th to honor all the children in our lives who are grieving the loss of a loved one.  In addition to the Camp Koala website, here are some additional resources where you can find more information on how you can help grieving families and children:

www.dougy.org 
www.hellogrief.org
www.achildingrief.com
www.childrengrieve.org

Children grieve the death of their loved one for the rest of their life. They adapt. They bounce back. They may thrive. But they will never forget.

Listen. Just be there. Often the smallest acts, have the biggest impact.