NEWSLETTERVVoolluummee 1155,, IIssssuuee 11

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DirectorDebbie Teasdale,

MSS, MLSP

Music Therapist & Co-Coordinator

Michelle Balcer, MT-BC

Co-CoordinatorHeide Marcelis, MS

Staff FacilitatorJennifer Schmauk, BS

AdministrativeAssistant/Staff

FacilitatorCaitlin Lynch, BA

EditorGinny Freyer

This, SafeHarbor’s 15thyear serving ourcommunity, hasbeen a produc-tive and busyone! Since theprogram’sinception in

2001, Safe Harbor has served over1,500 children, teens and youngadults, representing over 870 families.This newsletter is devoted to sharingthis year’s accomplishments. Somehighlights include: introducing ourfamilies to a special Blue RibbonCampaign of Hope in observance ofChildren’s Grief Awareness Day thispast November, providing outreachin the form of a peer grief supportgroup to a local high school, and aftermonths in the making launching TheHarboring Hope Project, a weekendof creative arts!

Our volunteers are essential toSafe Harbor’s existence and successand supporting them is a top priority. A Saturday workshop in March ontraumatic grief provided crucial infor-mation and understanding on the topic in our quest to bettersupport our grieving families.

As the support group year windsdown, and the planning for CampCharlie’s 10th year moves into highgear, we want to take a moment tothank the many individuals whosesupport has made this year’s accom-plishments possible. It is with sincere

appreciation and thanks that we rec-ognize our 50-plus volunteers! Theircombined expertise, compassion andcommitment to Safe Harbor’s mis-sion have allowed us to serve over285 children, teens, young adultsand parents this year.

To our many loyal donors whosegenerous, ongoing support make itpossible for Safe Harbor to offer oursupport groups at no charge, we areforever grateful. It is the generosity of friends like you that inspires us to keep expanding our vision, ouroutreach, and our hearts.

In closing, we thank our currentand past participants for allowing usto participate in your healing process.It is a privilege to know each andevery one of you and to learn aboutyour loved ones and how they lived.As we have accompanied you onyour grief journeys – from oftenunbearable pain to the willingness toembrace life anew – we are honoredto bear witness to your strength,resilience, and healing. Through yourhealing, we find the motivation toencourage and support future families.We can remain steadfast bearers ofhope – with certainty – because youhave taught us that healing is indeedpossible.

Our best wishes for a healthy summer.

With warmest regards, Debbie

NOTE FROM THE PROGRAM DIRECTOR

SAFE HARBORA PROGRAM FOR GRIEVING CHILDREN, TEENS AND FAMILIESSAFE HARBORA PROGRAM FOR GRIEVING CHILDREN, TEENS AND FAMILIES

Safe Harbor ProgramAbington Health Center

– Willow GrovePennwood Building

2500 Maryland RoadFourth Floor

Willow Grove, PA 19090PHONE: 215-481-5983

FAX: 215-481-5910

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Safe Harbor Program

SAFE HARBOR THANKS OUR DONORS

Friends of Safe Harbor

Mrs. Ann SicklesIn Memory of Mildred “Mickey”Bonwit

Mrs. Ann SicklesIn Honor of Patricia Kind

The Sweeney FamilyIn Honor of Team Kendrick

Ms. Janet BinswangerIn Honor of MaryAnn Watson

Adults for a Better CommunityKiwanis Abington Aktion Club

Mr. and Mrs. H. Lewis Klein

Ms. Elizabeth Hardy and Ms. Tracy HardyIn Memory of A.R. Van deMeulebroecke

Mr. and Mrs. Hap HarrisonIn Memory of A.R. Van deMeulebroecke

Ms. Kathleen S. Beck

Mr. and Mrs. P. Terrence QuinnIn Honor of G. Price Wilson, Jr.

