FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Susan Giambalvo, (207) 775-5216, ext. 102
Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Awards Support to
Multicultural Program of Center for Grieving Children
Grant of $25,000 Funds Service to Local High School Students and Additional Program Projects
PORTLAND, Maine, November 18, 2015—The Multicultural Peer Support Program of the Center for Grieving Children has received a $25,000 grant from Harvard Pilgrim Health Care. Now in its 19th year, the award-winning Multicultural Program collaborates with Portland Public Schools to serve students resettled locally from countries that have experienced war or natural disaster.
The $25,000 grant from Harvard Pilgrim has allowed the Center to continue its commitment to serving high school students in the Multicultural Peer Support Program. In addition, Harvard Pilgrim funding has made it possible for the Center’s Intercultural Advisory Council to raise awareness about the needs of Multicultural Program participants as well as about cross-cultural perceptions of grief and the experience of collective loss through a series of Community Conversations on these issues.
“We are very pleased to support the Center for Grieving Children’s Multicultural Program,” said Ed Kane, Harvard Pilgrim vice president for Maine. “Harvard Pilgrim supports healthy, strong communities through projects like this that promote inclusion and engage community volunteers to meet the needs of youth of all cultures in our community.”
The Multicultural Program focuses on relationship building, learning to manage the intense feelings grief brings, and opportunities for both individual self-expression and group collaboration. It seeks to increase children’s resiliency by increasing their coping skills, decreasing their feelings of isolation, and offering rewarding interpersonal contacts.
“We are delighted to continue our partnership with Harvard Pilgrim to deliver this unique program," said Anne Lynch, executive director of the Center for Grieving Children. “We continue to hear from local schools and community providers that there is a resounding need for more services of this type. So many children whose families resettle in Maine have been severely impacted by grief and loss due to the deaths of loved ones, their experience of wars and natural disasters, and the destruction of their natural support systems. We can all be a part of creating a healing community for children and their families.”
Harvard Pilgrim funding also will contribute to the success of the Multicultural Peer Support Program’s annual end-of-school-year Community Night, where family members, friends, and community members learn about and share some of the children’s experiences with the program. The intercultural gathering often features art, music, and dance.
The Multicultural Program has been recognized for its collaborative model, publications, and research initiatives. It is effective thanks to Center staff and trained volunteers, interpreters and clinical consultants, Portland Public Schools teachers and administrators, and the program’s Intercultural Advisory Council of local leaders.
About the Center for Grieving Children: For children and families confronting loss, change, and grief when someone close to them dies or is seriously ill, the Center for Grieving Children is an oasis of loving support, with service sites in Portland and Sanford, Maine. Trained volunteers and the support of the local community keep our services free for families. Founded in 1987, the Center today reaches more than 4,000 people annually, and depends on funding from individuals, businesses, foundations, and United Way. For more information: (207) 775-5216 and cgcmaine.org.
About Harvard Pilgrim
Harvard Pilgrim Health Care is a not-for-profit health plan serving more than one million members in New England. Founded in 1969, the health plan has built its reputation on pragmatic innovation with a goal of lowering costs, improving care and enhancing the overall member experience. Harvard Pilgrim is known for its excellent clinical programs, customer service, health improvement strategies and innovative tools that offer consumers greater transparency and empower them to make better decisions about their health care.
Harvard Pilgrim is the #1 private health plan in America again according to an annual ranking of the nation’s best health plans by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). Harvard Pilgrim is the only private health plan in the nation to be named #1 for member satisfaction and quality of care for ten consecutive years.*
* NCQA’s Private Health Insurance Plan Rankings, 2011-14, HMO/POS. NCQA’s Health Insurance Plan Rankings 2010-11 – Private. U.S.News/NCQA America’s Best Health Insurance Plans 2005-2009 (annual). America’s Best Health Insurance Plans is a trademark of U.S News & World Report. NCQA The State of Health Care Quality 2004.
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