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A $15,000 community impact grant awarded to the Children’s Grief Center of New Mexico will allow the organization “to add more programs and help more people through the pain of grief,” said executive director Jade Richardson Bock.
The grant, from New York Life insurance company, is given to local nonprofits that are championed by its agents and employees. Since the inception of the impact grants in 2008, the company has awarded 750 grants to organizations around the country totaling more than $10 million.
The grant money, Richardson Bock said, “is important to our mission because we don’t charge for our services, so every contribution and grant allows us to provide support for people who grieve the death of loved ones.”
The support groups and programs offered at the grief center serve about 700 people a year – 50% of them children with the other half caregivers and adults, Richardson Bock said. The organization has an annual operating budget of just over $600,000. Nic Baker, an agent with New York Life’s general office in New Mexico, said, “I’m proud to work for a company that encourages its agents and employees to devote their time, energy and talents to support the needs and priorities of their local community. We are pleased that our partnership will have a long-lasting impact on the Children’s Grief Center of New Mexico and the population they serve.”
The Children’s Grief Center of New Mexico was founded 21 years ago by a group of people who had experienced deaths in their families. Unable to find grief support services for their children, they formed their own organization.
For information on donating money or volunteering time, go to childrensgrief.org, or call 505-323-0478.
