Cooley Dickinson Hospital’s ‘Garden’ Celebrating 25th Anniversary at Upcoming Event

NORTHAMPTON — The community is invited to join Cooley Dickinson VNA & Hospice as it celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Garden: a Center for Grieving Children and Teens. The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held on Friday, June 9 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Northampton Center for the Arts.

The event will feature a free art exhibit from Art with Heart, a collaboration between local grieving youth, their caregivers, and area professional artists. The program, a vision of the Garden’s program coordinator, Shelly Bathe Lenn, pairs local grieving youth and caregivers with artists to create art as an expression of grief. The children involved participated in workshops held in May and October.

“At the Garden, we teach coping skills and break down barriers to talk about the hard feelings that come up following a death. After 25 years, we remain steadfast in meeting our mission of providing a safe space for grieving children to come together with others to share, remember, and connect,” Bathe Lenn said. “Since 1998, we continue to see new friendships blossom and grow, and families become stronger. We are incredibly proud to serve our Pioneer Valley community.”

The Garden provides support to grieving young people, ages 5 to 18, and their families following the death of someone close, including parents, siblings, other family members, or friends. The Garden offers an on-site program that offers support to the entire family and conducts an outreach program at area schools. The program provides assistance regardless of the circumstances or timing of the death.

To learn more about the Garden or Art with Heart, visit www.cooleydickinson.org/thegarden. For questions about the event, contact Shelly Bathe Lenn at slenn@cooleydickinson.org or (413) 727-5749.