beneficiaries
CALM WATERS
$100,000
FAMILY
Can you still remember what it was like being nine-years-old?
Now, imagine that your mother is gone and you are convinced she left because of you. Dad is only a mythical figure in your life. You feel lost every time a foster family takes you in, the color and size of your room changes monthly. Finally, someone wants you. Your lifelong dream becomes reality – you are adopted and now have a mom to call your own. However, the bliss is short-lived, as within months, your new mom (and only family member) is deployed to Iraq.
Sound like a made-for-TV movie? Unfortunately it is not. This is the story of a child in our community who recently attended Calm Waters (CW) School-based Grief Support Groups.
Founded in 1992 by a ten-year-old boy, his mother and renowned local therapist Charlotte Lankard, Calm Waters Center for Children and Families continues to teach healthy coping skills to children and families whose lives have been affected by death, divorce or other major losses, by providing free support groups and other services.
In previous years, CW free School-based groups served approximately 200 students annually. In 2007-2008, more than 800 students (K-12) attended grief groups. This year, due to anticipated increased community support, CW will be able to provide much-needed help to more than 1,600 students as they navigate through turbulent times.
Additionally, challenging economic times prohibit many needy families from attending CW Center-based grief support groups. Therefore, community-based groups have been implemented to allow more families from all areas of the metro to benefit from CW free grief support groups in the familiar setting of their neighborhood school.
Impact Oklahoma will allow Calm Waters to positively impact the lives and futures of more grieving children and families than ever before.
To learn more, visit Calm Waters at www.calmwaters.org.
