March Newsletter * Tu Nidito

Dear Friends,

Welcome to March! At this time of year our energy is on our Remarkable Celebration which is our signature event that recognizes Mothers! Moms are the heart of our community. For the past 22 years we have had the honor of celebrating many of Tucson’s most remarkable women. This year is no exception!

Our 2024 Remarkable Moms are: Mimi Coomler – mother of 2 and CEO of TMC Healthcare; Cindy and Anne Jordan – mothers of 3 and co-founders of Pyx Health; Wendy Kurtin – mother of 2 and Vice President of Provider Clinics for Northwest Healthcare; Marsha Moon – mother of 2, grandmother of 3 and tireless advocate for Gold Star families and veterans; Melissa Ritchey mother of 2 and Chief Clinical Officer for Children’s Clinic and Yvette Rodriquez – mother 3, surrogate mother of 4 and Program Coordinator for Pima Community College.

We are grateful that these women embrace our mission to create a community of acceptance and understanding for those grieving a serious medical condition or death. When they joined us for lunch here at Tu Nidito last month they bonded through their stories of motherhood. Each of their journeys is powerful and they have a common bond of facing adversity and pivoting to create positive change. I hope that you will join us in honoring these Moms and all the moms that we serve. The Remarkable Celebration raises 25% of funds needed to support our programs which are free but not without cost.

As the philanthropy teams works on the Celebration, our program team is busy welcoming new families to Tu Nidito. We have seen a steady increase in need for grief support. We have added another group night to our calendar to address this need. Our Grief Education and Training workshops have been in high demand as well. We recently trained the Diocese of Tucson school counselors and leadership as well as several TUSD schools. Together with our peer support programs at Tu Nidito and at Goodwill Metro and Grief EDU, we are moving the needing in educating and bringing awareness that grief is an experience that needs and deserves understanding, support, and community acknowledgement leading to Tucson and Southern Arizona being a Grief Informed Community.

As we move into Spring I encourage you to take time outside and to spend time with your loved ones. This is a beautiful time of year in the desert.

Liz McCusker,

Executive Director

BOARD MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Richard Thompson

Rich learned about Tu Nidito from his cycling friends and was very interested in our mission. He had a desire to get involved in our local community and bring exposure of community resources to Caterpillar, Inc, where is serves in a leadership role. He joined the Tu Nidito Board because he wants to make a difference. As the Board Chair, he sees his role as keeping Tu Nidito relevant, available and sustainable. He is a true champion for our work.

Rich and his wife Stephanie have 2 daughters, Sophia 14 and Lydia 8. They all love the outdoors and reptiles. You will find snakes and lizards and other creatures in their house - where all are welcomed. When Rich isn’t training as a professional racing cyclist he enjoys running and photography. Our staff enjoys when he bakes with his daughters and brings us delicious treats.

Happening at The Nest this Month...

Grief often brings mixed emotions and this can be confusing for children. In March our Littles and Middles will explore how they feel with the picture books, “The Way I Feel” by Janan Cain and “My Favorite Color is Blue” by Roger Hutchison. The beautiful and colorful artwork in both books will set the tone as the children choose colors for their emotions to create a unique piece of spin art and perhaps see the beauty in their own kaleidoscope of emotions.

Teens often isolate and withdraw their feelings in the wake of the death of a special person, but it’s important for them to know they are not alone and that all their feelings are ok. They will reflect on their own grief experiences and hear from their peers as they play the game “Never Have I Ever.”

As we wrap up March, everyone at the Nest will be thinking about tears and crying. This natural response to grief isn’t always understood by adults and children alike. Questions like, “What makes you want to cry?” and “Have you seen the adults in your life cry?” will be discussed in the children’s sharing circles. Littles will read the book “Why Do We Cry?” by Fran Pintadera to learn how helpful crying can be for our minds and bodies. Middles will read the book “Crying is like the Rain” by Chamisa Kellog and learn to tune in to how they feel in their bodies, like a weather report. Teens will dig into the science behind our tears and how our tears produce hormones to help us feel better.