Hermanowski Family Foundation Initial Request Form<\/p>\n
Organization Name: Valerie’s House
\nLegal Name (if Different): Valerie’s House
\nAlso Known As: Valerie’s House
\nMailing Address: PO Box 1955
\nCity: Fort Myers
\nState: Florida
\nPostal Code: 33902
\nMain Phone: 2392045804
\nMain Fax:
\nOrganization Website: www.valerieshouse.org
\nEmployer ID Number: 47-3701240
\nOrganization Tax Status: 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization<\/p>\n
Proposal Information<\/p>\n
Today’s Date: 2\/16\/2026
\nRequested Amount: 10,000<\/p>\n
Project Title: Expanding Peer Grief Support for Kids in Southwest Florida
\nProject Description:<\/p>\n
Valerie\u2019s House respectfully requests support from The Charles and Joan Hermanowski Family Foundation to provide grief support for children who have experienced the loss of a parent or sibling. Valerie\u2019s House is one of the very few cost-free, comprehensive grief support centers for children in this region of Florida and now serves families in Lee, Collier, and Charlotte Counties, supporting more than 1,300 individuals each year.
\nValerie\u2019s House provides peer grief support for children ages 5 to 18, along with their caregivers. Unaddressed grief can lead to a number of long-term struggles such as depression, anxiety, academic struggles, and social isolation. Valerie\u2019s House addresses these risks by offering the children a safe and structured environment where they can process their emotions, build coping skills and connect with other peers who understand their experience.
\nFamilies attend their assigned peer grief support group twice a month in the evening. Each night begins with a provided meal and playtime for families before splitting off into age-appropriate groups. In group, trained volunteers guide children through conversations about grief, followed by a hand-on activity that allows children to express feelings that words may not convey. Activities are intentionally designed to help children honor and remember their loved one, while reinforcing that their emotions surrounding the death are valid.
\nIn a recent activity, facilitators asked questions to children such as \u201cwhat was your person\u2019s favorite color?\u201d and \u201cwhat was your favorite thing to do together?\u201d Children then selected beads that symbolized their answers and created memory bracelets. Each child also chose a bead for every other participant, reinforcing the message that no one grieves alone at Valerie\u2019s House.
\nFunding will allow Valerie\u2019s House to welcome additional families, purchase grief activity supplies and therapeutic items and strengthen overall capacity, ensuring all services continue to remain cost-free.\n<\/p>\n
Total Project Budget: 90000<\/p>\n
Other Funding
\nSources For The Project (Committed & Potential): United Way Lee, Hendry & Glades County, United Way Charlotte County, private and individual foundations. Valerie’s House did recieve state funding for this year but that funding ends in June. <\/p>\n
Project Duration: Families are welcome to stay with Valerie’s House as long as they feel they need to. Groups run on the school calendar year. Most families stay for two years, Valerie’s House will never end the program until it’s on the families terms.
\nGeographical Area Served: Lee, Collier and Charlotte Counties in Southwest Florida
\nAge Group To Be Served: 5-18<\/p>\n
Contact Information<\/p>\n
Contact Prefix (Mr,Mrs etc.): Ms.
\nContact First Name: Lauren
\nContact Last Name: Bernard
\nContact Title: Grants & Communication Coordinator
\nContact Phone: 239-922-4446
\nContact Email: grants@valerieshouse.org<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hermanowski Family Foundation Initial Request Form Organization Name: Valerie’s House Legal Name (if Different): Valerie’s House Also Known As: Valerie’s House Mailing Address: PO Box 1955 City: Fort Myers State: Florida Postal Code: 33902 Main Phone: 2392045804 Main Fax: Organization Website: www.valerieshouse.org Employer ID Number: 47-3701240 Organization Tax Status: 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization Proposal Information […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-grants"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/hermanowskifoundation.org\/members\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/hermanowskifoundation.org\/members\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/hermanowskifoundation.org\/members\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/hermanowskifoundation.org\/members\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/hermanowskifoundation.org\/members\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9090"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/hermanowskifoundation.org\/members\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9090\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9091,"href":"http:\/\/hermanowskifoundation.org\/members\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9090\/revisions\/9091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/hermanowskifoundation.org\/members\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/hermanowskifoundation.org\/members\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/hermanowskifoundation.org\/members\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}