Dear Super Friends of JSP,

Dear Super Friends of JSP,

As many of you know the Jackson Smith Peck Children’s Foundation was formed in February 2005. It was never our intention to launch a children’s foundation. We simply requested that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in honor of Jack for his “Wee” school to build a children’s playground. Through your generosity, in that initial year we were able to accomplish many wonderful things in addition to completing the playground and pavilion.
Over the past four years, we have partnered and served with many great organizations such as: Warehouse of Hope (www.warehouseof hope.org), The Lighthouse Family Retreat (www.lighthousefamilyretreat.org), and Eagle Ranch Children’s Home (www.eagleranch.org). We encourage you to look into these ministries and see what a tremendous impact these organizations have on the children and families that they serve. JSP has also given to many families and children who are in need. We have come alongside and provided for many children who have needed extra help to overcome some of life’s difficult obstacles, such as childhood illness, counseling, or simple basic needs. We have learned so much during these first few years and have been blessed by helping many.
Immediately following our personal loss, we desperately needed a place to go as a family and receive counseling and healing. Our desire was to find a place where people understood us and could help our entire family process our tragic loss. Although we are thankful for the programs that we were able to attend, we needed so much more. Witnessing our hurting children first hand encouraged us to take action and find somewhere that they also could receive the healing that they needed. Unfortunately, we determined that there were not a lot of options available. As we continued our journey as a family, we trained and educated ourselves at many different programs and facilities around the country. In the process, we grew convinced that ministering to others who were grieving was a critical ingredient to our own healing.
In the spring of 2006, we began our first adult bereavement program at West Ridge Church. That summer we trained at the Dougy Center in Portland, OR and implemented a kids program in the fall of 2006. This allowed JSP to serve entire families that had experienced loss. Now having gained the experience of four years of grief ministry, combined with intensive education and training, we feel like God’s is expanding the vision for JSP.
Grief and loss are universal, everyone experiences it, yet there are very few who truly understand it. It is our mission to help bring light to the dark path through the valley of grief. Allow us to paint a picture of the God sized dream He has given us.
Jack’s House will be a unique bereavement ministry with a primary purpose to help families choose to live again. This very powerful decision, made first by parents, offers hope and healing to their children and future generations. Parents who do the “work” that grief requires in turn open the door for their grieving children to do the same.

We have seen many families accept the loss of their loved ones while ignoring their own pain. They move ahead with plans to endure the rest of their lives, this side of Heaven. The result is a joyless life that causes others in the family to lose heart. To tolerate grief only sows seeds of bitterness in the heart, which produces a harvest of pain in the lives of those we truly love.

Our mission is to offer hope and healing to the broken hearted and to come alongside and share the weight of those who, through no fault of their own, have been given a heavy burden to carry. In the bigger picture of our vision, we see a whole community benefiting directly and indirectly. The most obvious outcomes will be the healing of bereaved families. Parents will receive education, support and encouragement to take the next steps of grief. Marriages will be strengthened and kept safe from divorce. Siblings will have a place to safely process their grief. Supporting family members can find helpful information to support their grieving family members. We have even witnessed volunteers, who serve the families on a weekly basis, being ministered to through the hope that is offered by our program. Jack’s House will serve those in need, who will return to serve others as they have been served. Our focus is to help bind hearts, one family at a time. We trust these efforts will multiply and begin to bind “a community of hearts” working together as one. Imagine communities becoming stronger rather than weaker with each tragedy.

Please Join With Us! As we move forward with our dream, we are reaching out to you for support.

We Need Your Prayers!
*Pray that God would keep His hand on this ministry and give us wisdom and discernment as we go forward.
*Pray that God would provide leaders and volunteers that will be necessary to succeed
*Pray for the families that we serve
*Pray for financial support.

We Need Your Financial Support!

*We need the resources to grow our staff, acquire a permanent facility and to continue our training.
*Please visit our website to make an online donation. www.jspfoundation.com

We Need Your Help!

*Spread the word about JSP
*To see how JSP is helping others, we have attached two testimonies written by families who have been a part of our grief program.

With Much Love-
Smith and Julie Peck