To change the grief culture surrounding the unexpected loss of a child (stillborn to 12 years old) through outreach, education, and programs offering emotional and financial support.
The name, idea, and passion behind Buzzy’s Bees is our founder Amanda’s son, Hudson, who passed unexpectedly in the middle of the night on May 15, 2016, at 13 months of age. Hudson was lovingly called Buzzy; thus, Buzzy’s Bees was born and officially launched in January 2017 with a party and auction in downtown Portland.
When Hudson passed, Amanda felt a tremendous amount of support from family and close friends, and could not fathom any parent going through something this life-altering without the blessing of resources, love, and compassion. Amanda wanted to offer this to other families in a similar situation.
As Buzzy’s Bees connected with more families, we began to recognize that while financial resources were a stressor for many families, this was not true for all. However, what so many parents wanted and yearned to do was talk about their child and ensure that they would never be forgotten. Out of these conversations, the Give Grief a Voice Project was created in 2019.
Listening to the stories of parents’ grief after losing their child, it is abundantly clear that the dominant grief culture in the United States needs a change. The general population simply does not know how to support people who are grieving the sudden loss of a child. We hope that we can provide outreach, education, and some tools to help move that dial.
We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. 100% of your donations are tax deductible.
Through a collaborative process involving a professional writer and artist, the Give Grief a Voice Project provides families who have lost a young child an artistic representation of their child’s life. The story and artwork offer tools and a platform for families to have positive conversations surrounding grief and share memories of their child.
Grief has been with me for seven long years. It has taken a lot of unpacking and processing to sit where I do today. I recognized early in my grieving that it is about
©2022 Buzzy’s Bees | Support & Resources for Unexpected Child Loss | EIN# 81-4353388