| Our mission | To offer support to and advocacy for grieving children, families, and others who have experienced a death. |
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Fernside
| Ways to help |
Hospitality VolunteerIndividuals pick up and serve food and beverages. Most importantly they provide a warm welcome to all those attending grief support groups.Fundraising/Special EventsIndividuals assist with events (set up, material prep, clean up, etc.) such as the Summertime Classic golf event that benefits programming at Fernside.Expressive Art Material PreparationIndividuals provide help with preparation of materials for use in our support groups.Support Group FaciltatorIndividuals co-lead a support group in our evening program. They help create a caring environment in which group members share their stories, feelings and memories and discuss how to cope with challenges in their lives. |
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| Ways to help youth thrive |
Support Group FacilitatorBecoming a Support Group Facilitator with Fernside makes a huge difference in the lives of children who are going through an incredibly difficult time in their lives. You co-lead a support group in our evening program, and are responsible for helping to create a caring environment in which group members share their stories, feelings and memories and discuss how to cope with challenges in their lives. We provide a 20-hour training program where you learn about grieving children and adults, group process and have the opportunity to hear first-hand from experienced volunteers and families who have participated in our program, which is offered two times each year. Fernside offers groups for children ages 3 - 18, who are grieving the death of a family member or friend. In the groups, children and teens meet with others their age grieving a similar death. As a trained facilitator, you address a theme each meeting. These themes include telling our story, feelings, changes and rebuilding, memories and many others. You address these themes through expressive arts, games, music and group discussion. Groups meet twice monthly and are held in the following neighborhoods:
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| How you help | Volunteers are the heart of our program. We rely on them to provide quality services for every family that comes to Fernside. Hundreds of children, teens, and adults attend Fernside support groups annually and our services have expanded to include community outreach, crisis response, camps, training, in-school groups, and consultations. |
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| About us | Fernside, established in 1986, as the nation's second oldest children's grief center, remains today a national leader in providing grief support services, outreach and education to the community. Fernside is an affiliate of Hospice of Cincinnati. |
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