Dr. and Mrs. Robert SchlesingerIn Honor of MaryAnn Watson

Ms. Gloria Gooden

Dr. and Mrs. Ronald S. Rosenthal

Ms. Bonnie DalzellFrom Heart to Hands Quilters

Ms. Janet GeisslerProject Linus

Rotary Club of Jenkintown

Wells Fargo

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Delaney

Arcadia University Faculty and Staff

Ms. Mary-Phylis PostIn Memory of Mark Van deMeulebroecke

Mr. and Mrs. Peter ClarkeIn Memory of Meghan Clarke

The Woman’s Club of Wyncote

Ancillae Assumpta AcademyMrs. Cecelia Datto

Addisville Reformed Church

Blair Mill Elementary School “I Care Club”

Mrs. Alice Birkbeck

Mr. John Massucci

Mr. and Mrs. Jay M. Karfunkle

Mr. and Mrs. Frank ShulmanIn Memory of Nancy Rosen

Mrs. Marilyn A. AmentoIn Memory of Joseph Amento, Jr.

The Nicholas and Eileen HearneFoundation

Mrs. Eileen M. Schaffer

Mr. and Mrs. Bruce K. Entwisle

Mr. and Mrs. David L. HarrarIn Memory of Nancy Rosen

Mr. and Mrs. Richard Bank

Mrs. Barbara Dix

Bethlehem Baptist Church

Reverend and Mrs. Charles W.Quann

Cindy Perkiss, LCSW

Ms. Jane DonohueIn Honor of Elizabeth McCollough

Mr. and Mrs. Stan Singer

Tinari Greenhouses Inc.

Safe Harbor Families

Ms. Diane MattsonMs. Miriam LefkowitzMrs. Kelly M. VeseyIn Memory of John Joseph “Jack”Hagan

Abington Jefferson HealthEmployees

Mr. and Mrs. Michael B. Walsh

Ms. Elissa A. Della MonicaIn Loving Memory of Josephineand Edward Della Monica

Mr. John Phillips

Pictured here are CeCe Dattoand her son, Sam, dropping offover 40 blankets from AncillaeAssumpta School’s MLK Day ofService.

These cozy, colorful blanketsare enjoyed by our Safe Harborkids! Thank you so much Ancillaestudents!”

“Before they graduate from highschool, one child out of every 20 chil-dren will have a parent die—and thatnumber doesn't include those whoexperience the death of a brother or sister, a close grandparent, an aunt oruncle, or friend. Children's Grief Aware-ness Day is observed every year on thethird Thursday in November. This time ofyear is a particularly appropriate time tosupport grieving children because theholiday season is often an especially dif-ficult time after a death. This special dayseeks to bring attention to the fact that,often, support can make all the differencein the life of a grieving child. It providesan opportunity for all of us to raise aware-ness of the painful impact that the deathof a loved one has in the life of a child,an opportunity to make sure that thesechildren receive the support they need.”

—Children’s Grief Awareness Day Web Site

This year, one of Safe Harbor’s long-time (12 years!) volunteers, Joni Patras,organized a special Blue RibbonCampaign for Hope. Every child andadult in our program decorated a blueribbon with words and pictures of hope.These ribbons were linked together andhung in our main hall as a symbol of thepower of support in numbers! Joni

prepared all the ribbons and instructionsahead of time and then took all thecompleted ribbons home to create our beautiful chain. This long chainis a reminder of how many participantscome to Safe Harbor searching for support from strangers who soonbecome friends. No child should bealone in their grief!

Thank you Joni, for creating thispowerful symbol, which the kids and

adults alike have enjoyed sharing andreading.

CHILDREN’S GRIEF AWARENESS DAY

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Safe Harbor Program

Join us for the 28th Annual JuneFete 5K Run/Walk on Sunday, June 5.Free t-shirt, raffles, awards to runnersand professional chip timing—you will definitely want to "be in the running!"To register, call 215-481-2500.

