My mom, brother, and I were referred to The Children’s Room shortly after our dad died in March of 2003. At the time, TCR was still fairly new and operating out of the church’s basement on Mass ave. We were lucky to be placed in a bi-weekly peer support group immediately. I remember touring the space and meeting Judy Oliver, who showed us the different rooms and spaces. My brother and I were quickly drawn to the game and high-energy rooms, which remained favorites throughout our time at TCR.
We connected with a few other families right away. One in particular, two young girls the same age as my brother and I, whose dad died on the same night as ours. Understanding that we were not alone in our grief was extremely important. It was really special to find connections going through a similar experience, and it felt particularly important that we found another family to connect with on anniversaries. We still reach out to each other each year on March 29th, our shared anniversary, nearly 20 years later.
We continued attending a group at TCR through the move to the current house on Mass Ave and were excited to enjoy the new space. After a couple of years, we decided that we felt ready to depart The Children’s Room as a family. My mom became a volunteer facilitator shortly after our family stopped attending our biweekly group, and through the years, I looked for ways to be involved, often more informally.
During high school, I watched as one of my good friends, Tricia, became involved in the Teen Performance Troupe and let it be known that I would be happy to volunteer to support TCR in whatever capacity possible. At that time, and as I went to college, this meant participating in the Annual Memories Walk, offering to support fundraising initiatives at the house, and participating in a Young Adult alumni panel event. I have always enjoyed offering my free time to support local organizations and mission-driven work. I especially enjoy connecting with people in public-facing roles. Volunteering has always been rewarding/fulfilling for me and is something I plan to continue doing throughout my life.
The Children’s Room is an incredibly important organization to my family and the broader community it serves.
“When I moved back to Boston in 2019, I was excited to finally go through Facilitator Training and give back to the organization that offered so much support to our family during such a difficult time.”
I love stepping into the house as a volunteer facilitator. Even if I’ve had a stressful week or am tired, I feel calm when I’m back in that space. I find myself energized and incredibly grateful for my volunteer opportunity at TCR every time I leave the house after group.
“It’s also really important for me to see children and families who have experienced recent losses be met with the same support and comfort that my family experienced nearly twenty years ago.”
I’ve always enjoyed running. During the COVID-19 pandemic running became my form of self-care and a safe way to spend time with friends outdoors. I have wanted to challenge myself to run a marathon for a long time and always thought running on the Miles and Memories team for TCR would be special. After completing a few half marathons, I felt that I was in a good place to apply for a bib on the TCR marathon team. I had hoped to run last year but put that on hold for health reasons. I’m so excited to be on the team this year and cannot wait to cross the finish line on April 17th. It feels particularly special to be running this year, given that the 20th anniversary of my dad’s death is March 29th.
Artwork by Sarah
It’s incredibly rewarding and a wonderful way to give back to your community, impact the lives of others, and increase the bandwidth of organizations.
Support Sarah’s Boston Marathon run as a member of The Children’s Room’s Miles & Memories Marathon Team by donating here.
Learn more about how you can become a volunteer here.
About The Author: Sarah Vaillancourt came to The Children’s Room in 2003 with her mom Sue and brother Tyler after the death of her father Peter. She has stayed involved in different capacities and gone through the Volunteer Facilitator Training. She will be running in the upcoming 2023 Boston Marathon as part of The Children’s Room Miles and Memories to help raise funds and awareness to support our hope-giving programs.
