Megan Holder built this blog. It was her idea as part of the work done in late 2010 by her LEAD Atlanta cohort team as they worked to create Grief Awareness Day for Kate’s Club. Ideas have a way of floating away, instead, Megan built this blog. Since the initial post on Jan. 10, 2011, Megan has been here every step of the way, ensuring that the blog was maintained, and personally writing 77 of the 160 posts that have been written through today. It’s not in Megan’s nature to brag. But what she’s built has been an amazing tool for Kate’s Club to tell its stories to the world. So, today, we spotlight Megan, who would certainly prefer to stay behind the scenes. Megan’s work with Kate’s Club began with her LEAD team and continued as a volunteer for the second Grief Awareness Day in 2012. During that work, she was invited to join the Kate’s Club Board of Directors, where she has had a major impact since she was elected in March 2012. From the moment Megan arrived at Kate’s Club in the fall of 2010 to tour the Clubhouse with her LEAD team, she knew it was a place she wanted to be. “There’s beanbags everywhere,” she recalled. “It was so fun! It was immediately a comfortable environment to be in.” She had been central to creating a blog for HOK, where she worked at the time, and as the team discussed what to create as components of Grief Awareness Day, the blog idea was Megan’s contribution to the discussion. She ran with it and never looked back. “I had seen it really transform the culture at HOK,” Megan said. “I thought it would be a way to reach the kids who couldn’t come to the clubhouse. A blog seemed like the obvious solution.” Ultimately, Megan wrote almost all of the early blog posts. “I thought, this could be a great tool for (Kate’s Club), but I need to show them that it can work by doing it the right way,” she recalled. So, Megan lined up stories. Lots of stories. She wanted the blog to be compelling. She wanted it to convey that grief is different for every person. She wanted to expand it to include more writers and more perspectives. Check. Check. And check. Now, she’s moved the blog from a stand-alone version to a fully integrated piece of the new Kate’s Club Website, the redesign of which she oversaw. While her work around the blog and the Website has been amazing, it’s hardly been her only work for Kate’s Club since she joined the Board. In addition to more communications-related work like the design of a new brochure to use for Kate’s Club’s 10th Anniversary, Megan is also co-chairing the 10th Anniversary Spirit of Kate’s Club Gala with founder Kate Atwood. “It’s the most rewarding thing I’ve ever been a part of,” Megan said. “I’ve been really inspired by how many people are committed to moving it forward.” And for Megan, working directly with Kate has taken her commitment to another level. “She inspires you to be the best and bring the best for this organization,” she said. “But, it makes me sad because I think of the extreme pain that had to happen to make this place exist.” But, the potential of what Kate’s Club can be allows Megan to reconcile her sadness. “I think it’s going to be better than any of us can imagine!” she said.
Would you like to share your story? Please get in touch with Kate's Club! KC has free grief support with grief resources, grief counseling resources, grief training, and volunteer work in Atlanta and surrounding places in Georgia. Kate's Club is a growing nonprofit in Atlanta with grief specialists for kids and young adults going through bereavement. Our goal is to make a world where it is okay to grieve.