Proceeds benefit Safe Harbor. If youwould like to provide a donation, orbecome a sponsor, please contactJohn Phillips at 215-481-3607 orjphillips@abingtonhealth.org

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CAMP CHARLIE 2016

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Safe Harbor Program

TREASURED BEAR HUGSThank you to our seamstress volunteer,

Lois Gretzinger, for all the hours of workshe put into creating a special keepsakethat every child in the Wednesday night6- to 7-year-old group will cherish foryears to come. Lois collected an article ofclothing that belonged to each child’sspecial person who died. She then, byhand, cut out and sewed 17 bears! Notonly did she get the bears made andready for the kids to stuff, she took careto keep any special designs, scraps, but-tons, etc., so that they could be incorpo-rated into the final bear design if the kidswanted. Each child was given a largeziplock bag with t-shirt scraps, a pre-threaded sewing needle and the bear.The kids lit up with beaming faces asthey proudly pulled their bears out ofthe bags in order to lovingly stuff them.

Once they completed stuffing, theyadded a special heart stone to their bearand shared stories when their loved onewore the particular piece of clothing.They spoke of vacation memories,sports memories, and memories of lyingin bed while their mom or dad wore thatparticular shirt. You can see the pride inthis picture of just a few of the kids whomade bears. When Lois asked themwhere they would keep their bears theyhad some great ideas: “In the car so Ican see him every day”; “In daddy’s spotin the living room, where he used to sit”;“In my mom’s room so she can see ittoo”; “We can be together forever.” Loiswent above and beyond to be sure thatthese kids feel supported and connectedto their loved one wherever they taketheir bears! We are grateful.

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Music Therapist and Program Co-ordinatorMichelle Balcer, sees the benefits of doingmusic with our regular Safe Harborgroups. She sometimes wonders whethermore expression and feeling could be pulledout of the kids and teens if they had an entireweekend with a team of artists and creativevolunteers with whom to work. Fortunately,she had the chance to find out thanks to thegenerous support of Lois and Stan Singer. Ittook months of planning and of gatheringthe perfect volunteers to create Safe Harbor’sfirst ever Harboring Hope Project.

The Harboring Hope Project was a week-end creative arts camp experience inwhich 22 kids and 15 volunteers cametogether to create a video message ofhope. The kids were guided through art,music and dance as a means of tellingtheir grief story and expressing what hopemeans to them.

Our first night was spent getting toknow each other and doing a grief graphto represent our stories. The kids then hadtwo days to create a meaningful performancethat was videotaped. Sunday afternoonwas emotional as the final performancecame together, combining all the modali-ties in a meaningful presentation of calmmemories, chaotic grief, and a hopefulfuture.

The dance opened with kids takingcalm breaths and reciting stories of timesspent with their loved ones. Then the hit-ting of a gong signaled the moment theyfound out their person had died. The chaosthat followed eventually lessened andevolved into a heartfelt song about findinghope by coming together at Safe Harbor.The kids re-wrote the words to JohnLennon’s “Imagine” to reflect their feelings:

You can say we’re dreamers but we’re notthe only ones. We all come to Safe Harbor and we work itout as one. Imagine we’re still dancing. My friends canwait a while .Nothing now seems real. Imagine just ustwo. Imagine we’re still dancing lasting all nightlong. Imagine that he’s happy, not in pain anymore.

Now he’s with his family, fishing at theshore. Imagine that my dad is feeling really glad. Imagine we’re building Legos. He’s actinglike a kid. Always trying to impress us, with everythinghe did. Knowing he’s the coolest dad on the Earth. Imagine he’s on the bleachers. Sitting withmy mom. She seems really happy, everything is calm. Knowing he’s the strongest and bravest dadin the world.

Sunday was a special day for ouryoungest participants ages 4–6. They spentthe day creating puppets of their lovedone, then writing, directing and performingpuppet scripts to share their messages ofhow to cope. All the older participantsgathered to support the youngest perform-ers and cheer them on. The weekendended with a large circle of hope in whicheach child held a stone and reflected onthe weekend experience by saying what theword “hope” means to them. A commonresponse in our circle was, “hope meanscoming together with people who care”.

