Imagine is Grateful for Fundraisers in Support of its Programs

The support group program offered at Imagine, A Center for Coping with Loss exists because of the financial and volunteer support of our community members. Imagine could not offer free support groups for children, teens, young adults and caregivers who have experienced the death of someone close to them without the support of our community.

We wanted to share the stories of some community members who have stepped up recently and created fundraisers to support Imagine’s programs. One such individual was MaryLynn Schiavi who hosted a Dance for Love and Healing event in April. The event held at the Elks in Stirling offered line dance lessons, open line dancing and a silent auction with over 30 donated baskets. Over 75 people attended and $2,000 was raised in support of Imagine’s programs! We’re so grateful to MaryLynn for all of her efforts!

Another recent fundraiser was hosted by The Westfield High School boys' and girls' tennis teams who collaborated for a Play It Forward fundraiser tournament. This year’s event was spearheaded by varsity seniors Bianca Vesuna, Garrett Gao and Ben Duan; junior Evan Kahn; and sophomore Lauren Roszak. The co-organizers planned a family-friendly event featuring tennis, music and food at Tamaques Park in Westfield.

Prior to the event, co-organizer Bianca Vesuna said: “Every year, the planners of this event vote and unanimously choose Imagine because of the tremendous aid they provide our community and those in need. We’ve raised about $5,000 in the past four years, and we hope to exceed that this year with the town’s help and support.” Bianca recently received the Infantino Long Award through the Westfield Foundation presented to a Westfield High School student who exemplifies compassion, empathy and kindness to their (fellow) classmates by contributing/volunteering in the community in a significant, meaningful way. All of us at Imagine so appreciate the efforts of everyone on the Westfield High School boys’ and girls’ tennis teams who helped raise funds for Imagine through this event!

Another fundraiser for Imagine was led by Bridgewater Lacrosse team member, senior Brody Nussmann who conducted a fundraising effort called #GoalsForImagine. This was the second season that the Bridgewater Lacrosse program adopted Imagine as their charity of choice. Players and their families would pledge one, two or three dollars per goal, and since the fundraiser’s inception, the team has raised almost $9,000 from this initiative! Nussmann plans to play lacrosse at the University of Stockton and will take #GoalsForImagine with him to college. This year, he wanted to make a larger impact, and he included the girls’ lacrosse team in this initiative.

There’s a deep connection to Imagine for Bridgewater Lacrosse as one of their lacrosse community members was Mike Schambach who played for them in 1998 and died in 2018. Mike’s wife, Lindsay, is the Executive Director at Imagine, and the members of the lacrosse community in Bridgewater are honored to support Imagine in memory of Mike.

The staff at Imagine are so grateful to all who have worked so hard to create fundraisers that help us grow our programs. If you’d like to create a fundraiser in support of Imagine’s programs for families who are grieving, please visit https://imaginenj.org/support/fundraising/ for more information. You can help us ensure that no one grieves alone.

Imagine, A Center for Coping with Loss is a 501c3 that offers grief and loss education and training to the community and free year-round grief support groups for children ages 3-18 and young adults 19-30 who are coping with a loss due to death. Concurrently, support groups are available for the parents and guardians of the children in the groups and offered in English and Spanish. For more information, please contact Imagine at 908-264-3100 or info@imaginenj.org or visit our website at www.imaginenj.org.