As Executive Director of Faith’s Lodge, few people are as well equipped to help others begin to rebuild following the death of a child than Kelly McDyre. But nothing could prepare her for the call she would receive last November.

Four children murdered. Their mother assaulted and left for dead by her husband. A costly hospital stay and a lifetime of recovery ahead. What’s more, visual impairment caused by the assault only added to the challenge of a mother seeing her way through unimaginable grief.  She decided she wanted to go to Faith’s Lodge to connect with other parents, and she would travel there alone.

Mary, the lodge manager, called McDyre. “She needs help getting to us. Can we help her?” The answer was easy. The hurdles were not.

The woman’s church was able to pay for her plane ticket to Minneapolis through community donations. But her medical conditions would require special accommodations—and even greater leaps of faith—throughout her journey, starting with transportation logistics for the two-hour long car ride from the airport to Faith’s Lodge in Danbury, Wisconsin.

McDyre is quick to explain that transportation arrangements are not typically a service provided by Faith’s Lodge. “We’re great at taking care of people once they come through our door. But getting them to our door sometimes proves a challenge.” Of course, this situation was anything but typical so McDyre and her staff put their heads together. Then they picked up the phone.

A Minneapolis transportation company offered free use of one of their vehicles. However, the professional driver would require compensation, and a gap in funding threatened to stop the conversation in its tracks. That’s when McDyre reached out to The BeliEve Foundation.

“Their donation enabled us to cover the cost of the driver and more,” said McDyre. The BeliEve Foundation provided this guest with extra massage time, individual counseling sessions and food preparation. “They kept asking how else they could help her.”

When asked what makes The BeliEve Foundation such a valuable partner in helping bereaved parents begin to rebuild after incomprehensible loss, McDyre shared this simple observation: “They do more than step forward; they go above and beyond.”

A long weekend. A much longer journey ahead. Hope for this bereaved mother grew out of her experience at Faith’s Lodge and the generosity of so many others.  “My time at Faith’s Lodge meant so much.  It really helped to be around other parents that feel the same sense of loss that I do.  Now I don’t feel so alone.”

The BeliEve Foundation provided this mother a ray of hope on her long journey of grief.