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[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 426 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 426

     Expressing support for the designation of the Thursday before 
          Thanksgiving as ``Children's Grief Awareness Day''.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 21, 2013

Mr. Doyle submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
     Expressing support for the designation of the Thursday before 
          Thanksgiving as ``Children's Grief Awareness Day''.

Whereas 1 in 5 children in the United States will experience the death of 
        someone close to them by age 18, and 1,900,000 youngsters under age 18 
        have lost one or both parents;
Whereas children who have had a loved one die, especially a close family member, 
        can carry that loss within them forever, and it sometimes causes 
        confusion in the mind of a young person about why their loved one was 
        taken away;
Whereas the great majority of grieving children feel alone, not understood, and 
        fearful, on top of their feelings of grief, leading in many cases to an 
        inability to manage or even face their grief;
Whereas many adults and other children erroneously believe that grieving 
        children are resilient enough that they ``just get over'' their grief, 
        so much so that children have often been called ``forgotten mourners'';
Whereas for many grieving children the most helpful reaction they can receive is 
        an acknowledgment of their feelings, a listening ear, and the support of 
        caring individuals, like family, friends, or others also grieving a 
        loss;
Whereas ``Children's Grief Awareness Day'' began through grassroots efforts in 
        2008 in order to help others understand the impact of death on children 
        and their need for support, and to provide ways for caring adults and 
        young people to show their support and solidarity for grieving children;
Whereas ``Children's Grief Awareness Day'' is observed every year on the 
        Thursday before Thanksgiving, immediately preceding the winter holidays 
        which can be a particularly difficult time for grieving children;
Whereas simple ways to participate are to engage in activities that raise the 
        awareness of the needs of grieving children and to encourage as many 
        people as possible to wear blue on that day as a symbol of support for 
        these children;
Whereas this year, on November 21, 2013, and on November 20, 2014, thousands of 
        children and adults from all walks of life from across the United States 
        will join together to show their support for grieving children by 
        participating in ``Children's Grief Awareness Day''; and
Whereas the Thursday before Thanksgiving would be an appropriate day to 
        designate as ``Children's Grief Awareness Day'' to help the public 
        understand the devastating impact of the death of a loved one on a 
        child, and of the child's need for support: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) supports the designation of ``Children's Grief 
        Awareness Day'' to raise awareness of and support for grieving 
        children;
            (2) recognizes the hard work that grieving children do 
        every day in creating a new life out of the pieces remaining of 
        their old one;
            (3) applauds the thousands of individuals who volunteer to 
        support grieving children;
            (4) salutes the efforts of national, State, and local 
        organizations for their work on behalf of grieving children, 
        and especially of the tireless efforts put forth by the 
        multitude of individuals who give of their time to help these 
        children day after day; and
            (5) requests that the President encourage the Federal 
        Government, States, tribes and tribal organizations, 
        localities, schools, nonprofit organizations, businesses, other 
        entities, and the people of the United States to observe 
        ``Children's Grief Awareness Day'' with appropriate programs 
        and activities with the goal of not forgetting these 
        ``forgotten mourners'', and supporting them in their time of 
        need.
                                 <all>
```