May_people_pics_0007_1_1.JPGOur Mission:

WillMar Family Grief and Healing Center, (formerly WillMar Center for Bereaved Children), provides compassionate peer group support for families grieving the death of a loved one, and for children, teens, and adults living with a family member suffering from a life-changing illness or injury. In addition to the safe, healing environment offered at the Center, WillMar also provides emergency on-site grief support, education, and training to schools and the community at large.

To achieve our goals, WillMar Family Grief & Healing Center:

  • Facilitates professional and meaningful support groups for children and their parents, grandparents, guardians, and care-givers.
  • Conducts expressive arts programs to encourage healthy self-expression and to strengthen the bereaved child.
  • Focuses on community education addressing the needs of grieving children through WillMar Center's Lending Library, school outreach programs, and presentations for adults in the community.
  • Relies entirely on the generosity of private donations from individuals, businesses and foundations. No fees are ever charged for children or teens to attend, and no one is ever turned away due to financial limitations. WillMar does not receive any government funding or insurance reimbursements.

Where we came from:

Founded in July of 2000 by Nina Sagall Gorbach, a licensed marriage and family therapist, WillMar Family Grief and Healing Center, (formerly WillMar Center for Bereaved Children), is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization designed to serve children and teenagers who have experienced the death of a loved one from illness, accident, suicide or homicide. WillMar was created to meet the growing needs of unserved bereaved children.