Over the next several weeks, we are excited to feature the artwork alongside excerpts of the stories from the thirteen families that participated in our 2021 Give Grief a Voice cohort.
The Give Grief a Voice project provides families who have lost a young child an artistic representation of their child’s life. A professional writer interviews the child’s family in order to ghostwrite the child’s story. Then, a commissioned artist turns the words of the story into a piece of art that the family keeps.
Buzzy’s Bees fundraises to cover all costs for writing and art – there is no charge to participating families. Both the writers and artists are paid per story.
If you have suddenly or unexpectedly lost a young child (stillbirth – 12yo) and are interested in participating, please fill out an application here. If you are a writer or artist interested in being a part of the program, contact Kelly Tilford at kelly@buzzysbees.com. You can donate to the project here and see photos from the event we hosted for the families here.
Artist: Justin Jude Carroll
Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 30 inches
“We took a family trip around Thanksgiving a few months before he died. My parents had joined us for the holiday and we have so many pictures and memories of that weekend, it’s one of our favorites. Wes loved trains and there was a train ride in the park that took us around to different spots. He had just started walking so you could hold his hand, but he would get mad after a while because he wanted to go faster and further. He loved riding the train and loved anything to do with model trains, real trains, or train shows; we are a big train family.””
– Wesley’s Mom and Dad
