Ele’s Place has been known as a resource for grieving children and their families since the non-profit was established 20 years ago. Originally, their programming centered primarily on children grieving after the loss of a parent or sibling. Several years ago, however, a new way to serve the needs of local families began to surface.
“We’d get a lot of calls from parents saying, ‘My wife if dying from cancer, can’t you help my kid now?’” says Laurie Baumer of Ele’s Place. “The kids still need support when their parents have a life-threatening illness, even if they have some assurance of a recovery.”
In response, the non-profit establish Together Learning to Cope, or TLC, a program specifically designed to address the needs of such families. Though TLC began six years ago, Ele’s Place has struggled to get the word out about the new service.
Thanks to a $5,539 grant from the
Capital Region Community Foundation, Ele’s Place will ramp up their outreach efforts and hope to support programming for up to 20 more Lansing-area children. Part of the new outreach involves partnering with the Susan G. Komen Foundation to offer their services specifically to the children of women battling breast cancer.
“We’re trying something new,” says Baumer. “We’re going to try to be a little more specific about the illness in the hopes of serving more children. Then Capital Region Community Foundation has been supporting our work for many years, and we’re really grateful for their support.”
Source: Laurie Baumer, Ele’s Place
Writer: Natalie Burg, News Editor
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