The Center for Grieving Children – Collective Loss and Community Engagement Specialist

Build real connections that matter—join the Intercultural Peer Support Program and turn shared experiences into meaningful community. Together, we grow, learn and address collective loss with empathy, strength, and purpose.

The Center for Grieving Children is a nonprofit organization that provides a safe space, loving peer support, outreach, and education to grieving children, teens, young adults, families and the community. With services in Portland, Sanford, and virtually, the Center provides services at no cost that are led by dedicated and highly trained staff and volunteers thanks to the generous support of our community. The Center’s peer support groups increase resiliency in grieving children by reducing isolation, promoting hopefulness, and increasing family support. They provide an opportunity for participants to share their feelings, talk about their experiences, remember the person who died, and give and receive support from others. Over the past four decades Center services have grown to include programming focused on families experiencing life impacting illness, as well as services dedicated to addressing collective loss and building peer support for members of the immigrant and refugee community. Families attend these free, weekly volunteer-led sessions for as long as they wish with a consistent group of peers, allowing for the development of close and supportive relationships.

The AmeriCorps member will support The Center for Grieving Children in its mission to serve grieving children, teens, families, and young adults through peer support groups, grief education, and community outreach. By assisting with program delivery, volunteer coordination, and family engagement, the member will help ensure that children and teens have a safe space to process grief, develop coping skills, and strengthen social-emotional well-being. Through expanding these efforts into our Sanford community, the member will contribute to improved mental health outcomes, resilience, and community support for families navigating loss.

The AmeriCorps member in this role will:

• Deliver Collective Loss Programming for youth participants, including planning weekly content, organizing activities, and aligning with program goals
• Act as liaison with schools and agency partners, managing logistics, participation, learning objectives, and permissions
• Collaborate with Program Staff on parent and community engagement initiatives to enhance participation and support
• Provide on-site leadership and oversight to volunteers, supporting recruitment, training, and supervision to ensure quality service delivery
• Maintain strong relationships with school and community partners and pursue opportunities to expand program reach
• Keep accurate records of participants and volunteers, including attendance, evaluations, and data entry for reporting purposes
• Support program participants directly to improve mental health and social-emotional outcomes through structured activities, coaching, and guidance
• Complete initial family meetings, enroll participants in Apricot database, and provide pre- and post-group support in designated locations
• Follow all Center policies and procedures to ensure safety and quality of programming
• Travel to partner organizations, community locations, and events as needed to support site initiatives and service delivery

In addition to AmeriCorps benefits, including a stipend, education award, and health insurance, site benefits include reimbursement for mileage expenses associated with project-related travel, and additional training opportunities through the National Alliance of Children’s Grief.

Already have a MyAmeriCorps account and want to apply for this specific role? You can find that listing on MyAmeriCorps here.