Sponsor a Day
$600+
Choose a November date. Honor someone with a photo, their story, and a personalized keepsake frame.
Choose Your Day
November
National Children’s Grief Awareness Month
Honor Someone Who Matters.
Be There for a Grieving Child.
In gratitude for someone who made a difference in your life. In memory of someone you carry with you. Your tribute can help grieving children and teens find connection and understanding.
Supporting children and teens ages 3–18 and the families who care for them.
Your Support Makes Connection Possible.
Choose How You’ll Be There.
Be There Every Month
Make It Monthly
Help sustain grief support throughout the year, and create a heart for someone who matters to you.
Explore Monthly Giving →Give With Heart
Every Gift Makes a Difference.
Make a gift and add your heart to our community connection wall. Give once or keep being there with a monthly gift.
Create a Heart →Why Being There Matters
Grief Changes a Child’s Everyday Life.
It can affect school, relationships, sleep, and how a child connects with others. At Ele’s Place, children and teens meet peers who understand. Caregivers find support, too.
Your generosity helps keep this support available at no cost to families.
Connection Changes the Experience.
A child can hear, “I feel that way, too.” A caregiver can find understanding. A family can know they do not have to navigate grief alone.
Be There for a Family
Together, We Show Up.
A Community of Hearts and Stories.
Every tribute is personal. Choose to share your heart or photo frame on the community wall—or keep it private.
Public tributes appear after review. More than one donor can honor the same November date.
Start Your Tribute →Thursday, November 19 · 9 a.m. · Noon · 3 p.m.
Come See What Being There Makes Possible.
Tour Ele’s Place on National Children’s Grief Awareness Day. Tours are available in Ann Arbor, Capital Region/Lansing, and West Michigan/Grand Rapids.
RSVP for a TourBe There Together
There Are Many Ways to Be There.
Bring awareness to your workplace, school, family, or community.
Wear Blue
Wear blue on November 19. Share a photo, tag Ele’s Place, and add #bethere #elesplace.
Tell Five People
Share Be There with five people and invite them to participate.
Share Be There →Create a Heart Wall
Make a paper-heart display with memories or messages of support.
Give Together
Invite your group to combine gifts toward a day sponsorship.
Sponsor Together →Visit and Learn
Take a November 19 tour and share what you learn.
Choose a Tour →Keep Showing Up
Listen, remember meaningful dates, and offer company without pressure to talk.
Find Ways to Support a Grieving Child →Host an Online Fundraiser
Invite your friends and family to give together. Use our step-by-step guide and ready-to-share messages.
Start an Online Fundraiser →Host an In-Person Fundraiser
Bring people together with a house party, workplace gathering, or another fundraiser for Ele’s Place.
Explore Fundraising Ideas →Let children and families decide whether to share their stories. Some prefer to participate privately.
Proud Member of the National Alliance for Children’s Grief
Sponsor a Day · November 1–30
A Meaningful Date.
A Lasting Tribute.
Celebrate someone you love, remember someone who died, or thank someone who was there. Sponsor a November day in their honor and help children and teens find people who understand.
Sponsorship begins at $600. A larger gift extends your support for children, teens, and families.
What Your Gift Can Make Possible
Your Generosity in Action
$600
Help children and teens connect with peers who understand grief.
$1,000
Help provide grief support and connection for children and their caregivers.
$2,500
Help extend no-cost grief support to more children, teens, and families.
Choose Your Sponsorship
Every sponsorship of $600 or more includes a personalized digital photo tribute frame. Choose any date below; dates are shared, not reserved exclusively.
Who Was There for You?
Create Your Photo Tribute
Honor someone who showed up for you—and be there for a grieving child or teen.
Your Tribute Preview
Downloading or sharing does not make a donation or add your tribute to the wall.
Continue to Secure GivingAfter Your Gift
Share Your Tribute
Share Your Tribute with Your Family, Friends, and Followers.
Public hearts and tributes appear only after staff review and gift verification. Private submissions remain private.
Give With Heart
Be There Today.
Keep Showing Up.
Honor someone important with a personal heart. Choose a gift that works for you—or make it monthly to help sustain support all year.
Your Gift Makes Connection Possible.
Give once or keep being there with a monthly gift. Create your personal heart below.
Blackbaud Giving Form
Choose How You’ll Be There
Choose your amount and one-time or monthly giving in the secure Blackbaud form.
This opens your real donation form here. Completing a payment would make a real donation.
Loading Blackbaud… If the form does not appear, it may need to be viewed on your website.
Giving $600 or more? Sponsor a Day and create a photo tribute.
Design Your HeartWho Was There for You?
Create Your Heart
Honor someone who showed up for you—and be there for a grieving child or teen.
Your Tribute Preview
Downloading or sharing does not make a donation or add your tribute to the wall.
Continue to Secure GivingAfter Your Gift
Share Your Tribute
Share Your Tribute with Your Family, Friends, and Followers.
Public hearts and tributes appear only after staff review and gift verification. Private submissions remain private.
Visit and Connect
Tour Ele’s Place.
