Death of a Father | Foundation for Grieving Children, Inc. | National Foundation for Grieving Children

It’s such a blessing when someone reaches out to you from across the country with the intent to bless others who have also experienced the death of a parent.

This was Latiera Harmon’s original goal for Father’s Day 2021 to honor her father who took his life when she was 8 years old.

Yet, unfortunately, all didn’t go as planned.

With the pandemic, every time we tried to find a center, it wasn’t open for face-to-face support groups in California, where she lives.

While we tried for months to get in touch, finally around Thanksgiving we decided to ship the gifts to us in Florida and, since we don’t have the same restrictions as California, we would find a great home for her generosity.

And so at the end of the year, we visited with Marla Sullivan at New Hope for Kids, our local Center for Grieving Children in Central Florida.

Marla, its Director of Development, graciously welcomed all of Latiera’s kindness and we just know there were many happy little ones from her gifts.

*Mary Mac delivering Latiera Harmon’s gifts to Marla Sullivan of New Hope for Kids, Maitland, Florida*

Thank you Latiera for all your hard work to wrap them all individually and make them so special for hurting young ones.

If you are in need of Amway products or would like to take a look at her site, please visit her here.

We are grateful you chose The Foundation for Grieving Children, Inc. as your charity of choice and for supporting our cause.

You are a blessing to many!

Joseph DiBenedetto – Racing in 2019 Brooklyn Half Marathon to honor his Dad who died when Joseph was 3 and as a Foundation for Grieving Children Fundraising Ambassador.

It was a delightful surprise when we received a note from Joseph expressing his desire to raise funds for the benefit of grieving children, teens and young adults, who, like himself, knew the most excruciating pain of losing a significant loved one at an early age.

Joseph’s Dad died when he was only 3 and Father’s Day has been especially difficult for he and his sister. Later in life he also experienced the death of his beloved grandfather in a tragic accident – a man whom he looked to as a father. Two devastating losses.

Because Joseph, who is now a New York Law School student, understood the pain of losing a parent so young, he reached out to us to raise funds as he raced in his first marathon on Father’s Day, 2019.

He told us he wanted to raise 2,100 signifying the number of years he has lived without his Dad.

Many of his family and friends have generously donated to Joseph’s challenge.

Will you also help Joseph reach his goal?

Go here to make your personal donation to support Joseph on Father’s Day.

We encourage you to share this post and the above link with family and friends with whom this story will resonate.

Many thanks!

P.S. If you’d like to become a Fundraising Ambassador, you can start your personal page by going here.

Update: On Sunday, June 16th, Father’s Day, Joseph successfully ran in the Brooklynite Half Marathon sponsored by CityTri. While he is very sore, he reports, and it was the hardest things he had ever done, he is grateful to all who donated to honor his Dad on that special day.

When his MightyCause challenge originally worked toward a $2,100 goal, he ultimately raised $2,715 for our cause. So fantastic!!!

See the wonderful photos below including those of his family. Thank you Joseph for all your hard work!