Solace Tree

Reno, NV (May 14, 2012) – The Solace Tree has received a grant of $35,000 from the Chicago-based William C. McGowan Charitable Fund, which has a vision to “impact lives today, create sustainable change, and empower future generations to achieve their greatest potential.” The grant, which is subject to the Solace Tree matching it with $31,200, will be used to launch “Virtual Solace,” a web-based program that will allow the Solace Tree to offer grief support group services to remote or underserved communities. “We’re doing good work on a local level, and this program will allow us to leverage our proven model beyond the Reno-Sparks area,” said David Wertzberger, Solace Tree Board Chair. “We get requests for help from all over the country, but it’s not feasible for us to set up a Solace Tree in all these places just yet. With Virtual Solace, we can still help these people.”

“Unresolved grief and community depression can lead to delinquency and crime. Our work alleviates that for communities like Douglas County, Fallon, Fernley, Elko, and Austin, pretty much anywhere there’s an Internet connection”, says Emilio Parga, Executive Director. ”And, there is not currently grief support available for children and teens in much of Nevada and in many areas of the country.”

Money raised will go toward staff and technology necessary to implement the program, including:

• Go-To-Meeting software
• Adequate bandwidth
• Internet media specialist
• Directional cameras for groups

The Solace Tree has raised $6,000 from John Worthington toward the matching grant so far, and is now asking the community for donations

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I’m Here With You: A Community Forum on Understanding Children and Grief May 7th

Understanding how young children grieve is the focus of

I’m Here With You: A Forum on Children and Grief
on May 7, 2012 from 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM
at the Jewish Community Center in York.

Please click here to reserve your seat for this FREE community event.

The witf and Facing Cancer Together sponsored community forum is designed for adults who care for young children—families, teachers, principals, child care professionals.

In this special community forum, child grief experts Leslie Delp, M.A. (founder and bereavement specialist at Olivia’s House in York, PA) along with Emilio Parga, M.A. (founder and director at The Solace Tree in Reno, Nevada), will help us sort through myths, fears, and questions related to children’s grief.  Many of us just want to figure out what to say.

“You will never scar a child for life by talking about death,” says Leslie Delp, the founder and bereavement specialist at Olivia’s House in York.  Olivia’s House is a grief and loss center that offers no cost services for children and young adults whose family member, close friend, or even pet has died.   As adults, death can be a confusing and overwhelming topic for us. What must that all seem like to a young child?  Sometimes in our efforts to protect a child from something that scares us, are we really just creating more confusion?

“I often ask parents what they would say if their child asked them about rocket science, “ says Delp, “It is a great opportunity

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The Solace Tree was recently featured on a full-length documentary entitled, “You Will Always Be with Me”.

Click here to view the documentary on the Reno PBS website.

The documentary recently won the 2011 Silver Communicator Award.

The Communicator Awards is the leading international awards program honoring creative excellence for Communications Professionals. Founded by communication professionals over a decade ago, The Communicator Awards receives over 9,000 entries from companies and agencies of all sizes, making it one of the largest awards of its kind in the world.

The Communicator Awards provides winners and their clients the recognition they deserve and gives communications and creative professionals proof and validation that their work is outstanding and highly regarded by their peers. The Communicator Awards provides an equal chance of winning to all entrants regardless of company or agency size and project budget.

The Award of Excellence, our highest honor, is given to those entries whose ability to communicate puts them among the best in the field. The Award of Distinction is presented for projects that exceed industry standards in quality and achievement.

For well over a decade, the Communicator Awards has honored the best creative work in the communications fields. And now, as we enter our 17th season, we are announcing even more categories to honor your work. Along with our expanded web and interactive categories we have added categories in the areas of Social Media and Social Responsibility.

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In these impassioned books, Pediatric Thanatologist Emilio Parga, MA charts the complex emotional waters every family must navigate in the wake of death. Written from his personal experiences and through the children and teens at The Solace Tree, these books are an invaluable tool for parents, educators, clergy, children and teens and those who care for them.

• Kids Can Cope: This activity book from children for children who are living with change and loss features more than 60 pages of text offering numerous opportunities for children to describe what is happening, write down their questions, draw pictures, identify sources of help and engage in other activities to help them cope. $9.95
• Love Never Stops: This caring memory book for children of all ages includes guided pages for children to write or draw about their feelings. $7.95
• I Will Never Forget You Teen Journal: This journal is designed for teens grieving the death of someone they love. $9.95
• No Child Should Grieve Alone: This book includes information for parents, caregivers, school personnel, clergy and professionals working with children and adolescence. It includes information about different types

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