Tours are available at all three locations: Ann Arbor, Capital Region/Lansing, and West Michigan/Grand Rapids.
National Children’s Grief Awareness Day
Join Us on November 19
Thursday, November 19, 2026
Visit Ele’s Place and learn how your generosity helps grieving children, teens, and families connect with support.
Tour Times
9 a.m. · Noon · 3 p.m.
Another Way to Connect
Bring Ele’s Place to Your Workplace—or Schedule Another Tour
Let’s find another way for you or your group to learn about Ele’s Place.
Ask about a different tour date, a workplace presentation, or a conversation for your school or community group.
Be There Together
Small Actions.
Meaningful Connection.
Show someone you’re there. Share a pledge, change your profile picture, or bring a heart to your workplace or community.
Show your connection to Ele’s Place in a way that feels meaningful to you.
More Ways to Be There
Wear Blue
Wear blue November 19. Share a photo, tag Ele’s Place, and use #bethere #elesplace.
Share With Others
Invite five people to be there for grieving children and families.
Copy a Message and Share →Visit Ele’s Place
Join a November 19 tour at 9 a.m., noon, or 3 p.m.
RSVP for a Tour →Sponsor a Day Together
Bring your coworkers, friends, or family together for a shared sponsorship of $600 or more.
Explore Group Sponsorship →Hold Up Your Story
Download a placard, print it, and take a photo. Tell your circle who was there for you—and why you’re there for others.
Make Your Placard →Bring Awareness to Work
Invite a conversation, make a heart wall, wear blue as a team, or ask about an Ele’s Place presentation.
Request a Workplace Visit →Host an Online Fundraiser
Invite your friends and family to give together. Use our step-by-step guide and ready-to-share messages.
Start an Online Fundraiser →Host an In-Person Fundraiser
Bring people together with a house party, workplace gathering, or another fundraiser for Ele’s Place.
Explore Fundraising Ideas →We Want to See How You’re There—and Thank You!
Share a photo with your heart, placard, or blue outfit, and tell us how you’re being there for grieving children and families. Tag Ele’s Place and include #bethere #elesplace so we can celebrate your support.
Ele’s Place
Thank You for Being There
Your kindness helps grieving children and families find connection.
What Happens Next
If you submitted a heart or tribute for the community wall, our team will review your submission and confirm your gift before it appears. It will not appear immediately.
If you chose to keep your submission private, it will remain private.
Submitting a heart or tribute does not complete a donation. If you haven’t finished your gift, please use the giving link below.
Media
Help Tell the Story of Children’s Grief.
Facts, local context, and access to Ele’s Place leadership for stories about children, teens, families, and the people who are there for them.
About Ele’s Place
See the Impact of Being There
Ele’s Place provides peer grief support at no cost for children and teens ages 3–18 and their caregivers. Since 1991, Ele’s Place has served more than 33,000 individuals across Michigan.
2025 Statewide Impact
Support Across Michigan
Across Ele’s Place, children, teens, and families find connection and understanding.
Participants in on-site family support
Students reached through school-based groups
School-based grief support groups
Clinical and program guidance contacts
Michigan counties served
Volunteers supporting our work each week
Source: Ele’s Place 2025 statewide program totals. These measures describe different services and activities and should not be added together as a unique-person total.
Childhood Bereavement in Michigan
Understand the Need in Your County.
Look up the estimated number of children who will experience the death of a parent or sibling by age 18.
Michigan children, according to the 2025 projected model
Michigan’s projected proportion
Michigan children in the projected estimate
What These Numbers Mean
Source: Judi’s House/JAG Institute, Childhood Bereavement Estimation Model® (CBEM), developed with support from the New York Life Foundation. This lookup uses the 2025 county release, based on data from 2019–2023.
Projected estimates include children already bereaved and those expected to experience the death of a parent or sibling by age 18. They are not annual new cases, a count of Ele’s Place participants, or a measure of all childhood grief. Deaths of grandparents, friends, and other important people are outside this estimate.
For some counties, source data are combined because of suppression. Those results show the shared group rate; a separate county count is not published. We do not assign the group’s count to an individual county.
Read the 2025 Michigan County Report · Explore the CBEM Dashboard · Methodology
National context, same 2025 release: 8.9%, or about 6.4 million U.S. children, are projected to experience the death of a parent or sibling by age 18. More recent national releases may differ; compare figures from the same report year.
Visit and Learn
Tour Ele’s Place.
November 19 Tours
Thursday, November 19, 2026
9 a.m. · Noon · 3 p.m.
Another Date or Group Visit
Ask about a different tour date, a workplace visit, or a school or community presentation.
Request Another Visit →Interviews and Filming
Contact Yvonne to coordinate a media visit and discuss interview and photography opportunities.
Arrange a Media Visit →Resources
Support for the Days Ahead.
Whether you’re looking for a program, supporting a grieving child, or preparing for a meaningful date, start with the resources that fit your family.
Getting Started
You Can Start With a Conversation.
Contact the program team nearest you to learn about grief support, ask questions, and discuss next steps. Ele’s Place programs are offered at no cost to participating families.
