The Journey Journal
February 2021
In this issue:
  • Hope at Home
  • Remembrance Events in 2020
  • Volunteer Spotlight
  • Golf Tournament on April 8th, 2021
During 2020, Journey of Hope continued to serve grieving children and their families as their grief journeys were impacted by COVID-19. Journey found creative ways to fulfill our mission to renew hope, foster healing, and develop resilience in the hearts of children grieving the death of a loved one. We begin 2021 with new programs to provide support to our community and outreach to advocate for grieving children as we move forward together as a community. No matter what we are facing, we believe that no child should have to grieve alone.
Our Hope at Home Program was created to serve grieving families during the pandemic. Journey offers virtual peer grief support group meetings, check-in calls to families, individual telehealth sessions, and hand-delivered support packs with materials for grief activities and crafts. We also created grief-specific support videos, a private Facebook page for our families, and Facebook live videos filled with activities and book readings for assistance through individual grief journeys during this challenging time. These programs are offered at no cost to families.

Journey began a new peer support group for for children, teens, and their families who have a loved one with an advanced serious illness.

Car Candlelight Remembrance
Our creative program staff organized this memorial service at the beginning of the pandemic to provide an opportunity to honor our loved ones. Families enjoyed soothing acoustic guitar music and we heard a message of hope and healing from a former participant.
Virtu-ALL Run and Scavenger Hunt
Journey's virtual 5K and Scavenger Hunt provided families an opportunity to remember and honor their loved ones safely from their home. Thank you to everyone who participated! We raised over $6,000 to support our Hope at Home program!
Donuts and Butterflies
Journey offered a special opportunity to honor our loved ones this summer. Families safely came together at seven beautiful parks across DFW to release a butterfly in memory of their loved one and eat a yummy treat from Dunkin’ Donuts in McKinney. Many families share the isolation has amplified their grief. We were grateful for this opportunity to remember together and know we aren't alone in our grief journeys.
Kendra Rinaldi started volunteering at Journey of Hope in 2019.  She is passionate about helping others who feel alone in their grief and provides grief care and support to our participants. Kendra has been instrumental in developing our Adult Spanish Grief Program by translating outreach materials and curriculum and leading our adult groups in Spanish! "Being a facilitator with Journey has brought more to my life than I could ever expect! Accompanying the participants in their grief journey has brought comfort and solace to my soul and helped me in my grieving process as well. To see the bonds that participants develop and how they help each other navigate this very difficult time in their lives is so heartwarming." 
She has experienced grief many times in her life and some of the most poignant moments were the tragic and sudden death of her sister in 1996, a miscarriage during her first pregnancy in 2006, and her mother’s death to pancreatic cancer in 2016. From her experiences, she launched a podcast called Grief, Gratitude and The Gray In-Between in March of 2020. She invites guests to share their journey and how they grew from that experience, many sharing about their grief after the death of a loved one and the tools they used in their grief process. 
Thank you Kendra for your heart and dedication to Journey of Hope!
Join us for our 18th Annual Golf Tournament
All are invited to compete in golf, indulge in great food, enjoy live music, bid on silent and live auction items, and safely socialize with others while supporting Journey of Hope! Join us to support grieving children and their families in North Texas.