Danielle C.

“Mary’s Place holds a very special place in my heart.  At the age of four my dad passed away suddenly.  I remember the fear, sadness and overwhelming feeling of loss that came along with his death.  My best friend was taken away from me forever.  At this time I needed support, and Mary’s Place was there for me and my mom.  I attended for three years and grew to love every experience there: the arts and crafts, grief games or even just sharing memories of our loved ones.  The other children that surrounded me there know what I was going through which was comforting.  One of my biggest struggles after losing my dad was the feeling of being different than all my other peers at school.  At Mary’s Place I wasn’t different.  Mary’s Place showed me that although grief is hard, everything will turn out okay.

I decided that I wanted to give back to Mary’s Place so I became a teen volunteer in the children’s group which I have done for the past three years.  The children that attend these meetings are incredibly wise and each one moves me with the amount of strength they show.”