The COPE Foundation (COPE, or Connecting Our Paths Eternally) is a grief and healing organization dedicated to helping parents, siblings and families living with the loss of a child. COPE connects individuals that have experienced similar losses by offering ongoing emotional support, spiritual and therapeutic programs. By providing help and support, COPE enables grieving individuals to find strength from within to face the difficult journey that lies ahead. COPE provides tools that help parents and families dealing with the loss of a child to live as well as to grieve.
Since 1999, COPE has served the needs of approximately 700 families on Long Island through parent and sibling support groups, individual support, alternative healing workshops, and a variety of special programs for clergy, schools and mental health professionals. In addition to assisting local families, COPE’s grief hotline and website have enabled COPE to provide grieving individuals outside of Long Island with immediate support and resources.
COPE also operates COPE-Camp Erin NYC, a bereavement camp for children age 6 to 17 that are grieving the death of a parent, sibling or someone close to them. Offered in more than 40 communities nationwide, Camp Erin is a free weekend bereavement camp for children and teens that combines fun and traditional camp activities with grief education and emotional support, facilitated by grief professionals and trained volunteers. COPE partners with the Moyer Foundation as the New York City affiliate for COPE-Camp Erin, held annually at Camp Wayne, in Preston Park, Pennsylvania. The 2014 camp weekend will be held August 22 to 24.
Because COPE families are not asked to pay for the services they receive, COPE relies on fundraisers and individual and corporation donations to fund the programs upon which bereaved families depend. On Sunday, September 14, at 11 a.m., COPE will host its annual COPE Walk at the Long Beach Boardwalk, in Long Beach at Riverside Boulevard. Please join COPE and its bereaved families as they walk to honor the children and siblings that have passed, to support members of COPE and encourage their healing, and to expand the organization’s outreach to others in need of help.
Registration is available onsite or in advance through COPE’s website at CopeFoundation.org. For questions about participating in or donating to the COPE Walk, or if you would like more information about the organization, contact Karen Flyer at . See ad on page 31.