A very special thank you to our Art (JenSchmauk), Dance (Sarena Kabakoff) andMusic (Richard McLaughlin) specialists forproviding such incredible inspiration forthe kids and thank you also to our manyvolunteer facilitators for your fabulous creative guidance throughout the planningand weekend. Thank you lastly, to ourvideographer, Andrew Johnson, and ourfilm editor, Sean Patrowich, for your time,talent and vision. We look forward to see-ing our participants and volunteers againthis May for our red carpet movie premierparty where the kids will feel like stars for a night as they share their performancevideo with friends and family.

HARBORING HOPE

Safe Harbor Program

HARBORING HOPE (Continued)

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Safe Harbor Program

On March19th, Safe Harborwas thrilled towelcome CindyPerkiss, LCSW, a former SafeHarbor staffmember, to lead a traumatic griefworkshop for ourvolunteers.

Cindy, a psychotherapist and trainerwith a special interest in trauma, griefand loss, and chronic and serious ill-ness, graciously volunteered her timeto share with us the symptoms of

traumatic grief, different phases oftreatment and effective strategies forhelping participants who have experi-enced a traumatic loss. She providedspecific activities that volunteers canimplement in their own groups andresponded to numerous questionsand concerns that our volunteersshared at the workshop. Cindy’sexpertise as a licensed clinical socialworker, a somatic experiencing practi-tioner (a treatment for trauma thatintegrates thoughts, emotions, andbody sensations to self-regulate) wastruly beneficial to the work we do atSafe Harbor.

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Safe Harbor Program

We are excited to have begun a newchapter of community service in orderto grow Safe Harbor’s mission. A SchoolOutreach program was created to pro-vide peer grief support at a local highschool. Our main goal in providingSchool Outreach is to connect with children whose parents do not have theability to attend Safe Harbor or a similarbereavement program outside ofschool. The need is obvious and theresults are meaningful when you hearthe stories these teens share about thegrief struggles they go through at homeand at school. This group is clearly the

only place some of these kids have totalk specifically about their loss and themany hard feelings surrounding that.The teens have been bonding in a sup-portive group environment created byour staff facilitator.

In light of the success of this groupwe have begun reaching out to otherschool districts in hopes of expandingthis program. If you feel your commu-nity school could benefit from abereavement peer support group runby our staff, please contact us and we’llbe happy to follow up with thatschool’s counseling department.

SCHOOL OUTREACH

VOLUNTEER ENRICHMENT

Safe Harbor ProgramNONPROFIT

U.S. POSTAGE PAID

PERMIT NO. 35

JENKINTOWN, PA

Abington Hospital–Jefferson HealthSafe Harbor Program1200 Old York RoadAbington, PA 19001

A lighthouse is a bea-con, a light in the dark-ness for lost or wearytravelers. We havechosen the lighthouseas the Safe Harborlogo. It represents ourcommitment to pro-viding the bereavedwith a safe place tofeel supported andunderstood by othersand hope for finding alight through the painof their loss.

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PPllaanntt 33 RRoowwss ooff PPeeaass::Peace of Mind • Peace of Heart • Peace of Soul

PPllaanntt 44 RRoowwss ooff SSqquuaasshh::Squash Gossip • Squash Indifference • Squash Grumbling • Squash Selfishness

PPllaanntt 44 RRoowwss ooff LLeettttuuccee::Lettuce be Faithful • Lettuce be Kind • Lettuce be Patient • Lettuce Really Love One Another

NNoo GGaarrddeenn wwiitthhoouutt TTuurrnniippss::Turnip for Meetings • Turnip for Service • Turnip to Help One Another

TToo ccoonncclluuddee oouurr ggaarrddeenn wwee mmuusstt hhaavvee TTHHYYMMEE::Thyme for Each Other • Thyme for Family • Thyme for Friends

Water frequently with Patience and Cultivate with Love. There is much Fruit in yourGarden because you Reap what you Sow