Wondering what it takes to be a SandCastles volunteer? To start, we love our volunteers. This program would not exist without them. It is a truly team effort as we together create a safe space for grieving children to heal. Elizabeth Andrew said, “Volunteers do not necessarily have the time, they just have the heart.” This is so true. Everyone is busy these days. Yet, when you have the heart to help another and know the impact, you find the time.
SandCastles volunteers understand the impact they make—an impact that changes the life trajectory of grieving kids. We know this not only because we have seen it, but also because it is being revealed through our alumni youth participants—who were SandCastles kids years ago. They were in our program after they experienced the death of a loved one, and are now coming back to volunteer as young adults. The thing I hear from all of them is the impact that the volunteers had on them while they were in the program.
They remember them and the safe space they created to talk about and heal on their grief journey. It had a huge impact on their life and now they are back to help others in the same way. So, we know it works and it is literally making the world a better place for so many kids.
You don’t have to have experienced a death before or have a degree or clinical license to support grieving kids. Our volunteers come from a wide range of backgrounds and the thing they do have is compassion and care. Our volunteer training will prepare you fully for facilitating a grief group, plus you will be supported by your co-facilitators and staff.
A night at SandCastles or a day at camp can be as full of joy, laughter, and fun, as it is with the tender feelings of grief—the sadness, worry, and loss. I think that is mainly because they are with peers who get it and allow them to be who they are in their grief and their healing. We honor and celebrate it all.
At SandCastles, we believe Grief is a natural reaction to death. If you love and you lose, you grieve. We have within ourselves the ability to heal, given the time, space, and tools. Our culture doesn’t always allow for that—people have a hard time talking about it—or they want to rush someone’s healing heard in statements like, “Aren’t you over it by now,” or they just avoid it altogether.
At SandCastles, we know that having a safe and caring place for peers to come together is the best practice for the healing journey. That said, volunteering as a facilitator at a program or camp is amazing. There are also a lot of other amazing volunteers that make this program run, too. If perhaps facilitating isn’t for you—we have program aides who host our program dinners at the site and helpers who work behind the scenes at camp to make it run smoothly. We have a volunteer fundraising committee that hosts community events, we have volunteers who help with supplies and activities—they may do blanket making or rock painting—individually or with a group of friends.
If you have a heart for grieving children and want to share your time and talents—please give us a call at 313-771-7005. We would love to have you join us. And thank you to all our volunteers, past and present, who have made sandcastles what it is today. You are deeply appreciated.