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Events
Registration now open for Camp Kesem
This free, week long camp is for children ages 6-18 who have had a caregiver diagnosed with, treated for, or who has died from cancer. Learn more here.
Grief Camp Opportunities in Kentucky
There are summer and ongoing camp opportunities for children with death loss. For children ages 9-12 who are impacted by a caregiver or relative's substance use disorder (active use or death loss), there is Camp Mariposa, with year round opportunities at Camp Burnamwood (Irvine, KY). Learn more about Camp Mariposa here. Camp Erin, sponsored by Hospice & Palliative Care of Western Kentucky for children ages 6-17, will run August 4-6, 2023 at a camp site in Bowling Green. More information and registration forms for Camp Erin are here.
Register for New Virtual Teen-Led Grief Support
Registration for the Peer Healing group starting in late April 2023 is now open! Peer Healing is a teen-led grief support group for teens 13-18 that meets once a week on Wednesday nights for 8 weeks. Games, conversation, and connection will help teens who have experienced a death loss find a healing space and skills that will help them as they navigate their new normal. Learn more about our Peer Healing groups here.
Parenting Grieving Children Zooms
Stay tuned for meetings of bimonthly live, Zoom-based information sessions for parents and caregivers of grieving children. Learn about common grief reactions, healthy coping strategies, and ways to strengthen child and caregiver bonds in the face of loss. Zooms will be alternating Monday nights from 7:00-7:45 EST. Contact us using our contact form on the home page to register or to get more information.
News
New NACG Teen Grief Journal Includes Contributions from Lexington Teen
The National Alliance for Children's Grief (NACG) has just released a teen grief journal, a new resource for middle and high school students. The journal, available in English and Spanish editions, includes a variety of suggested writing and art activities, as well as idea prompts. It also includes material from a NACG-supported teen work group, which met over several months to contribute ideas, feedback, and quotes that appear in the finished book.
Katarina Salisbury, one of the members of the NACG working group and one of two Teen Leaders for the KCGCF's online teen grief support group, contributed material to the book. Katarina is a student at a local Lexington high school and volunteers regularly with several KCGCF programs. "This is an interactive journal that has something for everyone," Katarina says. "It's a really good resource for encouraging teens to begin acknowledging and engaging with their grief."
The journal is available directly from the NACG; for more information and to order, click here.
Partnership with FCPS
The KCGCF was delighted to partner with Fayette County Public Schools (FCPS) in a grant application to the Novo Foundation to support a program to create grief support groups and services for youth in court diversion. We are happy to announce that FCPS was selected for the grant funding and that grief support groups for these youth will start in the fall of 2022! We are very proud to be a partner on this grant and look forward to seeing these important services develop.
