Today is National Children’s Grief Awareness Day! Each year on the third Thursday in November, which is also the Thursday before Thanksgiving, National Children’s Grief Awareness Day is observed. The holidays are a time when many children need support if they are grieving the loss of a loved one, so Children’s Grief Awareness Day takes place at a very fitting time.
According to childrensgriefawarenessday.org, “Before they graduate from high school, one out of every 20 children will have a parent die - and that number doesn’t include those who experience the death of a brother or sister, a close grandparent, an aunt or uncle, or friend.”
Children experiencing grief look normal to the people around them but are experiencing significant difficulties in living with the loss of someone important to them. The purpose of this national awareness day is to help people learn how to help grieving children and to remind them that grief is a process that is different for everyone. Each child experiencing grief needs compassion and caring because only they understand how they’re feeling.
How can you support National Children’s Grief Awareness Day?
-Go to childrensgriefawarenessday.org and learn about children’s grief by visiting the resource section.
-Visit the Community Service section of our website and read about ways to support grief support service entities in your area.
-Make a donation to Hermann Sons Life-Camp’s Grief Support Session. By making a contribution, you will be helping pay for a grieving child’s tuition for a camp session with children also experiencing significant loss.
Donations can be sent to:
Hermann Sons Life-Camp
Attn: Grief Support Donation
P.O. Box 1941
San Antonio, Texas 78297-1941
-Share information about Hermann Sons Life-Camp’s Grief Support Session on Facebook, by email, and any other way you know how. It is especially beneficial to share information about this session with adults caring for grieving children.
These are great tips for every day, but we can all make a big impact if we all engage in one of these activities today, National Children’s Grief Awareness Day.