Tracy P. first came to Buddy’s Place in 2004 after experiencing the death of her husband. Her children were just two and six years old at the time. Together they participated in the 8-week sessions and monthly gatherings and continuing monthly for five years until her children felt they were ready to move forward. Even after stepping away from regular meetings, they made it a tradition to attend the annual Buddy’s Place picnic.
About five years after completing the program, Tracy was interviewed as an impact story for a Pillars Community Health gala. During the interview, the idea of becoming a facilitator came up — and Tracy felt called to give back. “I felt like it was my place to kind of pay it forward for all the support that we got,” she says.
Since then, Tracy has been active as a facilitator for Buddy’s Place for more than a decade, including during the pandemic when sessions adapted to a virtual format. Tracy finds facilitating very rewarding giving families hope throughout their grieving journey and has taken the knowledge she has gained from Buddy’s Place into everything she does, including her new business she just started earlier this year.
Some of the volunteers who once supported Tracy’s children are still serving at Buddy’s Place 20 years later — a testament to the community’s enduring spirt. Tracy continues to volunteer at monthly gatherings and helps out at the annual picnic whenever she can.
When asked why she volunteers, Tracy shared:
“I think when you benefit from a service, it’s always critical to pay it forward. If people didn’t volunteer, then the next person down the line wouldn’t have that service. And I can’t even imagine being a family and knowing that service used to happen and is no longer available to me because people won’t give up their time to keep it going. So that’s why I keep going and that’s why it’s important that people do it.”
This Volunteer Appreciation Month, we thank Tracy and all of our other incredible volunteers who make programs like Buddy’s Place possible.
To see the impact of Buddy’s Place in action, check out this recent news story.
Want to become a volunteer? Visit PillarsCommunityHealth.org/Get-Involved/Volunteer.