The loss of a parent is devastating to a child and the entire family. This nonprofit has a unique approach to help ease their grief. Star Market has supported the work of Wildflower through its GIVE BACK WHERE IT COUNTS Reusable Bag Program.
Tell us about Wildflower.
Wildflower is dedicated to serving children and families who have experienced the death of a parent. Our goal is to deliver enriching experiences and consistent long-term support to help families strengthen their resilience and create positive opportunities for the future. We do this primarily through providing the gift of summer camp. While we focus on camp, we also offer other supports that families need as they navigate life while grieving. This includes emergency financial support for basic needs, referrals for mental health crises and college advising support for teens.
We envision a world where all children and families who experience the death of a parent receive the support they need to build resilience and thrive.
We were founded in 2004 by Cyndi Jones. Her inspiration for Wildflower came from her journey of grief in unexpected single parenthood after suddenly losing her husband in 1989. After his passing, Cyndi and her three children found solace and healing in summer camp and the generosity of those around them. Fifteen years later, she was inspired to start Wildflower to provide other families with similar experiences and the support they need after losing a parent.
We envision a world where all children and families who experience the death of a parent receive the support they need to build resilience and thrive.
What services do you provide to the community?
Wildflower supplies the gifts of summer camp and enrichment opportunities for children who have lost a parent. Our unique program provides individually tailored support for grieving families, including emotional and logistical support for the surviving parent or guardian. We also offer the opportunity for at-risk children to receive the incredible experiences that summer camp brings.
We talk to the families and parents to learn about their children’s needs. Then we match their interests to one of our many camp partners, whether a day camp, overnight camp, or a specialty camp. These experiences are meant to provide joy to a child who has experienced the devastating loss of a parent.
What sets you apart from other nonprofit organizations in your community?
Wildflower is the only grief-related organization that provides long-term support for the family, combined with making best-fit summer camp opportunities financially feasible. While there are other grief support organizations, we support the family for as long as our help is needed, sometimes for up to 10 years or more, depending on the age of the children.
Tell us a story that illustrates the good work of your organization.
Josephina, a Wildflower camper, lost her dad when she was very young, and then a few years later, she lost her brother to gun violence. It was just her and her mom, and due to the traumatic loss of her brother, she began to suffer from a seizure disorder. By the time she was ten years old, Josephina was really struggling. Her mother reached out to us, and we worked with her to find the best summer camp and provide additional support while caring for her child through this intense grief and trauma.
Wildflower partnered with Beaver Summer Camp, located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, to provide Josephina with a nurturing and educational summer experience. Josephina was able to choose from an entire catalog of activities and a variety of programs that would interest her. Josephina found her home away from home each summer, making new friends, and finding her voice. She connected with the cooking and theater programs and continued with those through high school. The lessons she learned at Beaver have transformed her and her mother’s lives. Josephina’s mom is one of our board members now that her daughter has graduated. She has been able to pull in her experience not only as a bereaved parent but as a parent of a Wildflower child.
This is a quote from Josephina’s mom,
“Josephina’s first summer was a learning experience. Beaver asks their campers to make so many choices that it can sometimes be overwhelming. Given Josephine’s past, it would’ve been understandable if she didn’t participate fully. However, when she arrived at camp for her second year, she had totally turned a corner. She put herself out there and benefited fully from every experience she had. Connecting with other campers and moving beyond her comfort zone to try new and different activities. Her resilience has really shown through.”
Josephina went in, shy and uncomfortable, not wanting to experience anything. When you’re going through a traumatic experience and trying to process a new life, it’s hard to be sent to a summer camp with 30 different activities to choose from.
A big part of continuing camp is giving kids a sense of normalcy. In Josephina’s case, she’s no longer the kid whose brother and dad died. She’s able to be whomever she wants to be at camp. That’s transformative for many of our campers. It helps them to feel like “normal kids”.
What is your most outstanding achievement or contribution to the community?
Wildflower has a long history of supporting bereaved children and providing opportunities for summer camp, which remains at the center of what we do. However, in 2020, the COVID pandemic meant canceling all the plans we had put in place for our campers. This pandemic produced one more thing that was taken from them. They look forward to summer camp, where they can finally break out of their comfort zone and have that little piece of normalcy they worked so hard to gain.
This led us to enhance our program to include year-round support for our families, including school-year enrichment opportunities and academic support. We are proud to have overcome this barrier and obstacle.
Wildflower regrouped immediately and focused efforts on the other needs of our families. Since the loss of a parent had already made them more vulnerable financially and emotionally, we provided funding to families struggling with necessities, such as groceries, rent, housing payments and utilities. We also offered virtual programming for kids and financing of trips for families, summer toys and more. This led us to enhance our program to include year-round support for our families, including school-year enrichment opportunities and academic support. We are proud to have overcome this barrier and obstacle.
What do you want people to know about Wildflower?
Wildflower provides long-term support. When people donate and provide funds, it’s not just for one year; we send kids to summer camp for as long as possible. Families come to us with children of all ages. We may accept a child at age five or age sixteen. The sixteen-year-old is eligible for two summers of camp, but we’re providing thirteen years of summer camp for a five-year-old. This fact can sometimes get lost in translation because we emphasize providing for each summer. People tend to think it’s just one year when, in reality, it is year-round and long-term.
Wildflower depends heavily on volunteers. Wildflower has a small paid staff, and everyone else is a volunteer. All our family liaisons are volunteers, and they work directly with our families to help them through applying for camp. Family liaisons provide a listening ear and are a thought-partner for widowed parents and a caring adult for a bereaved child. Our volunteers do incredible work for us, and we wouldn’t be able to provide for families in the way we do without their support.
How are you using the funds you’ve received from the Star Market GIVE BACK WHERE IT COUNTS Reusable Bag Program?
The funds raised in the Star Market GIVE BACK WHERE IT COUNTS Reusable Bag Program go directly towards our programs and help finance summer camps and enrichment opportunities for children who have lost a parent or guardian.
Is there anything you’d like to add?
Wildflower is grateful that we can continue partnering with Star Market through this fundraising opportunity. If anybody wants to learn more about our organization, the camps we partner with, or who qualifies for our program, please visit our website, www.wildflowerforkids.org.
Please reach out to us if you ever have any questions.
Published January 5, 2023.