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WILBRAHAM On Sept. 11, 2001, Alexis Thorpe was just 18-months old when her father, Minnechaug High School graduate Rick Thorpe, lost his life in the terrorist attacks. Last week, Thorpe's friends, who have created a fund in his memory, announced they would be underwriting a program to help children who have suffered a significant loss in their families. The Rick Thorpe Memorial Fund in conjunction with the Scantic Valley YMCA will be opening "Rick's Place," a pilot program in Wilbraham at the Kid's Place complex at Post Office Square on Boston Road. The program will be designed to help children cope with their grief about the passing of a close family member. "The need is huge in this marketplace," Glen Garvey, one of the co-chairs of the Memorial Fund, said. Garvey made his remarks at a press conference conducted at the Springfield YMCA on Thursday. Garvey's co-chair, Dan Sheehan, said the idea of starting a support group for children came after numerous conversations with parents who had experiences a loss in their families and with the Thorpe family's loss. "We thought there was a void [for this kind of service]," Sheehan said. Shelly Bathe Lynne, who supervises a child bereavement program in Northampton called "The Garden" explained there are programs serving this need in Greenfield and Windsor, Conn., but none in greater Springfield. The program will start March 25, and will take place for two hours every Sunday over six weeks. The program is designed to help children grouped by age from five through 12 and their parents. The program will be facilitated by trained volunteers and shouldn't be considered as therapy, but rather as support. The program will be free and should accommodate 20 to 30 families as long as it has adequate numbers of volunteers. If the pilot program proves to be successful, then Lynne said they hope to start a more long-term program in the fall. People interested in participating in the pilot program should contact Lynne at 348-3120. Lynne is also seeking additional volunteers for training. Although the Memorial Fund is helping to underwrite the program, it is seeking donation from the public for its on-going support. Tax-deductible contributions can be sent to Rick Thorpe Memorial Fund, in care of Bill Scatolini, 8501-A post office park, Wilbraham, MA 01095. Checks should be made to "Rick Thorpe Memorial Fund." | ||||||
