Providing Grief Support After the Death of a Child
The Compassionate Friends is about transforming the pain of grief into the path of hope. It takes people out of the isolation society imposes on the bereaved and lets them express their grief naturally. With the shedding of tears, healing comes. And the newly bereaved get to see people who have survived and are learning to live and love again.
Simon Stephens, founder of The Compassionate Friends
Friendship, Understanding, Hope
The Compassionate Friends was founded over 40 years ago when a chaplain at the Warwickshire Hospital in England brought together two sets of grieving parents and realized that the support they gave each other was better than anything he, as a chaplain, could ever say or provide. Meeting around a kitchen table, the Lawleys and the Hendersons were joined by a bereaved mother and the chaplain, Simon Stephens, and The Society of the Compassionate Friends was born. The Compassionate Friends jumped across the ocean and was established in the United States and incorporated in 1978 in Illinois.
Each chapter, along with the supporting National Office, is committed to helping every bereaved parent, sibling, or grandparent who may walk through our doors or contact us. The National Office has national and regional upcoming events.
Today TCF has about 500 chapters serving all 50 states plus Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and Guam offer friendship, understanding, and hope to bereaved parents, siblings, grandparents, and other family members during the natural grieving process after a child has died. Around the world more than 30 countries have a Compassionate Friends presence, encircling the globe with support so desperately needed when the worst has happened.
The Compassionate Friends • Central Iowa Chapter
Our Mission
When a child dies, at any age, the family suffers intense pain and may feel hopeless and isolated. The Compassionate Friends provides highly personal comfort, hope, and support to every family experiencing the death of a son or a daughter, a brother or a sister, or a grandchild, and helps others better assist the grieving family.
Chapter Meetings
Our Chapter meets the first Tuesday of each month. Meetings start at 7pm and generally last two hours.
Make a donation
Consider making a donation to support the Central Iowa Chapter of The Compassionate Friends.
No dues or fees are required to belong to The Compassionate Friends. Our chapter work is done by volunteers, and through love gifts we are able to reach out to others with our brochures and newsletters as well as to obtain books and other information for our library and group.
We truly appreciate every love gift and donation and use them in our chapter’s work.
Chapter Newsletter
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