Donna’s Personal Appeal

Dear Family & Friends:

On April 18, I will be running the Boston Marathon in honor of all the grieving families I’ve had the privilege of working with at The Children’s Room.  As you may know, running is one of my passions, and my work with grieving children and families is another.  I am thrilled to have the opportunity to combine these passions to raise funds for the unique and essential work of  The Children’s Room as part of 2011 Boston Marathon Miles + Memories Team!

The Children’s Room offers hope and a warm, safe, and caring place for grieving families to come together and share their experience with peers. We are proud to be the leading nonprofit grief center in Massachusetts. We serve hundreds of children, teens, and adults in peer support groups, and provide education and training for professionals who work with children, in many communities.

I’ve had the honor of meeting families like Izzy, Jordan, and their mom Deb, who came to our peer support groups at The Children’s Room. When Izzy was six and Jordan was four, their dad died suddenly of a heart attack. When I first met this beautiful family, they were scared, lost, sad, angry, and confused. Deb was struggling as a single parent burdened with heavy grief and financial responsibilities.  In their groups, each of them shared their pain and their strength with their peers. Gradually, their strength outshone their pain.

The strength and resilience of this family, and many other families, will be with me when the going gets tough, especially on “heartbreak hill.” I know that the 26.2 mile marathon journey is nothing compared to the grief journey of the young families served by The Children’s Room. I will hold Deb, Izzy, and Jordan in my heart as I run to help ensure that The Children’s Room can serve every family that needs the support we offer.  I will draw on the strength they shared with me, and with their peers, when I need to “dig deep” on April 18.

Families tell us they feel less alone and more hopeful and competent as a result of participating in our peer support groups – we offer a place where they can “drop their bags.” Yet there are many more families who need our support than we have the capacity to serve.  In the past year, we have had an average of ten families, each month, waiting for a space in our peer support groups.

Please do what you can to help me meet my goal of raising $12,000 to reduce our wait list and support three families in the program for one year.
Click here to make a secure online donation.
Please add a note in the ‘Comments’ section, to let us know that your gift in is in support of my marathon run.

You may also mail a check to:  The Children’s Room, 1210 Massachusetts Avenue,  Arlington,  MA  02476
Please note Marathon/Donna in the memo section.

Your gift will bring hope and strength when it is needed most.
With gratitude,
Donna