Children's Grief Awareness DaySM
Mark Your Calendar! In 2023, Children's Grief Awareness Day will be Thursday, November 16!
Virtual Children's Grief Awareness Day
On Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022, the Highmark Caring Place hosted the Third Annual VIRTUAL Children's Grief Awareness Day.
Links to the day's presentations and activities are shown below
The videos are available on youtube.com/HighmarkCaringPlace or a Facebook playlist for viewing at any time.
2022 Presentations
- Terese LaVallee, Highmark Caring Place, Executive Director (Pittsburgh, Erie, Harrisburg & Warrendale, Pa.)
- Todd Parr, author of The Goodbye Book (Berkeley, CA)
- Terry Clarke Murphy & Christina Connors (Westminster, Md. & Greenwich, Conn.)
- Katie Lear, author of A Parent's Guide to Managing Childhood Grief (Charlotte, N.C.)
- Catia Chien, artist of My Blue Is Happy (São Paulo, Brazil)
- Jessica Young, author of My Blue Is Happy (Ontario, Canada)
- Tori Rehak, Brighter Days Grief Center (Eden Prairie, Minn.)
- Corrie Sirota, Myra’s Kids (Montreal, Quebec)
- Eleanor Haley, What's Your Grief? (Baltimore, Md.)
- Doug Dunbar, HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis Response (Erie, Pa.)
- Melody Ray, author of Someone I Love Died from a Drug Overdose (Ebensburg, Pa.)
- Highmark Caring Place, Grief Talks Webinar (Pittsburgh, Erie, Harrisburg & Warrendale, Pa.)
- Elizabeth Schandelmeier & Laura Rausch, Family Hospice, Part of UPMC (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
- Special Children's Grief Awareness Day Hockey Game (Saginaw, Mich. & Erie, Pa.)
- VIDEO — Preview of Ontario Hockey League's Erie Otters vs. Saginaw Spirit special Children's Grief Awareness Day Hockey Game (original game postponed because of weather; rescheduled Erie Otters vs. Windsor Spitfires game played on Friday, Dec. 9, 2022)
- Amanda Huber from AEW Wrestling (Tampa Bay, Fla.)
- Brian Griese, former NFL Quarterback & Founder of Judi's House for Grieving Children and Families (Denver, Colo.)
- Hannah Pan, Judi's House for Grieving Children and Families (Denver, Colo.)
- National Alliance for Children's Grief (Lubbock, Texas)
- Terese LaVallee, Highmark Caring Place, Executive Director (Pittsburgh, Erie, Harrisburg & Warrendale, Pa.)
- VIDEO — Children's Grief Awareness Day Closing
- 2022 Illuminating Hope Mosaic Mural reveal
- Moment of Remembrance
- Special Thank You for Supporting Children's Grief Awareness Day
- VIDEO — Children's Grief Awareness Day Closing
Links from 2021's Virtual Children's Grief Awareness Day
On Thursday, November 18, 2021, the Highmark Caring Place hosted the Second Annual VIRTUAL Children's Grief Awareness Day.
The schedule of the day's presentations and activities are shown below, including links to those Presentations and to the Activities Sheets that accompanied some presentations. All the videos are also available on a YouTube or Facebook playlist for viewing at any time.
- Terese LaVallee, Sally Wiggin, Merril Hoge, Vicki Jay, and Neil Walker — Children's Grief Awareness Day Kick-Off
- Valerie's House (Fort Myers, Naples & Punta Gorda, Florida)
- Josh & Gab (Pittsburgh, PA)
- Mollie Landman Hunker (Grove City, Pennsylvania)
- Brighter Days Grief Center (Eden Prairie, Minnesota)
- AgWorks Program (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania)
- Tracy Subisak, author of Jenny Mei Is Sad (Portland, Oregon)
- Grief Talks Webinar, Highmark Caring Place (Pittsburgh, Erie, Harrisburg, Warrendale, Pennsylvania)
- Dr. Edith Eva Eger, Holocaust Survivor and author (La Jolla, California)
- National Alliance for Children's Grief (Lubbock, Texas)
- FRZY, recording artist (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
- The Irish Childhood Bereavement Network (Dublin, Ireland)
- Roberta's House (Baltimore, Maryland)
- Trying Together (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
- ACH Clear Pathways (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
- "Beautiful Something Left Behind" Director Katrine Philp, Producer Katrine Sahlstrøm, and members of the cast (Copenhagen, Denmark & Robbinsville, New Jersey)
- 2021 Illuminating Hope Mosaic Mural reveal; Moment of Remembrance; "Hope" artwork creation & reveal by "Paints by Kait" (Seattle, Washington)
- A message from grieving children, families, and organizations who support grieving children from around the world
Links from 2020's Virtual Children's Grief Awareness Day
On Thursday, November 19, 2020, the Highmark Caring Place hosted the First Annual VIRTUAL Children's Grief Awareness Day.
Videos of the day's Presentations, along with links to the Activities Sheets which accompanied some of these presentations, remain available:
- Terese Vorsheck, Highmark Caring Place, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Faith & Julie, Teen & Parent Speakers on Grief and Support, from CORE, Center for Organ Recovery & Education
- VIDEO — Teen & Parent Speakers on Grief
- Judi's House (Denver, Colorado)
- Children's Grief Awareness Movie Bracket Challenge Winner Reveal
- Dr. David Fajgenbaum, National Best-Selling Author of Chasing My Cure
- VIDEO — A Conversation about Grief
- Grief Talks Webinar, Highmark Caring Place
- Susan Bernardo & Courtenay Fletcher, Author & Illustrator of Sun Kisses, Moon Hugs
- VIDEO — Book Reading & Activities
- LeVar Burton, Celebrity Guest, Author of The Rhino Who Swallowed a Storm
- Langley Hospice Society (Langley City, British Columbia, Canada)
- Tiffany Papageorge, Author of My Yellow Balloon
- Ari, Young Adult Speaker on Grief and Support, from Imagine, A Center for Coping with Loss, Mountainside, New Jersey
- VIDEO — Young Adult Speaker on Grief
- VIDEO — Illuminating HOPE Virtual Mosaic Mural Presentation
- Create your own Butterfly at Hope.CaringPlace.com
- Thank You! from around the world for support of Children's Grief Awareness Day
