Dear Friends,  

February is a time of year when we reflect on the love and support within our Jessica’s House community. Longer days and early signs of spring remind us of renewal and growth and sunnier days ahead.  

Last month we enjoyed another great weekend of volunteer training and welcomed over 20 new volunteers and interns. We also found hope together as Ken Fitzgerald from Hilmar Unified School District trained our staff and volunteers on suicide prevention through QPR - Question–Persuade–Refer. Stay tuned for upcoming announcements on more mental health training opportunities. 

This month at Jessica’s House we are exploring themes of love and expression with our art invitations. Asking, “What keeps you connected to the person who died?” with art that reflects how our loved ones showed their care for us and how our connection continues.  

On February 1, my co-author, Colleen Montague, and I will turn in our manuscript for the book which will be published by Baker Books next year. We are so grateful for the opportunity to extend the reach of Jessica’s House to parents supporting children who are grieving.  

With the increasing need for grief support in our community, I hold continual gratitude for our supporters. Thank you for allowing us to create a nurturing environment where love is expressed through healing.    

May the warmth of connection, like the returning sun, bring you hope and comfort.  



With heartfelt appreciation, 

Erin Nelson

Executive Director, Jessica's House

Valentine’s Day, a day devoted to the celebration of love, can feel especially weighty after the death of your loved one. Where once you expressed your love, there is an absence of a recipient. What do you do with this energy of love when you’re missing your loved one?  

Energy is best released through motion. Reflect on where your energy of love, can be spent right now. Perhaps you can pour it into taking care of yourself in a new way, or time with friends. Can you pick up your favorite take-out and pair it with your favorite movie or a good book?  

Grief also comes with energy and impacts how you feel. You may feel tired, anxious or angry. The energy of grief invites your attention. You can move energy through your body by walking, alternating between tensing and releasing your whole body, or jumping on alternating feet while shaking your arms and hands.  

You are learning a new way of being. As you find what helps you, consider keeping a list of what brings you relief so you can reference what helps you in times of need. The energy of grief, just as love, invites your attention. It desires to be noticed and expressed in the way that it’s felt.  

And remember, no feeling is final. May you find your way as you grieve this Valentine’s Day.  

Jessica's House Book Update

February 1 was an important day for Jessica’s House! It was the deadline for the manuscript for our first-ever book supporting grieving families. Stay tuned for our reveal of the book title and cover from Baker Books. The book will launch in February 2025. We look forward to extending the reach of grief support from Jessica’s House to those who may not have a grief center in their community.  

February is Donor Appreciation Month, and we wanted to take this opportunity to say THANK YOU.

Together with our donors, we are creating a lasting and sustainable future for Jessica’s House, ensuring that we are always ready to serve families during their time of need. 

Support from generous community donations is key to the Jessica’s House model, which never charges families for services. We have seen tremendous success over the past few years, and we are excited to share that our 2023 campaign raised $1,017,009 in new pledges for Jessica’s House over the next five years.  

We are so grateful for this generous support and are excited to kick off our 2024 Heart Circle Drive campaign.  

In 2024, it is our goal to raise $800,000 in new Heart Circle Drive pledges for Jessica’s House. It is truly a gift to do this healing work alongside our donor community and our wonderful volunteers. We appreciate your consideration and your continued commitment to our program.   

To view a complete list of donors in our Heart Circle community, click here. If you are interested in joining our Heart Circle, please reach out to Natalie Henderson at 209-250-5395 or visit www.jessicashouse.org/heart-circle to consider the giving level right for you.  

We know that by working together and with the support of our amazing and generous community, we can continue to meet or exceed our 2024 campaign goal of raising $800,000 in new pledges for Jessica’s House. Thank you! 

Come join our remarkable volunteer community at Jessica's House!

Our upcoming weekend training will be held on April 13th-14th. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, click the button below to fill out an application.

In the months of November, December, and January we welcomed the following Heart Circle contributors. Many capital campaign donors made new commitments to our Heart Circle Drive over the next five years. 

Thank you for supporting our mission to provide a safe place for children, teens, young adults, and their families grieving a death. For that, we are eternally grateful. Please join us in welcoming the following donors to our Heart Circle community.  

Violet level ($250,000+) 

Carter Nelson Memorial Golf Tournament* 

Jade level ($100,000+) 

Amber level ($50,000+) 

Steve and Arlene Vilas* 

Cody and Belle Alldrin* 

Telcion 

Poppy level ($25,000+) 

Steve Vieira* 

*Current Heart Circle members who made new 

commitments to our Heart Circle Drive.  

Indigo level ($10,000+) 

Don Morelli* 

Anonymous Donor* 

Tom and Gay Locke* 

Danielle’s Gift* 

Ernest Gong and Tai-Li Chang 

Larry and Candy Smith* 

Jim and Kathy Heller* 

Scarlet level ($5,000+) 

Tom and Deb Chaplin 

Berj and DeeDee Moosekian  

Guy Petzold and Judi Dumas 

Carol Stephens 

QPR Training Recap

In January, Ken Fitzgerald from Hilmar Unified School District trained our Jessica’s House Volunteers and Staff on suicide prevention through QPR - Question-Persuade-Refer.

QPR - Question-Persuade-Refer is a training designed to educate individuals on how to recognize the warning signs of someone in crises and provide them with the necessary skills to intervene and offer help.

Art Activity:

Impressions On My Heart

Materials: Cardboard heart, cardstock heart, markers, crayons, and colored pencils.

1. Hot glue the cardstock heart on top of the cardboard heart. Rub a crayon over the top of the cardstock heart so the pattern is transferred onto your cardstock heart.
2. Write the name of the person who died in the middle of your heart.
3. Around the edge of your heart, on one half, write the ways grief has changed you or your life. On the other half, write or draw one thing you will never forget or something you miss about the person who died.

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