Nonprofit Spotlight: Love Like Jackson
Have we told you lately how much we love our clients? February is the month of love, so we’re here to express our admiration of one of our clients in particular – Love Like Jackson – and the work they are doing to propel us forward as a community.
Following the death of Jackson Schmitt, his mother, Carrie, sought out grief support services for her younger son, Ivan. He was three years old at the time, so she couldn’t find a service that focused on tackling death at such a young age. Because their family had such a positive experience with a local cancer organization, they knew that they wanted to offer funding for therapy for other families who experienced child loss.
In February 2020, Carrie founded Love Like Jackson, in order to fill in the gaps of service for smaller aged children. Love Like Jackson provides resources to families who have experienced child loss so that those families can help their children through the experience with as little lasting trauma as possible.
We caught up with Carrie to learn how she turned her unimaginable grief into something that provides hope for children, families and our community. Read more in our Q&A with her here.
Q: Describe the need for an organization like Love Like Jackson and more about what you do.
“There is a huge need for the services that Love Like Jackson provides. We are the only organization in St. Louis that focuses on grieving siblings. We are also the only organization that funds therapy for siblings (there are five organizations in Missouri who help grieving children). We have also recently added grief therapy for parents.
It’s hard, it’s painful and it’s so lonely to lose a child or a sibling. The reason we do what we do is to tell families like ours that someone is out there that understands you; you don’t have to do it yourself.”
Q: What was it like establishing a foundation during the pandemic?
“Technically, I started the foundation once the pandemic had begun, but it was incredibly difficult because everything was so backed up, so everything took a lot longer than it would have otherwise.”
Q: How can families get support they need through Love Like Jackson? Please share the process.
“Families can reach out to us through our website, or we can send them a list of therapists with whom we collaborate and they can make an appointment with the therapist directly. Our main mission is to be the funding source for these families in need of support.”
Q: Can you share more about the team of caregivers that works with Love Like Jackson?
“We are so thankful to work with amazing play therapists who are experts in their field. We work with three of the best music therapists in the area.
Our art therapist has helped several kids for Love Like Jackson, and we work with the only trauma-informed yoga studio for kids in the U.S.”
Q: What are you most proud of in your journey to create your non-profit?
“I am most proud of the relationships that we have made with the amazing therapists. They are changing the lives of children through their work.
I am also proud to be known as an organization who can provide resources in someone’s darkest hours.”
Q: Can you share more about the impact of your work since 2020?
“I’m proud to share that we have funded more than 80 therapy sessions to date.
One of our projects that we continue to work on are our dedicated Buddy Benches. The idea began at Jackson’s elementary school, Freer Elementary, as a tool for his peers to be supported in their grief after his death. Jackson loved making friends. More benches were placed in the school playgrounds of friends at different schools. As of February 2023, there are eight buddy benches in schools across the St. Louis area.
Also, we have shared more than 70 grief bags. These grief bags come with books recommended by our therapists who specialize in children’s grief. There are two books for grieving parents and two books for grieving children. The value of each bag is $40 to create. This price totals from the books and art supplies.”
Q: What is your favorite mode of therapy that you offer?
“I am most amazed by play therapy. Play is the language of children. Seeing them process feelings and emotions through play is beautiful to see. They almost don’t even realize that they are working through hard stuff.”
Q: How is Ivan doing now and how old is he?
“Ivan is 7 now and he is thriving in school and he is an amazing ninja warrior. He still has some anxiety, but he is much better equipped at working through it.”
Q: Would you like to share anything about your relationship with The Concannon Agency?
“I am thankful for The Concannon Agency for providing insurance and giving me peace of mind, knowing that we are covered if anything ever goes awry.”
Q: How can others get involved in furthering your mission?
“Siblings are called “forgotten grievers,” and Love Like Jackson’s mission is to ensure that they are not forgotten. After all, when a child loses a sibling, they’re losing part of their parents, too.
People can help by letting others know about what we do and why. We would love to be connected to those who need our services, and we’re so appreciative of those who can support our mission through donations.”
If you are interested in learning more about the Love Like Jackson Foundation and how you can support their incredible work, please visit their website and consider making a donation via PayPal or Venmo, or learn how to get involved here. For families needing support, please visit this page to learn more.
