Thank you to the Hastings Mutual Charitable Foundation for awarding a matching grant to Ele's Place! Their $3,500 matching grant allowed us to present Ele's Place with $7,000 to support their grief backpack program.

This year, the Young Agents Committee of Michigan Association of Insurance Agents is raising funds to make grief backpacks. The backpacks will contain resources, coping strategies, and activities to help a child through the first few months of their grief. School counselors will be given the backpacks to give to children on their first day back to school after the loss of a loved one. 

One in twelve children will experience the death of a parent or sibling before the age of 18. In the immediate crisis a student faces at the time of a death, school staff often feel a need to reach out in a meaningful way with support and guidance to the student and their caregivers. Thank you, Hastings!