The New York Life Foundation recently awarded Dougy Center, the National Center for Grieving Children & Families based in Portland, Ore., a $1 million grant to be paid over the next three years. This is the single largest grant award to Dougy Center in its 36-year history and will fund expansion of its program development trainings in the U.S. and around the world.
“Our investment in the Dougy Center, a leader in the childhood bereavement field for more than 35 years, will help to meet the growing demand for widely accessible resources that document their well-regarded bereavement peer support model,” said Maria Collins, Vice President, New York Life Foundation. “Through this partnership, we are working towards ensuring that the Center’s expert knowledge can be distributed and disseminated nationwide.”
Dougy Center is the first center in the United States to provide peer support groups for grieving children and now serves 500 children and their 350 adult family members each month through grief support groups in the Portland metro area. The internationally acclaimed Dougy Center Model emphasizes peer grief support where children and teens share their experiences through play, art, games, talking, and other activities and the Center’s unique, evidence-informed approach has been replicated by more than 500 programs worldwide.
“This $1 million grant from the New York Life Foundation will enable us to provide additional grief support training services to a wide range of children, families, organizations, and communities we were not able to reach before,” said Brennan Wood, Executive Director, The Dougy Center. “Through the creation of an online training site and manual of best practices, we can now ensure that our insights and support materials will be readily accessible to all those in the bereavement field wishing to provide peer support groups based on Dougy Center model.”
Funding from the New York Life Foundation will help increase The Dougy Center’s capacity to train organizations serving grieving children and their families through the following:
- Expansion of its online training portals.
- Development of additional materials and resources including a comprehensive manual on The Dougy Center Model that will permanently live on its website.
- Four additional scholarships to the organization’s international summer institute training where individuals receive hands-on experience running peer-to-peer support groups for grieving children and teens.
A sincere thank you to the New York Life Foundation for their investment in The Dougy Center, and for their commitment to grieving children and families.
