GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A non-profit based in Grand Rapids, called Gilda's Club, continues to guide their members through the grief of losing a loved one, and at no cost.
This week is Gilda's LaughFest, where proceeds go to the year-round work that Gilda’s Club does within the community. “All the proceeds from the festival and the High Five Campaign, with Myers Match, go to support our free program,” said Gilda’s Club President, Wendy Wigger.
Gilda's LaughFest is a five-day festival offering everything from family-friendly fun to adult comedy. Over the years, they’ve featured comedians like Jay Leno, Trevor Noah, and Betty White.
“If we could get people to laugh, we could get them to listen, and we wanted them to be able to hear about the mission of cancer and the mission of grief and emotional health support,” Wigger said.
Wigger says Gilda's Club, which was founded in 2001, and LaughFest, which began annually in 2011, would not exist without the investment and passion of the community.
And Gilda’s Club volunteer, Curt Barnes, says he would not be where he is today without their support. "It’s really difficult to put into words what that experience is like, and what that journey going forward is, after you lose a child," Barnes said.
Barnes lost his daughter, Emily, to cancer in October of 2021, on his 58th birthday. “I truly fear for where I would be today if I would not have found my way here to Gilda’s,” Barnes said.
Gilda’s Club offers free grief support to anyone who has lost a loved one. "They expect this to be a dark and sad and dreary place, but when they come in here, there's a vibrancy of being able to live with or live through cancer or grief," Wigger said. “I always talk about the emotional health as being the glue that keeps things together when everything else around you feels like it's falling apart.”
After graduating from his grief group, where he, too, felt like everything around him was falling apart, Barnes now plans to honor his late daughter by continuing his volunteer work at Gilda's Club. “I really feel like it's a great opportunity in my life to give back and to help the community as they helped me when I was at a time of grief,” Barnes said.
Barnes says serving others that are walking a similar journey to his, gives him purpose. And today, when asked what he would say to his daughter, Emily, he simply responded: “I hope I'm making you proud.”
Sunday is the last day of LaughFest, so if you want to attend one of their final events, click here.
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