Annie's Hope ~ Providing support for children, teens and families who are grieving

Annie's Story

History

Board

Staff

History

Annie’s Hope - The Bereavement Center for Kids has been the dream of the founder, Becky Byrne, for over 17 years. The non-profit organization, The St. Louis Bereavement Center for Young People, EIN: 43-1801433, was formed December 19, 1997 with federally recognized, tax exempt status awarded March 19, 1998. The founding board members were Melissa McCartie, Ken Abendschein & Becky Byrne. The logo concept was a gift from Ken Abendschein but was perfected by a Graphic Designer, Steve Slais for The St. Louis Bereavement Center for Young People and later by Jen Hahn of Paper Lime for Annie’s Hope. The logo’s design inspired a variety of images including the representation of the flower as an individual losing a part of themselves to a school losing a faculty member. The fallen petal has been seen as cradled in the love and care of others to cradled in the support and compassion that Annie’s Hope offers.

Services began with family support groups in the early Spring of 1998 and has developed into the list of programs and services below. The major event that took place in 1999 was the establishment of Camp Courage. For the first year, the camp was a weekend experience for 56 kids. Since 2000, the camp has been a week long, overnight experience and has an attendance of over 112 campers. In the first year of Annie’s Hope’s existence, approximately 50 families were supported in some fashion while in 2007 that number had increased to over 750.

Annie’s Hope’s approach is very family centered due to the fact that children and teens do not exist outside their family. “Family” constitutes of all those persons who support and care for the grieving child. There is no cost to the grieving families for involvement. There is no affiliation with a religious group, health care system or any other entity. Existing for all grieving families who seek our support, regardless of race, ethnicity, and financial situation, is fundamental to our mission.

Providing comprehensive
support services for
children, teens and
their families who are
grieving the death of
someone significant.