Two key objectives for Buzzy’s Bees are to offer financial and emotional support for families who grieve the unexpected loss of a child. Since June 2020 we have provided three grants:

Our initiative to hear and share the stories of grieving families, and to give them an artistic interpretation of their story is the Give Grief a Voice project. On September 26 we were at a tea farm hosting a socially distanced reception for this year’s Portland-area Give Grief a Voice families. They saw their art for the first time, spent a little time reflecting with us about the meaning and impact this project has had on them, sipped some tea, and most gratefully brought their art pieces home.

We captured much of the morning on film and will be preparing for a live-streamed reception and art auction on Saturday, Nov 7 at 5:30 PST. Please check out the details and plan to join us!

The evening will begin with music and a cocktail demonstration beginning at 5pm PST. At 5:30pm PST the live event kicks off. We will showcase a brief video on the impact our project had on the 11 families who shared their journeys of grief and loss with us this year, including interviews with some of the writers and artists who were a part of it. We will unveil each commissioned art piece along with excerpts from the family’s story. The evening will wrap up with the closing of the art auction around 6:30pm.

Mark yourself as ‘going’ in our Facebook event, and a link to the stream will be published one hour before the event.

DIY the details into your personal calendar and join us on our YouTube stream beginning at 5:00.

Our fundraising efforts this year includes an art auction!

Art pieces are being loaded and bidding will begin on October 30th.

The auction will close at the end of the live event on November 7th.

If you are in the Portland or Seattle area, we have an opportunity for you to purchase a cocktail kit from Etc. Eatery to enjoy as a VIP experience at home. A dinner kit is also available to Portland area folx.

Menu and online ordering is available here. Please contact the restaurant directly with ordering or payment questions: (503) 206-4042.

We have an optimistic fundraising goal for this event. Even if you are not able to attend the night of November 7, please consider donating to this fundraising event. We have over 30 applications from families who would like to participate in this project and honor the lives of their child. Even in Covid-times, we plan to continue this project in 2021 and serve as many of those applications as possible.

Finally, we were able to expand our reach this year (right before COVID hit!) with a visit to Iowa to

interview four families. An in-person viewing event is being coordinated by Elisha Palmer. Please reach out if you’d like more details about that event: hello@buzzysbees.com.

Our Virtual Golf Event on August 15 let us know that, indeed, our Buzzy’s hive was busy having fun and raising “fun”ds in support of our mission. Three sites offered putting – in masks and in family groups – while the rest of the event took place online. We continue to be grateful for the generosity of many. We achieved 166% of our fundraising goal! Thank you so much for your partnership with us. Take a look back at the photos submitted in on our Facebook Event.