Programs Built Around Connection
Peer groups for children and teens, support for caregivers, school-based groups, and guidance for the adults who care for grieving young people.
Learn About Ele’s Place Programs →Find What You Need
Explore Our Resources.
Peer Support for Children and Teens
Connect with others ages 3–18 who have experienced the death of someone important. Learn how to begin with Ele’s Place.
Explore Programs →Support for Parents and Caregivers
Learn about adult groups that take place alongside children’s programming.
Find Caregiver Support →Talking About Death and Grief
Guidance for honest conversations, listening to children’s questions, and supporting them after a death.
Read Family Guidance →Holidays and Meaningful Dates
Explore ways to remember someone, talk about changing traditions, and make room for different feelings.
Explore Holiday Resources →A Season of Family
A holiday toolkit from the National Alliance for Grieving Children, linked through Ele’s Place.
Open the Holiday Toolkit (PDF) →Connection for Teens
Ask your local Ele’s Place team about peer groups and options that fit your teen’s age and circumstances.
Connect With a Program Team →Ele’s Group in Schools
Learn about school partnerships and grief support groups offered with school counselors.
Explore School Programs →Books for Different Ages and Experiences
Find Ele’s Place reading lists for children, teens, and adults.
Browse Reading Lists →Presentations and Consultation
Ask about support for educators, school staff, and community groups.
Explore Training and Consultation →Help Finding the Right Support
A local program team can talk with you about Ele’s Place services and referral options.
Find Your Local Team →No resources match that search. Try another word or choose All Resources.
Connect With a Program Team
Find Support Near You.
Capital Region
Lansing and surrounding communities
517-482-1315Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor and surrounding communities
734-929-6640West Michigan
Grand Rapids and surrounding communities
616-301-1605Program details and contacts: Ele’s Place’s current services pages. Resource links open existing Ele’s Place materials; this preview does not submit a program inquiry.
Resources From NACG
More Ways to Be There
Grief During the Holidays
Explore NACG’s guidance for families navigating holidays and meaningful dates after a death.
Explore Holiday Resources →Supporting Students
Resources for educators and school communities supporting children and teens who are grieving.
Find School Resources →In Their Own Words and Everyday Support
The following graphics are provided by the National Alliance for Children’s Grief and reproduced unchanged. The young people’s words are from NACG’s materials; they are not presented as Ele’s Place participant stories.
Be There Together
Bring Your People Together for Ele’s Place
A group of friends, a workplace, or a family can make a meaningful difference for grieving children and teens. Fundraise online, gather in person, or combine both.
Your Online Fundraising Toolkit
- Choose Your Goal and Dates. Pick an amount and a short time period that feels achievable. Invite friends to join a shared $600+ day sponsorship, or choose another goal.
- Tell Your Story. Share why you want to be there for grieving children. If you honor someone, use the name and details you have permission to share.
- Invite People Personally. Start with five people. Send a personal email or text, then share with your wider circle.
- Use the Official Giving Page. Direct gifts to childgriefawareness.org. Ask Ele’s Place about identifying gifts for your group before you begin. This guide does not create a personal fundraising page or automatically track your group’s total.
- Share a Reminder and Say Thank You. Use only confirmed totals in progress updates. Thank people for giving, sharing, and being there.
Your Invitation
I’m bringing my friends and family together to support Ele’s Place. They provide peer grief support at no cost to children, teens, and their caregivers. This matters to me because [your reason]. My goal is [amount] by [date]. Will you join me? Give or learn more at https://childgriefawareness.org. #bethere #elesplace
A Friendly Reminder
There’s still time to join me in being there for grieving children and families. Thank you to everyone who has supported or shared my fundraiser. Every gift helps sustain connection and support. https://childgriefawareness.org #bethere #elesplace
Your Thank-You
Thank you for being there with me. Your generosity and encouragement support the work of Ele’s Place and help more people understand children’s grief. I’m grateful you joined me.
Create Your Fundraising Graphic Download the Printable Toolkit
Host a House Party
Invite a small group to your home or another welcoming space for conversation about Ele’s Place. Share why the mission matters, introduce the opportunity to give, and help guests find a meaningful next step.
- Contact Ele’s Place before setting the date to discuss your idea, materials, and whether a staff member can attend.
- Choose a simple format, guest list, and invitation.
- Share Ele’s Place’s work and invite guests to give through the official donation page.
- Thank your guests and follow up with the resources or introductions they requested.
Host Another In-Person Fundraiser
A workplace giving day, neighborhood gathering, creative activity, or business fundraiser can bring people together for Ele’s Place.
Send us your idea, location, proposed date, contact information, and how gifts will be collected. Coordinate with Ele’s Place before using its name or logo in event promotion, making commitments on its behalf, or collecting donations.
Share Your Fundraiser Idea
Show How You’re There
Your Story.
Your Way to Be There.
Choose the language for your profile picture or placard. Names and personal messages stay as you enter them. The Be There logo and Ele’s Place name remain unchanged.
Your photo stays in this browser. Use images you have permission to share.