College students with an ill or deceased loved one feel as though they are the only people on their campuses who are coping with illness or death. While few share their experiences with others, they are not alone. 35-48% of college students have lost a family member or close friend within the last 2 years. One student at a university without focused grief support shared that "[He is] searching for others who have struggled with the same feelings; who have, like [him], felt alone in my grief."
As one can expect, it is very difficult to cope with grief during the college years, because:
There is so much academic pressure.
These students are away from home for the first time; they may be too far from home to travel to your loved one or family.
Developmentally, they are trying to gain autonomy from your parents.
“College is supposed to be the ‘best four years of their life’.”
Friends and faculty are often insensitive and tell them to “move on.”
Therefore, the loss of a loved one can result in a decline in academic performance, social anxiety, sleep disturbances, depression, and in some cases, serious mental illness.
How your money is spent:
Some of the services you are helping to provide through your donation include:
• Expanding the 42 chapters of Students of AMF already on college campuses nationwide. • Launching and developing new chapters of Students of AMF on college campuses. • Working with experts from academia, mental health, adolescent bereavement, and student health services to refine the training for support group leaders. • Maintaining an interactive website at www.StudentsofAMF.org where the organization receives more than 1,800 individual visits each month. • Sponsoring an annual national conference on college student bereavement. • Hosting teleconferences on “Coping with cancer or other illnesses during college.” • Funding research into the prevention, treatment, and cure for terminal illness. • Endowing a scholarship fund for grieving college students in need of financial assistance. • Expanding our fundraising program, Boot Camp 2 Beat Cancer, to be held nationwide.
How your donation makes a difference:
I have listed a few testimonials from members of Students of AMF below:
"Coming back to school was a difficult transition, but AMF helped me to get through it."
"AMF gave me an outlet for me to express my emotions during my mother’s cancer that I was bottling inside."
"I have been able to reduce stress by letting go in the support group meetings"
"AMF has helped me confront my grief and meet many kindred souls that I have grown close to."
"AMF is an integral part of my grieving process, I’m not sure what I’d do without it."
"The support group meetings have helped so much; it is comforting to know other people have the same thoughts."
"I hope that everyone who would benefit from AMF can do so."
"I felt so relieved after the first meeting and thought, 'wow, other people get it.'"
"The service projects help us to be proactive and help to prevent other people from having to go through the same experiences."
"The projects bring my friends into AMF and open up an opportunity to talk about this part of my life."
"It is so helpful to know that there is an entire community here at Georgetown who is behind us."
"AMF has done so much for me this past year; I was really nervous before the first support group meeting, but once I took the first step the benefit was clear."
"The day we went to the lung cancer race in memory of my dad was one of my best since the day he passed away."
"Words could never begin to explain the impact this group has had on my life this year."
"The day my dad died my life changed, and the day I met all of you it did the same."
