ABOUT OUR NATIONAL VIRTUAL KIDS AND TEENS EMPOWER “LEARNING ABOUT CANCER” PROGRAM
Pickles Group’s successful activity-based peer support model for kids affected by a parent’s cancer is now offered nationally through our Empower Virtual Youth Program. Register here by June 26 to reserve your spot!
Our Chief Clinical Program Officer, Kelsey Mora, LCPC, CCLS, is an expert in supporting families through illness and designed this unique program based on more than a decade supporting kids. The program has been tailored to a Zoom format by an experience virtual educator.
This 5-Week Summer 2023 Cohort Launches on Sunday, July 9 and takes place every Sunday through August 6.
Kids and teens in the program build relationships with friends who get them in a safe, supportive, fun environment online. They also learn about cancer in a developmentally appropriate way, an experience that’s proven to decrease stress, anxiety, and worry for kids whose parents or guardians have cancer.
These engaging virtual group meetings are interactive, play, and art-based.
Meetings are facilitated by our skilled Youth Facilitators who have backgrounds in child development, education, Child Life, social work, and other youth-focused areas.
Kelsey breaks down the focus of each session in our program that supports kids' needs through their parent's cancer via the video below. Parents receive weekly prompts to help facilitate connection and conversation at home.
The program themes are:
💚 Week 1 - Getting started and getting to know each other.
💚 Week 2 - Shared experiences. What do we have in common? What brings us together?
💚 Week 3 - Learn together. What is cancer? What is treatment? What is my parent going through, and how can I better communicate with them about it?
💚 Week 4 - How it feels and what can we do about it? Kids start to express their emotions and learn valuable coping skills they can use in life beyond their parent’s cancer, too.
💚 Week 5 - Hope, gratitude, and see you soon! Kids leave the program with positivity and friendships that will help them throughout their parent's experience.
Program dates are: Sunday, July 9; Sunday, July 16; Sunday, July 23; Sunday, July 30; Sunday, August 6. Kids and teens should plan to attend all five unique sessions to experience the full benefit of the program.
Location: Virtual (Zoom) from 1:00pm-2:30pm Pacific, 3:00pm-4:30pm Central, 4:00pm-5:30pm Eastern,
Event Type: Online Kids and Teens Peer Group Meetings
Who Can Attend: New and existing Pickles youth navigating a parent or guardian’s cancer diagnosis. We serve kids and teens in grades 1-12. All are welcome. This program is well-suited for youth who would benefit from peer connecting and a better understanding of cancer.
Registration: If you are a new Pickles family, please complete our Youth Registration Form no later than Monday, June 26 to receive program information and supplies for the Sunday, July 9 start date.
Please select the “National Virtual Youth Program” on the youth registration form section for preferred program.
Existing Pickles families will receive a separate link if they are interested in registering their child(ren).