Lost & Found Grief Center

07/23/2025

🧡💙 A big THANK YOU to Kate Strickland, one of our amazing volunteers, who spent the day assembling binders for our upcoming Grief Facilitator & Coordinator Training. Her attention to detail helps ensure our team is equipped to support grieving families with compassion and care. 💙🧡

At Lost & Found Grief Center, volunteers like Kate play a vital role in everything we do—from prepping materials to facilitating groups. Their time, energy, and heart make a real difference. 🙌

👉 Interested in volunteering?
We have opportunities to match every interest and schedule—whether you’re welcoming families, helping with events, supporting office tasks, or co-facilitating groups. Learn more and sign up here: https://lostandfoundozarks.com/volunteer/

🧡 Thank you again, Kate, for being such an important part of the Lost & Found community!

07/21/2025

Taking Care of Yourself in Grief 🧡💙

After the death of a child, caring for yourself can feel impossible.
But small steps matter and can help as you navigate each day:

💦 Sleep, breathe deep, hydrate, and nourish your body.
💙 Remember—grief is a natural response to love and loss.
⏰ Don’t put a time limit on your grief. It lasts as long as it lasts.
🧡 Seek support. Therapeutic grief groups or counseling can help ease isolation.

Lost & Found Grief Center offers no-cost grief support groups for parents and families. Contact us at 417-865-9998 to learn more about our upcoming group times.

07/18/2025

🏈🔥 KC football training camp kicks off next week… and you know who else is getting ready for the season?

The Lost & Found Grief Center’s Junior Board! 🙌

This amazing volunteer group of young professionals is already planning for one of our favorite fall events — 🎉 GameDay 2025!

☑️ Mark your calendars:
🗓️ Sunday, November 2
📍 BigShots Golf – Springfield, MO
🎉 The Ultimate Watch Party
🍔 Food & Drinks
🎯 Games
📣 And of course, Chiefs football on the big screen!

🏈 GameDay is more than just a party—it’s a fun and impactful way to support grieving children and families right here in our community. 💛

📲 Learn more + grab tickets or sponsorship info:
🔗 https://lostandfoundozarks.com/gameday/

Let’s go Chiefs ❤️💛 and let’s go Junior Board! 🚀

07/17/2025

July is bereaved parent’s month. 🧡💙 Thank you, Adam, for sharing your with all your heart. We are thankful to be a place of help, hope, and healing.🧡💙

“No one can ever be prepared to face child loss grief and I certainly wasn’t. Alex was the joy of our lives that made our family complete. . . . Nothing can ever totally take away the grief of losing Alex, but Lost & Found has helped me gain back something I lost, which is ‘Hope.’"

"I’ll be forever grateful for the compassion and care that Lost & Found has given me and my family.”

▶️ View Adam's full video in the Finding Hope series on our YouTube Channel:
https://youtu.be/UZtozsNdPpQ?si=zK91P5psUlBn7dJ_

07/16/2025

Thank you, 92.9 (and Casey's OnAir) for the invitation to talk about grief in our community.🧡💙

Discover how Springfield’s Lost & Found Grief Center supports local families through loss. Hear their story in this heartfelt Beat Cares interview. In this Beat Cares interview, we sit down with Mark and Melanie from Springfield’s Lost & Found Grief Center to talk about healing, support, and hon...

07/15/2025

☀️ Summertime is the Perfect Time to Send a Card! 💌

Did you know that receiving a handwritten note can feel especially meaningful during the summer months? 🏖 💌

Many people feel more isolated when routines change, kids are out of school, or loved ones travel. A personal card can brighten someone’s day and remind them they are cared for—even across the miles. ✈️

We still have a few packets left of our custom Lost & Found Grief Center greeting cards, featuring artwork created by kids in our grief support groups.

✨ Each pack includes:
✅ 10 high-quality cards
✅ 5 unique, uplifting designs
✅ A meaningful way to support grieving families

💛 Cost: $20 per set
📍 How to get yours: Message us or call our office at 417-865-9998 to reserve your pack. Stop by to pick up a set!

Let’s help spread encouragement and connection this summer—one card at a time.

07/14/2025

💙🧡 How You Can Help a Grieving Parent 💙🧡

July is bereaved parents' month, and it's hard to always know how best to support a friend or family member. Here's some encouraging guidance for anyone navigating grief:

🚫 Avoid phrases starting with “At least…”
🫶 Say their child’s name—it matters.
🍓 Don’t just offer—do something helpful: mow the lawn, bring groceries, or help with errands.
🏡 Sit with them. Your presence can be healing.
🧡 Honor their child’s memory through acts of kindness or donations.

Your compassion can ease the burden, even when you can’t take away the pain.




*Every year, approximately 37,000 children in the U.S. die before reaching adulthood. Bereaved Parents Month honors the lives of these children and shines a light on the profound grief parents experience after such a loss.

07/10/2025

July is Bereaved Parents Awareness Month. Our Assistant Executive Director, Melanie Blair, is a bereaved parent herself. In 2018, her family lost 9-month-old Charlie to bacterial meningitis. She attended Lost & Found as a participant. Today, she leads the team of professionals who offer help, hope, and healing to parents who have had to live the nightmare of burying their children. Melanie bravely told her story of losing Charlie as part of our "Finding Hope" video and photo series. 🧡💙

View the full video here: https://youtu.be/wJY7ZKd1GhM?si=Tp1JZcWJLVKEpk9t

07/09/2025

Lost & Found is grateful for friends like Wire Road Brewing. At June's Solstice Fest celebration, Wire Road raised more than $12,000 to support our professional therapeutic grief support services. Thanks to Wire Road's Deanna Walker, Amy Bollinger, and Patty Short for presenting us with the check, and thanks to our board member Stephanie Bottorf, who spearheaded the silent auction. Solstice Fest was an incredible celebration of life and the good fortune we have to live in the Ozarks, and it helps people who are grieving the loss of a loved one. 🧡💙

07/08/2025

Each year, generous donors sponsor a full year of therapeutic grief support for children. As a token of our gratitude, we recently sent them custom bookmarks featuring images of the children they’ve supported and a calming jar recipe. Calming jars help individuals visually process and regulate overwhelming emotions. By shaking the jar and watching the glitter slowly settle, children are gently guided to pause, breathe, and reflect—encouraging emotional grounding during a moment of sorrow or sadness.

Thank you, sponsor-a-child donors. Your contributions change lives. 💙🧡

07/07/2025

Thank you, Andrea Brady, for serving on the Lost & Found Grief Center Board. We are thankful for your leadership as our board chair this past year. You have done many things to brighten the lives of others by helping provide help, hope, and healing to grieving families!

07/05/2025

❤️🤍💙 Honoring Your Loved One During 4th of July Weekend:

The days around the fourth can be difficult. Finding ways to remember your person can bring moments of comfort and connection. Even small acts of remembrance can help you feel closer to the person you miss.

Consider these ideas:
🎆 Light a firework or candle in their honor.
💙 Share a favorite story about them.
📸 Look through photos or mementos.
🧡 Make a donation to a cause they loved.

❤️