At Valerie\u2019s House, grieving children and families find comfort, connection and certainty. By volunteering, students can make a real impact on their community. Students can offer support, flourish personally and become a key part of a child\u2019s healing journey.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With locations in Fort Myers, Naples, Charlotte County and Pensacola, Valerie\u2019s House is able to expand its help and hope in Florida and hopefully to more locations within its five and 10-year plan.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re actually expanding this location in Fort Myers, and we\u2019re also looking, possibly, in the Hendry County area as well,\u201d said Volunteer and Group Manager Bobbie Santiago.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0Valerie\u2019s House has amplified its reach across multiple locations, it has also grown to serve a wide range of age groups. From kindergarten through second grade, third through fifth, a middle school group, a high school group and adults or caregiver groups. Each group will have a dedicated grief support set.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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With programs dedicated to every age group, the need for passionate volunteers is greater than ever. The application process is a crucial first step for those ready to make a difference. Santiago believes that every volunteer has a special role.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe bring them in for a tour to walk around the house, show them what we do, get to know them as well during that tour. And then we sit down for a little bit, and we discuss where they see they fit, here at Valerie\u2019s House,\u201d said Santiago.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There are volunteer opportunities ranging from house maintenance and tabling events, group activity preparation, dinner helper, greeting or parking helper.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The application process begins with filling out the form and deciding which opportunity the volunteer wants to pursue. If volunteers wish to engage with the children and sit in their support groups, a background check is required. Or if volunteers decide to help with dinner, they can shadow a night and see how everything comes together.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A more constant and devoted volunteer or mentor opportunity is the ability to build a close bond with the kids.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI pair them with one of our kids and then they work with that family,\u201d Santiago said. \u201cI schedule times where they can hang out, sometimes it\u2019s twice a month, once a month, once a week and you can do anything from meet with them, go to the movies, go out to eat, help with homework, or some of our teenagers like to do job searches.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Volunteering at Valerie\u2019s House also builds real-life skills. Students earn experience in leadership, emotional intelligence, communication and an understanding of grief within the healing journey.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Samantha Wesoly, who is now a program assistant with Valerie\u2019s House after starting as an intern, was first connected with the organization through a field instructor at FGCU and decided to continue working with their mission.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis place is so great and I\u2019ve learned so many new things, like that grief is so different for everyone,\u201d Wesoly said.\u201cI also want to be able to work with kids because I was always so afraid to work with them, because I just felt like they were always so gentle.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not only are volunteers supporting the children and families, but the volunteers are also being supported. Valerie\u2019s House staff is as committed to supporting each other. In a space filled with heavy stories, support and a positive attitude make all the difference.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re working with kids who are grieving, so life can throw you in so many different directions, and I think it\u2019s so important to have a good support system, and I feel like all the volunteers are really great people to turn to,\u201d said Wesoly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ongoing recruitment for volunteers and mentors remains a focal point to support the increasing number of families seeking services, including a commitment to their needs. If a volunteer wants to be included in the groups, the commitment is twice a month because the kids are used to seeing a particular volunteer. They bond, and it\u2019s ideal to provide consistency for the kids and families.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For students interested in giving back, this opportunity involves elements beyond standard volunteer tasks. Healing happens in small moments. It\u2019s a journey and a shared story.<\/p>\n
\u201cHealing is possible,\u201d Wesoly said.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At Valerie\u2019s House, grieving children and families find comfort, connection and certainty. By volunteering, students can make a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5385,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[209,211,210],"class_list":["post-5384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5384"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5384\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}