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Welcome to Our 2024
Heart to Heart Gala and 20th Anniversary Celebration
Watch the overview of the evening here:
In 2024, the griefHaven website received over 2 Million visits!
Message from Susan Whitmore, Founder and CEO
Dear Friends,
It’s hard to believe that something that was a dream of mine in 2003 has, 20 years later, become a worldwide haven for those who need grief support, who want to know what to do with their grief, who want to understand what is happening to them and whether or not it is normal, who want to know how to support someone who is grieving, who want a grief group or private grief support, who want to know which books are the best to read, who want to better understand grief from a professional standpoint, who want grief support for their community, who work in a field of grief and need professional support, such as first responders and medical staff, to know the latest grief research, and on and on the needs go. What they have in one place is all of that and more. And everything we provide has a cost factor attached to it. That leads us to the 2024 gala fundraising event.
Please enjoy.
On November 3, 2024, over 250 people joined together at the Skirball Museum to support griefHaven’s mission. The success of this event translates directly into supporting each of you who need grief support and education. The generosity, love, and joy in the room was palpable. I share that because there are times when people are afraid to attend a griefHaven event thinking it might be too sad or too difficult since it’s about loss. But it’s not! In fact, we work hard to create an evening filled with joy, laughter, and meaning. And that is exactly what happened the evening of November 3, 2024.
Comedienne and actress, Caroline Rhea, regaled us all with her stellar sense of humor and had us all in stitches, laughing so much our faces hurt. Thank you Caroline for sharing your gifts with us.
This year’s Peace of Heart Award™ was given to Jacqueline Caster for her incredible work with Everychild Foundation, an organization she founded that is dedicated to easing the suffering of children in the Greater Los Angeles area, whether due to disease, disability, abuse, neglect or poverty. (To read about the symbology of the Peace of Heart™ Award, click here: https://griefhaven.org/griefhaven-awards/
This year’s Heart to Heart Award™ was given to Beth Abrams for her years of donated time using her expertise to provide different types of nonprofit organizations the support they needed, including griefHaven. (To read about the symbology of the Heart to Heart Award click here: https://griefhaven.org/griefhaven-awards/)
Our incredible auctioneer, Zack Krone, worked his magic with his fantastic sense of humor and unbridled ability to make people laugh AND present our special live auction items in such a fashion as to raise over $100,000.
As for the overall experience, here are a few accolades received after the event.
- What a beautiful evening and a wonderful, purposeful, 20 years💕
- Congratulations on a terrific gala! It was a perfect program for the event and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Carolyn Rhea was very funny and I laughed a lot.
- Thank you so much for inviting us at the event last night. We had an amazing time, and it was such a joy to be surrounded by such a warm and welcoming group of people. Your thoughtful planning and hospitality made the evening truly special.
We feel so grateful to have shared that experience with you and everyone else, and we’re already looking forward to the next opportunity to connect. - Congratulations to you for a lovely and successful event! I had a wonderful evening at the Gala!
- I am so grateful to you for my family’s tickets so that they could attend and understand the work your organization does and the journeys our members experience.
- Your event was wonderful. It was especially beautiful and touching to see how my children connected to the stories told and were able to see a way to understand the grief they have felt from their many losses these last few years.
- So, thank you for the fabulous weekend. It couldn’t have been better. We are so impressed with the way that you can turn a solemn occasion into a celebration.
- The Gala was not only great… it was Big Time…. Off the charts fabulous…. OMG
- Everyone was blown away and so impressed. How could you not be? The cause is near and dear to so many people.
- It was a lovely and successful gala. I was delighted to be able to sit with friends. Thank you for making it happen.
- You are truly amazing! The griefhaven event Sunday evening was so wonderful. The love, care, committment, and people helping people was astounding…I hope you know what a difference you have made in creating a place called griefhaven.
- The Gala was so beautiful and perfectly executed. Congratulations!!