I'm Alexandra (Sasha) Schoettler, and I’m a junior at Pali High. Like all of us, I’ve been feeling a bit scared and helpless during this time of crisis, and I’ve been looking for a way to help support families dealing with sickness and loss due to COVID-19. As someone who has dealt with loss myself — my father had cancer and passed away in 2010 — I know that one of the most important and helpful ways to grieve is to spend time with your family and friends. However, due to the stay-at-home orders and social-distancing rules, many people who have to cope with loss during this global pandemic are unable to lean on their loved ones in the way we’re all used to. Our House Grief Support Center, an organization that helped me when I lost my father, is working to help adults, teens, and children who are experiencing loss during these uncertain and frightening times through grief support groups and phone sessions.
I want to support Our House through donations that will be raised by the neighborhood concert series that my mom and I are organizing called Fiddler on the Lawn. We want to bring music to the community as well as raise as much money as we can in order to help those dealing with loss of loved ones during this global pandemic and more.