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Teens Construct Meaning With Metals
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On March 19, we had a wonderful time connecting with one another and making meaning at our metals workshop just for teens!
After a loss we are left with pieces. Pieces of what was, pieces of what we hoped could be. Literally, we are left with objects, or pieces of objects: scraps of fabric, a piece of paper that contains handwriting, a snapshot of a vacation of holiday. In our workshop, teens were invited to bring these pieces of their experience together to make something new: something that holds special meaning because of the pieces that have been put together and also because they took the care to construct it.
During two workshop sessions, 15 teen participants were guided through the use of a variety of easily mastered techniques, such as stamping, molding, beading, or resin to create something truly unique, personal, and priceless.
Teens used metals in the creation of key chains, jewelry, sculpture, or other memory objects representing or preserving their memories.
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Many teens made pendants like this one in order to remember the person in their life who died.
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While working on beading a bracelet, one of the teens shared, "I'm really enjoying this . . . I'm so glad that I came!"
Some teens brought in photographs, copies of signatures, or personal items from home to use in their metalwork. Some teens came to the workshops with a specific intention in mind, such as creating an object that could be used and incorporated into an upcoming event or special day. One teen knew that she wanted to incorporate her father who died into her prom, so she came to make something especially for that event. One participant decided to make a sculpture incorporating found-objects that had belonged to her father:
The group discussed that not everyone has memory objects that belonged to the person who died, but that they had the opportunity to create something that carries a special meaning fully known only by them and belonging entirely to them. After the workshop, when asked what they would like to tell others about TCR's teen program, one teen shared, "It is a great opportunity to connect and reflect." We so appreciate that everyone left the workshop with several personal, meaningful keepsakes and that they shared so much of themselves during the process. We offer a very special thank you to our guest artist Karenna Maraj, who gave such wonderful hands-on instruction about the process of making these treasures!
Thank you to Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, for generously underwriting our expanded teen programming.
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Meet Our Marathon Team: Part 2
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We are so proud of our team of Boston Marathon runners, who are supporting us by running 26.2 miles in order to promote awareness for TCR and raise critical funds to help grieving children, teens, and families.
Each of our runners has a unique story full of personal connections to TCR and strong motivations for running. We hope you took time to read about Kerri Conneely, John Fleming, and Deana Hickey in our March newsletter.
This month, we proudly introduce Lauren Ruffing, John Shea, and Cat Steckbeck!
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TCR Staff Present NAGC Webinar
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"Just as grieving is a cyclical process, being culturally responsive can be seen as an ongoing cycle of self-reflection and growth." ~ Colleen Shannon
On March 15, TCR's Colleen Shannon and Nancy Frumer Styron presented a webinar entitled "Providing Culturally Responsive Grief Support to Children and Adolescents in Underserved Settings," hosted by the National Alliance for Grieving Children (NAGC). Rachel Rodrigues and Alexandra A. Chery, our partners from the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, joined them to lend their voices to this important topic.
These four care providers of diverse backgrounds talked openly and thoughtfully about what it means, as individuals and as organizations, to bring cultural sensitivity to our work in grief support.
One of the program's biggest takeaways? Before all else, as individuals and as agencies, we must build self-reflection into the very fabric of our work and how we provide services.
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It's hard to believe, but summer is right around the corner, and so many of us are busy making plans for the coming months.
Each year we compile details for camps and programs for grieving children and teens, both in Massachusetts and beyond. We hope you find this resource page helpful as you support the children and teens in your life.
Please click here to read our list of 2016 programs and camps for grieving children and teens.
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Young Philanthropists
Visit TCR
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On March 17, we had a great visit with students from Concord-Carlisle High School's Youth in Philanthropy program! Thank you so much for coming to our center! |
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Religious Congregation Support
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Are you a member of a religious community that might be interested in the work of The Children's Room (TCR)?
In the last 18 months TCR has provided professional consultation and training to 5 religious communities. Another 12 religious communities have made donations to TCR totaling nearly $15,000.
If you think that your religious community might be interested in professional training or has an outreach committee that might support TCR, please contact Becca Harris at becca@childrensroom.org or 781-641-4741, ext. 334 for more information.
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Cause + Event 5K
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We're looking forward to the Cause+Event 5K in May! This is a great way to get involved in the community and help TCR.
Cause + Event will donate a minimum of $15 to TCR for each runner who selects us as their organization of choice when they register. The team with the most participants on race day will receive an additional $250 donation to their cause! If you'd like, you can also start an individual fundraising page for the event.
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Community Tours
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Interested in coming
for a guided tour?
Upcoming tours are scheduled for:
Thursday, April 28, 10 am Tuesday, May 3, 2 pm
Contact us at tours@childrensroom.org to join a scheduled tour, or we can work with you to fit your group's schedule.
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Please remember to support TCR when you shop on Amazon!
A portion of your eligible purchases will be donated to TCR when you shop through smile.amazon.com.
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Stay in touch with TCR!
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If you haven't visited us on Facebook, please check out our page for daily posts of information and inspiration.
You can also follow us on Twitter
for news and information
about our work.
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Umbrellas For Peace
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We're proud to announce that in April, we will be partnering with the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute to offer a free workshop series for families and individuals who are survivors of homicide. We will gather together on April 7, 14, and 21. Participants can come to one session or to all three!
We will paint umbrellas with words and images memorializing those who have died and sharing messages of peace. Please join us, or share this information with anyone who might be interested in attending!
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Our Heartfelt Thanks
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Thank you for your support, and thanks to the following people for some special, recent donations.
We are also grateful that we were able to welcome the Arlington Hockey Club Peewee B team to our center for a tour. Each of the past four years, the AHC has hosted a Skate-a-Thon as a fundraiser on our behalf. This past fall, they exceeded their goal and raised over $15,000 for TCR! It is so wonderful to share in such a positive community interaction with the AHC, and we absolutely loved having them at our center.
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The Children's Room has partnered with Donate for Charity to make it fast and easy to donate your old vehicle to TCR. Your vehicle will be picked up - free of charge! - from anywhere and TCR will receive a donation in the amount of the vehicle's value.
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Read a newsletter from the archives:
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1210 Massachusetts Avenue, Arlington, MA 02476
Phone: 781-641-4741
Fax: 781-641-0012
childrensroom.org
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