celebrating memories
A Loss Is Now A Legacy
Kate’s Club is a place where children can have the space and opportunity to carry on the legacy of the loved one they have lost. This was the mission of Kate Atwood when she first quit her job to focus entirely on her newly founded club. Kate lost her mother to breast cancer when she…
Read MoreIn Anticipation of Memorial Day…Captain Julie Cyr's Story
Memorial Day, Monday, May 27, is a day for honoring and remembering all Americans who have died while in military service. Here’s a great remembrance of Benjamin Keating by his friend and fellow soldier Julie Cyr. Julie shares her grief journey and the tremendous importance of telling your story. NPR Story Corps: Captain Julie…
Read MoreGiving Back
Kate’s Club has grown by leaps and bounds since the very first days of bowling trips and meeting at Barnes and Noble. Much of that growth has been made possible by the support of the many volunteers who believe in the mission of the club. One such person, Thomas Smith, was new to Atlanta and…
Read MoreMother's Day Is On The Way
In anticipation of Mother’s Day next week, be mindful of those friends and family who’ve lost a Mom. Ask them if they plan to celebrate her memory on Mother’s Day or give them a hug and acknowledge their loss. These are small, thoughtful gestures that have big impact. For the youngest of us addressing the…
Read MoreHappy, Healing and Healthy
The death of a parent is always a traumatic experience for anyone who has had to live through it. Those emotions are only compounded when you have had to witness that death first hand. Ginger Florey-Powell was only 9 years old when she and her brother survived the car accident that took their mother. She…
Read MoreThose Who Understand
When Ashley Thomas lost her mother she, like Kate’s Club founder Kate Atwood, she was only 13 years old. Being a young teenager is challenging enough during the best of times but can become incredibly difficult when you are missing one of your parents. Unfortunately, at that time there were no programs available for…
Read MoreFaith
Losing a member of your family is always a trying time in a person’s life. Often times, we have reason to expect that someone we love is soon to pass while other times it seems that they have been taken without explanation, and often too soon. For 16 year old Faith that is exactly the…
Read MoreSerendipity and the Story of Giving Back
Sometimes things happen at just the right moment. For some of us that can be easily overlooked but for others the timing could not be more important. In 2004, Dr. Yolanda Watson Spiva and her daughter, Gabrielle, had just returned to Atlanta from living in Washington, D.C. for a brief time. Dr. Spiva had suffered…
Read MoreThe Community at Work
Debra Brook was looking for a change to her professional life. Having spent 15 years as a recreation therapist she knew that the time had come to move on and find a new challenge. Having a connection to Kate’s Club through one of its employees at the time, Debra decided to try her hand at…
Read MoreBe The Light
Recently, I had the opportunity to meet with each of Mary Howell, the current Board Chair of Kate’s Club, and Toni Millner, the immediate past Board Chair of Kate’s Club (and currently a member of the Advisory Board), over coffee, to talk about their involvement with Kate’s Club. Mary is a Director of Corporate Finance…
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