Valerie's House breaks ground on new Forever Home in Lee County
/We are honored to see more than a dozen publications highlighting the Forever Home Groundbreaking Event. Here are just some of the stories featuring Valerie’s House. If you would like to check out the articles, please see the links below and share them too!
Wink News
Gulfshore Business
Angela Melvin paused. She had written the speech just a couple of hours earlier about how she shared in the grief of so many children, having experienced it herself.
Valerie Melvin, the namesake of Valerie’s House, a Southwest Florida nonprofit created as a haven and support group for children grieving the death of a parent, died in a car crash when Angela was 10.
“I’m a humble, grieving child who is all grown up,” said Angela Melvin, who later collected herself Friday morning and carried on with delivering her words to about 60 of her friends, supporters and children who are members of the program.
About a year from now, Valerie’s House will move into a new forever home with 7,000 square feet of space. It is being built at 3551 Shoemaker Lane, off Veronica Shoemaker Boulevard, adjacent to a fire station and an apartment complex in Fort Myers. No one will live in the home, but dozens of children will be able to congregate there. It will have a full kitchen and dining room, a punching bag room, art rooms, a memory garden and fountain, basketball court and a covered gazebo.
FOX-4
FORT MYERS, Fla. — One in seven children in Florida is predicted to lose a parent or sibling by the age of 25, according to the 2022 Childhood Bereavement Estimation Model.
That's why Valerie’s House has made it their mission to help children and families going through the grieving process.
On Friday Valerie’s House broke ground on their new forever home.
They say this future home means no child will ever have to grieve alone.
Angela Melvin, the founder and CEO of Valerie’s House says there’s been a lot of loved ones lost in this community.
She says just this week a 12-year-old was killed after being hit by a car in the Walmart parking lot in Cape Coral.
WGCU – NPR - PBS
Valerie’s House has broken ground on the facility that will serve as its new forever home. The land for the facility was donated by the city of Fort Myers, and more than $2 million has been raised for the cost of construction. Sponsors include local businesses, foundations and prominent community members.
CEO Angela Melvin founded Valerie’s House with the goal of helping children and families grieve the loss of a loved one. The nonprofit is named for Melvin's mother Valerie Melvin, who died in a car accident when Angela was ten years old.
“I will always be a Valerie's house child, and that really is the passion behind a project like this,” she said. “Getting this house built for our community, so no child will ever have to grieve alone.”
Valerie’s House offers a variety of programs, including peer support groups, individual counseling, mentoring programs and much more. The nonprofit has also expanded its operations into Charlotte and Collier Counties, as well as in Pensacola.
