Listen: ACE-ing Grief Podcast | Rainbows for All Children

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Honest Conversations About Grief

ACE-ing Grief is our in-house podcast hosted by Executive Director Stephanie Garrity. Episodes cover topics related to our mission of building communities so that no one has to grieve alone. Unlike many other grief organizations, Rainbows believes that all forms of grief deserve equal attention as young people are navigating the many changes and challenges of their world.

Topics include: general grief advocacy and awareness, divorce, deportation, deployment, as well as other Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) . Each episode offers unique perspectives from qualified guests, ways Rainbows has helped first hand, and a fresh dose of hope for those who are supporting youth facing loss and uncertainty.

Episodes

In honor of Children’s Grief Awareness Month we have a very special episode on ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences).
How do children take their adverse childhood experiences into adulthood? What is the familial experience, when a child is ill or facing an unfamiliar adversity?
Dr. Cathy Humikowski, is an alumni of adverse childhood experiences, battling cancer at a young age. Now, as an adult, Pediatric ICU doctor, and parent to her own girls, she sits down with Stephanie to share some wisdom she has gathered over the years.
For ways to get involved with Rainbows during Children’s Grief Awareness Month visit rainbows.org/get-involved or make a contribution to our fundraising campaign at rainbows.org/donate.

We are kicking off our second season of ACE-ing Grief, with a conversation on significant illness featuring the ever effervescent, Dr. Elizabeth Lombardo!
You can catch Dr. E live and in person at our EmpowHER event this September 19th 5-8pm in downtown Chicago. She will be our Keynote speaker and there will be other incredibly empowering connections to be made that evening! To learn more and grab your tickets visit: https://rainbows.org/event/empowher-life-in-full-color/

We end our first season of “ACE-ing Grief,” on a conversation with Investigative Journalist and Rainbows Board Member/Advocate Meghan Dwyer. Join us as she flips the script and digs deeper into our executive director’s story and future hopes for the organization!

This episode’s guest is military wife, mother, and advocate Kaanan Mackey-Fugler. We were honored to have her share her story with us and continue her advocacy work for military families’ rights.
“[Kaanan]… is the Healthcare Navigator in the Supportive Services for Veteran Families Department for Volunteers of America South Central Louisiana (VOASCLA). She is the surviving spouse of SSG Matthew Mackey, who died 18 days after an active-duty accident on July 28, 2010. She is also the mother to 5 Gold Star Children. In 2017, she remarried and became the wife of a disabled veteran, Joshua.” (congress.gov)
To learn more about Kaanan’s military family advocacy visit, www.volunteersofamerica.org or www.voascla.org/
To grab tickets for, “Flavors of Hope: Sip. Savor. Support.” happening June 1, 2024 from 10am to 1pm in the Chicago Cultural Center, visit: https://events.handbid.com/lp/rainbows-flavors-of-hope

Join us this Divorce Awareness Month as Executive Director, Stephanie Garrity, talks to amicable divorce attorney, Beth McCormack, recently divorced mother, Justine Karl, and Daniel Hunter of the Cook County Circuit Court, all about their experiences with divorce and the unique role it plays in adolescent grief.
To learn more about the, “Children and Teens Speak,” program in Cook County and how it can benefit your local court system, email Stephanie.Garrity@Rainbows.org.

Join us this Children’s Grief Awareness Day as Executive Director, Stephanie Garrity, talks to two Rainbows facilitators and a Rainbows parent about all of their experiences with grief during the holidays, what commonalities they have seen over the years during this time, and the lasting impact Rainbows groups can have on all parties.
Special thanks to: Dana Blumberg, Shannon Heidkamp, and Amy Junge for agreeing to share their stories with us in this important episode.
DISCLAIMER: Mention of addiction, death, and divorce.

Rainbows for All Children’s Executive Director, Stephanie Garrity, sits down to talk with Mike, Tom, and Tim Yehl: the original Rainbows kids. They reflect on life as children of divorce, growing up with their mom, and the 40th anniversary of their Suzy’s work to bring support and empowerment to children navigating loss and uncertainty all over the world.

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