Read how Dodi Minster feels about New Hope for Kids after she and her children graduated from the Center for Grieving Children. As you will see in her story, the experiences at New Hope for Kids Center for Grieving Children are carried with those who become part of our family… even if they move away.

Dodi and her 3 kids, Michael, Brandon and Miranda, were preparing to move out of state. They were moving away from the “family” they had grown to love and appreciate right here in the heart of the home we call the Center for Grieving Children in Maitland. In their graduation ceremony, she and her children said goodbye to the adults and children who attended the center with them. Later, Dodi shared her feelings in a letter to Tamari Miller, Grief Services Program Director, “It felt like I was saying goodbye to my family. In many ways, you all at New Hope feel like family, whether it be the volunteers or the families who attend. You made me feel so loved.”

“When they [my children] came to New Hope for Kids for the first time they felt as if they were the only kids ever to have lost a parent. They learned that they’re not alone, and that it’s ok to be happy again.”

When Dodi first came to the center, she believed it was her kids who would benefit, “…but the more I came, the more I realized that I needed the program just as much as they did.” The friendships that matured during their time at New Hope for Kids made it hard to say goodbye, but they all felt stronger because of their experiences in our program.

“Everyone there has always welcomed us with open arms and treated us like family and you have no idea how much that means to me. I wish I could put you all in my pocket and take you to New York with me!”