Valerie’s House awarded $10,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Sarasota County to support school grief support groups
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts:
Nina Mendes, Communications Coordinator
Valerie’s House
(239) 204-5804
Christine Carey, Charlotte County Director
Valerie’s House
(239) 841-0382
FORT MYERS, Fla. – June 10, 2022 – A $10,000 grant has been awarded to Valerie’s House, a nonprofit organization in Southwest Florida helping children grieve, which will help expand the organization’s in-school grief support services in Sarasota County.
Funding for this project is provided by the Community Impact Grant of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County.
“We are so grateful to provide services and resources to our children and families in Sarasota County,” Valerie’s House- Charlotte County Director Christine Carey said.
One in seven children will experience the death of a parent or sibling by the age of 25, according to the 2021 Childhood Bereavement Estimation Model.
More than 8,000 children in Charlotte and Sarasota Counties have experienced the death of a parent or sibling. Valerie’s House currently provides in-school grief support within four Sarasota elementary schools and plans to triple the number of groups offered during the 2022-2023 school year.
Valerie’s House has discovered that barriers to group attendance include transportation and time constraints. The nationwide shortage of mental health professionals also prevents bereaved families from receiving the mental health care and grief support they need following the loss of a loved one.
Increasing the number of school groups Valerie’s House participates in will allow the organization to reach more bereaved children. Funding for this project will help Valerie’s House provide additional peer grief support groups within Sarasota County schools.
In addition, Valerie’s House will provide in-school grief support at (4) Title I schools as part of its mission to improve the achievement of disadvantaged children this upcoming school year. The expansion will include additional Title I schools in an effort to reach the most underserved children in the county.
The expansion of the in-school grief support programs within Sarasota County provided by Valerie’s House will allow the organization to reach children and support them through their grief by teaching them the coping skills they need to grow into healthy adults.
Valerie’s House also provides childhood grief education presentations to each school where grief groups are held. When educators receive information and tools to support grieving children properly, the children feel additional support from their teachers and guidance counselors.
When a Sarasota County school is identified as needing grief support, Valerie’s House staff will meet with school personnel to coordinate the peer grief support group.
About Valerie’s House
Last year, Valerie’s House helped more than 1,000 children grieve the loss of a loved one.
Valerie’s House currently offers support groups and other services at 1762 Fowler Street in Fort Myers and in Naples at 819 Myrtle Terrace. In Punta Gorda, Valerie’s House offers group meetings at First United Methodist Church. Valerie’s House also runs groups in Port Charlotte at the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church and offers support at the Family Services Center. Valerie’s House is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization and is fully supported by community donations. More information can be found at www.valerieshouse.org.
About the Community Foundation of Sarasota County:
The Community Foundation of Sarasota County is a public charity founded in 1979 by the Southwest Florida Estate Planning Council as a resource for caring individuals and the causes they support, enabling them to make a charitable impact on the community. With assets of $520 million in more than 1,570 charitable funds, the Community Foundation awarded grants and scholarships totaling $27.5 million dollars last year in the areas of education, the arts, health and human services, civic engagement, animal welfare, and the environment. Since its founding, the Community Foundation has been able to grant more than $350 million to area nonprofit organizations to our community, thanks to the generosity of charitable individuals, families, and businesses. For more information, visit www.CFSarasota.org or call (941) 955-3000
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