Fall 2021 Grant Results

fall 2021 Grant Results

Our team at the CGFC is pleased to announce our Fall 2021 Grant Recipients.

In this application cycle, we received over 17 applications from all across Canada. This cycle really highlighted the need for resources for grieving children in Canada, specifically during the pandemic.

We are delighted to fund four projects across Canada.

Congratulations to Doane House Hospice, Comfort Bears, Hospice Toronto and Hospice Muskoka on your successful projects!

Thank you so much to all of our wonderful donors for providing financial support to projects that will benefit hundreds of children in Canada. These programs would not have been available to grieving children without your support.

Doane House Hospice Children’s Grief Camp 2022

This is a 3-day specialized art therapy summer camp for children between the ages 6 to 12 who have lost a loved one or have a loved one undergoing terminal illness. Children will have the opportunity to learn about, express, and understand their current grief.

Children will learn a variety of skills that will help them with remembering a loved one or adapting to a change in a relationship because of a recent loss. The main benefits of the grief camp include learning coping skills that will help children to understand and express their emotions, and building connections with others so participants are able to seek support when needed while feeling that they are not alone in their experiences.

Comfort Bears for Kids

Teddy bears often provide comfort and ease anxiety for children in times of stress. They are sometimes buried with the children and are very important to recipients.

To help navigate terminal illness and grief, children and their siblings at McMaster Children’s Hospital will be provided with a bear by a trained volunteer. The volunteer will ensure the child receives a new friend (the bear) to help them through their trauma. The bears will provide a warm hug, a symbol of support, someone who understands and will be there for them 24/7 during their journey.

Children's Grief - Young Carers Program

A young carer is a child between the ages of 5-18 who is in a significant caregiving role, which can directly impact their physical and mental health, as well as their emotional and socio development.

As young carers experience anticipatory grief for the loved one they are caring for. This program will help each young carer to find the language to identify and communicate their feelings about loss and provide support to process their grief.

To help identify and communicate their grief, young carers will participate in 7 weekly 2 hour sessions for facilitated art-based activities designed to elicit conversations and feelings about grief.

Children's Grief and Bereavement

Hospice Muskoka has offered one on one and group grief support to adults over the age of 18 for 25 years. Many of the families that attend grief support have children in their family circle that could also benefit from grief support.

Currently, in the Muskoka region, there is limited grief support available for children and youth. This project will focus on training staff members at Hospice Muskoka in providing children’s grief support. Staff will attend the certificate program offered by Andrea Warnick at Sick Kids Hospital. The staff members can then train other volunteers and new staff members at Hospice Muskoka to help provide children’s grief support and develop workshops.

This program will aim to support 24-30 families in the first year.