“A harbor in a storm for any parent who loses a child.”
“…all in a place that feels like home.”
– Parent participants
“Ever since the day my Dad died, Jeff’s Place was so welcoming to us. Since that day Jeff’s Place has helped me move forward in my life.”
– Child participant
Jeff’s Place Program Update
So far, 2021 has already been a year full of movement for us at Jeff’s Place. We are thrilled to kick off our Grief MOVES Initiative! We recognize that kids/teens are physical in their grief! Their bodies are meant to move. When their level of activity decreases, (i.e. pandemic!), those big emotions that come from losing someone close have no place to go. And as you know, that can play a factor in children’s physical and emotional well-being.
In our Grief MOVES Initiative, everyone from our facilitators to our families are getting in on the action. In January, our Jeff’s Place staff and facilitators underwent a training with movement and embodiment expert, Aaron Cantor, to help increase our ways to connect with movement and play particularly in this virtual format.
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Additionally, thanks to a grant from Middlesex Savings Bank, we hired a Dance Movement consultant, Madison Janke, to work with us and bring more tools/ movement to the kids/ teens we work with. Full disclosure, Madison is no stranger to JP, as she interned with us several years ago. She is back to help us lead this movement!
Lastly, with deep appreciation to the Haley Cremer Foundation, we were able to hand out Fitbits to all our grieving kids and teens!
Families are already raving about Grief MOVES:
“This is an incredible opportunity.”
“This is amazing! I love my Fitbit and [my son] loves
asking me how many steps I have…”
“[My daughter] is so excited about this!”
We don’t want kids ‘stuck’ in their grief… we want motion…
we want movement… we want healing.
#GriefMOVES
Our gratitude overflows for our volunteer content designer who created this website: John Gardiner!