Grief has no season, but this fall Tucsonans can make a difference for grieving children through Ride for a Child on Saturday, Nov. 12.
The fundraiser seeks to raise $20,000 to benefit Tu Nidito, the home-grown nonprofit on a mission to ensure that no child grieves alone. Each year, Tu Nidito provides programming for almost 700 children and their families who are grieving death or the diagnosis of a serious medical illness for themselves or a loved one.
“We are trying to build a community of acceptance and understanding about grieving. We want children and families to realize you don’t have to stuff your grief inside or hide it from others. It is a journey, and we will walk with you on that journey,” said Debbie Rich, director of Development for Tu Nidito.
To that end, Tu Nidito implemented Ride for a Child several years ago. The ride is designed to coincide with the celebration of Children’s Grief Awareness Day on Nov. 17. It caters to cyclists of every skill level, with courses tailored to individual abilities. Each participant, or ambassador, in the ride is asked to raise a minimum of $400 toward the cause. This year, the first $100 for each ambassador will be funded by GIFT: Giving & Inspiring from the Heart Together. The nonprofit utilizes donor contributions and endowments to create generational giving and amplified gifts for aligned causes, including organizations such as Tu Nidito.
Ride for a Child ambassador Edmundo Zevallos hopes to leverage the GIFT donation into at least $2,000 for Tu Nidito, which he said “is super efficient with its money and delivers something real” to everyone it serves.
Zevallos discovered the organization after seeing a cyclist wearing a Tu Nidito jersey.
“I asked the guy where he got it and he said, ‘You can’t buy it; you have to earn it.’ I called Tu Nidito and they gave me a tour. I saw the art room and the drawing room, and the Wall of Memories and I started to get emotional. Then I saw a message that said, ‘Daddy, why did you die?’ and the rest is history. I knew this was something I wanted to do. I wanted to help these kids,” said Zevallos.
He was further motivated by his own experience with the near-loss of his son, who was born premature. Zevallos struggled to handle the guilt and stress that can be common for parents when a child is seriously ill.
“Men are supposed to have it together and be tough, and I really think that services like Tu Nidito offers could have helped me to handle it better and to be there more for my daughter and family,” said Zevallos, who believes that helping children to deal with grief can prove life-altering — and possibly even save lives.
For his part, Zevallos hopes that his efforts will also inspire others.
For more information, visit the website at tunidito.org.
