SIMI VALLEY, Calif., April 26, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Soaring Spirits International (SSI) received a $25,000 major sponsorship from the Stanley W. Ekstrom Foundation. The funding will be used to support Soaring Spirits’ Camp Widow® San Diego program; a life-affirming weekend long event that offers widowed people a place to gather; and provides resources and tools to rebuild their lives following the loss of a spouse. “We are so grateful to the Stanley W. Ekstrom Foundation for this generous sponsorship. Attending Camp Widow® is a hardship for many widowed people. With this $25,000 sponsorship we will be able to provide stipends for Camp registration fees for 50 attendees,” said Michele Neff Hernandez, executive director and founder of Soaring Spirits International.
Camp Widow® was launched in 2008 in San Diego, and the idea was conceived by founder Miss Neff Hernandez on a paper dinner napkin. “When I became widowed at 35 I was at a loss and literally had no idea how to navigate the waters of widowhood. If it was a struggle for me, I wondered if other widowed people were struggling as well. I founded Soaring Spirits International and the Camp Widow® program to connect widowed people worldwide and to ensure that no one grieves alone. This sponsorship from the Stanley W. Ekstrom Foundation will help us meet our goal of offering grief support programming to as many widowed people as possible,” said Miss Neff Hernandez.
Research conducted by Dr. Carrie West, PhD of Schreiner University shows that widowed people who attend Camp Widow® leave with higher levels of resilience, hope, self-esteem, and confidence in ability to accept him or herself as a widow(er). Some testimonials from Campers attribute the program for literally “saving their lives.”
The Stanley W. Ekstrom Foundation is entirely self-funded and staffed by volunteers. In addition to supporting causes like Soaring Spirits, the Foundation supports wounded military, their families and the families of deceased military, at-risk women and children, abandoned, neglected, abused or endangered animals, senior citizens and other worthy causes.
About Soaring Spirits International:
Soaring Spirits International (SSI) was established in May of 2008 to provide a unique peer-based support community for grieving people. Up to now, this segment of the bereaved community has been underserved and often overlooked. SSI aims to change that by leveraging a social-media-based infrastructure with key programs designed to inspire, inform, comfort, and provide practical help for the bereaved. For more information about SSI visit the website at www.soaringspirits.org.