This hike has been postponed to 4/13 due to the weather. To register for the new date, please visit this link.
Join other young adult cancer survivors (those in their 20s, 30s, and early 40s) for a morning of hiking at Klingle Valley Trail and Tregaron Conservancy in DC.
The hike is suitable for all levels and will end with a bring your own picnic lunch – so pack something delicious to eat (we’ll have a cooler to store it). Plan to wear comfortable walking shoes, athletic pants, and non-cotton layers. Bring plenty of water and a hat and sunglasses for added sun protection, in addition to sunscreen.
The event will run until approximately 12:00pm (we plan to finish the hike around 11:00am and enjoy a picnic lunch for an hour). For more information about the meeting location, please RSVP.
*NOTE: This hike is open to young adult cancer survivors in their 20s, 30s and early 40s and their guests (friends and family welcome to attend with their loved one).
This hike is co-hosted by Project Koru.
Project Koru enriches lives through community and the outdoors as a way to move forward beyond cancer. Young adults diagnosed with cancer face a unique set of challenges. With the right support, the weight of these challenges can be mitigated; that’s why we exist!
This program is also offered in partnership with:
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Social Distance and Mask Policy
For this hike and picnic, we will be outside the entire time and encourage participants to maintain adequate physical distance during the program. We encourage those who are unvaccinated to wear a mask while participating in the hike. For those that are vaccinated, masks are optional based on your comfort level.
This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. Please click <here> to register for this circle.
with Paul Puccinelli & Mark Malinak
Please join us in a series Healing Circles for Grief “to discover the extent and limits of what is lost, what is left and what is possible.” – John Schneider
If you have lost a loved one, this is an opportunity to share what is on your heart and mind right now, to listen and be listened to deeply and generously. Together we create a safe space for listening to messages from our inner experience.
Our healing circles are a safe and supportive space to walk with each other through these times. Each circle is a blend of sharing and silence, compassion, and curiosity. Our agreements ensure acceptance and confidentiality. We honor our own unique paths to healing and respect the choices of others.
Some Assumptions about Grief
- The experience of grief is unique for each individual. While we can make some general assumptions, there is no template that describes the experience for all people.
- Grief is cumulative. That is, each time loss is grieved, the grief encompasses the lifetime of loss and the remnants of each experience.
- Grief following a significant loss is most often a lifelong process, with each pivotal point in life bringing the grief back up to be processed from a new perspective.
- Grief, loss and suffering fundamentally changes and reshapes the individual.
- Grief is not about forgetting or disconnecting. Rather, healthy grief is about remembering the parts of self that get lost amidst the experience and reorienting the individual in their relationship with self, the world and others.
- Grief is a whole body experience: emotional, physical, spiritual and intellectual. Each have a wide range of expression which can cue us that grief is present.
- While grief and trauma are often intertwined there are significant differences between them. Trauma should be addressed with trauma specific interventions that often go beyond what is possible in circles.
Adapted from Khris Ford
Grieving Together Healing Circle will meet Weekly on Saturdays from 11:00am-12:30pm EST for 6 weeks.
Grief Circle Dates:
- Saturdays – March 16, 23, 30
- Saturdays – April 6, 13, 20
About Paul Puccinelli
Since 2011, Paul has been providing counseling services to children, adults, and couples. Paul received a strong educational foundation from his graduate degree program at Dominican University, as well as advanced training at University of California San Francisco’s School of Medicine, where he completed a program focused on Interprofessional Palliative Care Education. During the last four years, he has developed a special interest in supporting people and caregivers dealing with Parkinson’s Disease. And for the last three years, he has been hosting Grieving Together and Living w/ Cancer healing circles.
About Mark Malinak
Mark is retired, having worked as a substance abuse/mental health counselor and wilderness counselor for 25 years. He lives alone with his yellow lab mix dog Buster in a small post and beam house in western Massachusetts. Mark’s wife Barbara passed away suddenly in October 2019. He loves poetry, writing, and tribal ambient music. Among other hobbies, Mark enjoys hiking and walking in the woods and the forests of the Berkshires.
This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing programs@smithcenter.org.
with Susi Wyss
Led by a therapeutic writing facilitator, this session is designed for self-care and taking time out to tap into the healing benefits of writing. Join us for a session that includes a brief meditation, writing prompts, and creative exercises in a playful and supportive environment. No writing experience necessary, just an open mind!
Suggested Materials:
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- A few sheets of plain, unlined paper
- A favorite pen
- Your favorite art materials for paper (e.g., colored markers, colored pencils or pens, crayons or pastels, paints, or collage materials)
Suggested Donation: $10
About Susi Wyss
Susi Wyss is a public health professional, author, therapeutic writing facilitator and—most of all—a believer in the healing power of words. Her public health career has spanned more than 25 years, mostly addressing women’s health in Africa. She is the author of The Civilized World, a novel set in Africa that was named “A Book to Pick Up Now” by Oprah Magazine. In addition to her collaboration with the Smith Center, she has led writing-for-healing workshops at the DC Rape Crisis Center and Crossings Healing & Wellness.
