RACINE - An area nonprofit that helps grieving children may not be a community resource much longer if people don't start donating time and money.

MargaretAnn's Place has been helping children cope with death since 1998, but in today's economy they are hanging by a thread financially and must sell their only building, located in Kenosha, said founder and Executive Director Debra Smith-Andersen.

"We've had to cut everything down to bare bones," she said. "Being a very small grass-roots nonprofit, we were fragile to begin with and the economy took something already struggling from an infrastructure standpoint and made it worse."

The organization provides peer support groups for children who have experienced the death of a loved one and has additional groups for the children's family members.

"It's important for kids because they can assimilate that there are other children going through this," said Simone Fletcher, chairman of membership development for the Junior League of Racine, which donated to MargaretAnn's Place last June. "(They need to be) told, 'It's OK to cry. It's OK to talk about them. It's OK to not be able to get over it for a long time.'"

MargaretAnn's also provides counseling to school administrators and has started eight-week grief assistance programs in four Racine schools since January.

MargaretAnn's began in 1998 when Smith-Andersen founded the nonprofit after her daughter, Margaret Ann, died in 1997 at 20 months old, leaving behind a grief-stricken brother.

The group started in Kenosha and has since expanded to include peer support groups in Milwaukee, Waukesha and Racine counties.

Currently, MargaretAnn's can only afford one staff member and relies primarily on volunteers, but even those are lacking, especially in Racine County, Smith-Andersen said.

"One of our stumbling blocks is because what we do is so incomprehensible," Smith-Andersen said. "These are things people do not want to acknowledge actually happen, so children are often referred to as forgotten grievers."

She said lacking physical office space and funding for advertising account for more roadblocks to name recognition and financial help.

MargaretAnn's is funded primarily through fundraising events and grants, but that is not enough, Smith-Andersen said.

"In order to continue being a resource in the community, we need 10 people to step up to the plate," she said, "and we need to raise $50,000 in the next six months. We're looking for donated space in childcare centers, churches or schools."

For More Information

To learn more about MargaretAnn's Place or to volunteer time or funding, call 866-455-HOPE or e-mail hope@margaretannsplace.org.

Peer support groups for Kenosha and Racine children and families meet the third Thursday of every month from 5:45 to 8:30 p.m. at Mount Pleasant Lutheran Church, 1700 S. Green Bay Road in Racine.

More information can be found online at http://www.margaretannsplace.org.