New Song Center for Grieving Children awarded Phoenix Suns Charities grant

New Song Center for Grieving Children has been awarded a $6,750 grant from Phoenix Suns Charities that will support a new location in Avondale. The organization is expanding to meet the increasing needs of west Valley children and their families.

New Song Center provides grief support for children and families who have experienced the death of a loved one. The program helps children, teens and young adults cope with loss through the sharing of stories and experiences, as well as art, dance, music and recreation.

The new Avondale location at First Southern Baptist Church, 1001 N. Central Ave., opened in September with a seven-week grief support program, Enduring Ties. New Song Center will hold on-going family support groups at the Avondale site early next year. With the expansion in Avondale, New Song Center expects to serve dozens of new families in the west Valley each year. 

"The New Song Center at Hospice of the Valley is a perfect example of the type of program Phoenix Suns Charities like to fund.  We have a heart for any child in distress, and a grieving child in particular.  It is in our DNA at the Suns to put smiles on faces, and the New Song Center helps each child find their smile again.  Now, that's an important 'assist'!"

New Song Center also offers programs at locations in Phoenix, Gilbert and Scottsdale.  The organization currently serves more than 350 individuals in Maricopa County. It is a program of not-for-profit Hospice of the Valley, caring for patients with life-limiting illnesses and their families since 1977.