Year-round Support

Grieving Children
Grieving children often feel very isolated because they rarely know anyone their age who has experienced the death of a family member. And their parents - their primary source of emotional support - are grieving the same death. Children see their parents sad or crying and fear that, by sharing their own pain with them, they will make their parents even more sad. Many children become protective of their parents and keep their feelings to themselves. It is critical to a child's well-being that there is someone with whom the child can share the pain and sadness without worrying about needing to protect that individual from their pain. If grieving children can find other children their own age who have had a similar experience, they can validate each other's feelings and lessen their sense of isolation. They can help heal each other.

Camp Amanda - Children/Teens
Weekend camps throughout the year exclusively for children and teens ages 6-17 grieving the death of a family member through accident, illness, suicide or homicide. Each year 150-200 new children and teens attend camp.

Camp Amanda - Adults
Weekend camps throughout the year for adults grieving the death of a spouse, child or parent through accident, illness, suicide or homicide. Each year approximately 100 new adults attend camp.

Support Groups
Support groups are held in fall, winter and spring for bereaved children, teens and adults at Amanda the Panda's offices. Each group meets independently for eight weeks for an hour and a half each week. To register, call Amanda the Panda offices at (515) 223-HUGS (4847) or register on-line.

Fun Days
Special days set aside during the year for grieving children and families to have fun, laugh and play again without feeling guilty or disrespectful to the memory of the person who died. Fun is a top priority. Activities include waterslide/pizza parties, picnics, hayrides, skating and holiday parties, etc. Approximately 300 children and families attend these events annually.

Birthday and Anniversary Remembrances
Campers are supported with cards and other remembrances on their birthdays and on the anniversary of the death of the special person in their lives.

Holiday Cheer Boxes
Camp Amanda families who are facing their first Christmas following a death receive a special Holiday Cheer Box from Amanda the Panda. Each box contains 25 individually gift-wrapped items with a sticker on each one saying: "Open Me, December 1, Open Me, December 2", etc. for 25 days beginning December 1st through December 25th. Each day a different member of the family will open that day's gift. A Cheer Box acknowledges a family's grief and lets them know that they are being remembered at a difficult time. Each year, over 5,000 gifts are wrapped, boxed and sent to grieving Iowa families.