Creating Family Memory Boxes at Valerie’s House
Join Bobbie Santiago, our Volunteer & Group Manager, as she walks through one of our most meaningful family activities at Valerie’s House — Family Memory Boxes.
Each location personalizes this experience a little differently.
• Naples families create keepsake wooden boxes with a lock and key.
• Fort Myers & Charlotte County families choose from a variety of boxes — plain or repurposed cigar boxes — and decorate them together.
Families spend time talking about memories, special places, and moments they wish they could share again. Then they decorate their boxes using markers, ribbons, stickers, washi tape, and more. Every box ends up completely unique, just like every family we serve. At the end of the activity:
• Naples families take their completed box home.
• Fort Myers & Charlotte County families add a personalized lock to their location’s sculpture — a symbol of love and connection that stays there forever. This activity helps families open up, remember together, and create something meaningful as they continue their healing journeys.
You May Like
Myah Once Struggled to Walk Through the Door. Now She’s Helping Others Walk Through It Too.
When Myah first came to Valerie’s House after losing her dad, Jay, just two weeks before her 13th birthday, she couldn’t bring herself to go inside group. “I sat outside for my first three group nights,” she shared. “I just kind of didn’t want to accept the fact about everything.”
Letting Go and Looking Up | A Healing Grief Activity at Valerie’s House
In this video, Bobbie Santiago, Volunteer and Group Manager at Valerie’s House, walks us through a special grief activity called “Letting Go and Looking Up.” T his meaningful session helps children release the heavy parts of grief and focus on hope for the future. Using dissolvable paper, the group writes
“Everyone Else Had Their Dad”: How Briza Found People Who Understood at Valerie’s House
Before Briza walked into Valerie's House for the first time, she wasn’t sure what to expect. “I was very hesitant about it,” she says. “Coming to talk to people about a loved one that died…” At 13 years old, Briza had already experienced multiple heartbreaking losses. Her father died before