Upcoming
A Walk/Run to Remember will take place on Sunday, May 4th. Registration is open! Registration forms available on The Garden website, www.garden-cgc.org and at the Y. Registration is $25.00 per walker or runner before April 28th or $30 afterwards and on race day.
Join us for a fun event for the whole community—following stay to dance with The Pop Rockets and say “Hi!” to Clifford, the Big Red Dog! Refreshments will be served.
Help us grow The Garden! Funds raised will help us open Camp Wildflower, a summer program for grieving children and their families. We are committed to making our program available to everyone. We rely on the generosity of volunteers and the broader community to keep it that way. Call us at 413 584 7086 ext 124 today, or visit us online at www.garden-cgc.org
 Click here for Walk/Run registration form in pdf format.
June 28, 2008 marks the inauguration of Camp Wildflower - an annual camp for grieving children and teens! This new one-day camp will be open to kids grieving the death of a close family member. The Garden: A Center for Grieving Children and Teens invites families with young children ages 7-17 to sign up for this one day of summer fun, sharing stories and making new friends.
At Camp Wildflower, kids of all ages will spend the day at scenic Norwich Camp generously donated by the Hampshire Regional YMCA. Activities, projects and games have been planned to support a healthy grieving process. Local teacher, Jerry Costello; and school psychologist, Carlos Turriago is joining with director, Shelly Bathe Lenn of The Garden: A Center for Grieving Children and Teens to open this unique camp for kids who have experienced the death of a close family member.
Click here for Camp Wildflower registration and/or Volunteer Application packets! Or join us at one of the information sessions scheduled for May 8 or 22nd at 6:30 p.m. to be held at the Y. Shelly Bathe Lenn can be reached at shelly.lenn@hrymca.org or 413 584 7086 ext 124
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Mission Statement
The Garden: A Center for Grieving Children and Teens exists to provide support groups & grief education to grieving children, teens and their families whose lives have been disrupted by death; and to offer professional, community education and training in a grief support model. The Garden is the bereavement program of the Hampshire Regional YMCA, in Northampton. The Garden has been serving an average of 25 families per year in our year long groups at no charge for as long as they may need the support. We also provide consultation to school districts in crisis after the death of a student or staff member. On average we serve 1-2 districts a year. History
Drawing from personal and professional experience, Barbara Weiner-Dubeck founded The Garden: A Center for Grieving Children and Teens in 1998. She is a licensed social worker, mental health counselor and consultant specializing in family and bereavement issues.
Prior to her work with The Garden, Barbara spent five years as a consultant for the Good Grief Program, where she focused on bereavement education and crisis training for schools and community groups. Barbara's work with young people goes back nearly 25 years, when she joined the Amherst Public School System as an elementary school guidance counselor. Barbara formally retired from The Garden June of 2006, but remains a faithful friend. Philosophy
The Garden aims to create a place for children and adults to grieve in a supportive and understanding environment. Society often fails to recognize or fulfill people’s needs during this difficult time. We support these 4 basic principles of grief:
- Grieving is a natural response to change, loss and the death of a close family member or friend
- Grief is individual and has its own time and duration
- Within each individual, child or adult, is the natural ability to heal oneself
- Caring and acceptance assist in the healing process
Scope
Children respond differently to death than adults, but they grieve as much as any grown up and benefit from a caring, knowledgeable environment. At The Garden, our focus is the child - and our programs and discussion groups are geared toward helping young people identify and share their feelings and begin the healing process. Yet the program is for the whole family: while groups of children get together to share stories, feelings, and memories with each other, parents and guardians meet separately for a chance to discuss their own concerns facing them and their families. Groups are facilitated by carefully selected and trained volunteers who encourage an exchange of feelings, ideas and support through discussions, arts and crafts and recreational activities.
One thing we know: children don't grieve in a "gloomy" way - which is sometimes why their grieving process is overlooked in the first place. At The Garden are designed to be fun, while also teaching kids effective and important coping skills. Clientele
The Garden welcomes families from all over Western Massachusetts who have experienced the death of a close family member—mom, dad, brother or sister. It is the loss of a primary person in the life of the child(ren) that we target. We serve families with children ages 5-18 years. Support vs. Therapy
The Garden is not a therapy group - it is a support program for children and their families. Garden volunteers are trained for the sole purpose of providing support, education, and facilitation to the group. |
