The Children’s Room recently received a grant from the Community Endowment of Lexington, an Endowed Fund of the Foundation for MetroWest. These funds will be used specifically to continue operating a school-based peer support group for grieving teens on site at Lexington High School.
The Children’s Room’s peer-based grief support group was piloted at Lexington High School in 2010; it now serves 20 bereaved teens regularly each school year. The funds awarded by the Community Endowment of Lexington will allow The Children’s Room to continue to provide this group at Lexington High School free of charge. TCR will continue to work closely with Lexington High School staff and administration in order to help facilitate and maintain the peer support group. The peer support group is co-facilitated by a clinical staff member from TCR and one of the mental health professionals from LHS.
The Children’s Room’s Philanthropy Director, Kim Cayer, said, “We are thankful to the Community Endowment of Lexington for this gift that will support grieving teens at this important time in their development. Grieving teens have unique needs, and it is crucial that we are able to bring our support services to them at school, where they feel comfortable.”
For a teen coping with the death of a parent or sibling, the school environment, in particular, can compound an already painful grief experience. For grieving teens, school often means isolation from peers, well-intentioned but ultimately hurtful interventions from adults, and a culture unaware of the impact of grief on young people. However, when given the opportunity to share and express their experiences, bereaved teens have been shown to have higher rates of resiliency, maturity, and empathy when compared to their non-bereaved peers.
Please click here for more information about our community and school-based peer support groups.
About the Community Endowment of Lexington, an Endowed Fund of the Foundation for MetroWest
The Community Endowment of Lexington, an endowed fund of the Foundation for MetroWest, promotes a spirit of philanthropic giving to help enhance the quality of life for all Lexington citizens now, and for the future. CEL is a permanent grantmaking source of funding to support our community needs and opportunities, and provide ways for donors to give back or leave a legacy to our community. For more information, visit foundationformetrowest.org/lexington.
