TAPS Brings Together Families of America's Fallen Heroes for the TAPS Southeast Regional Military Survivor Seminar and Good Grief Camp

Event Helps Participants Connect with Peers, Honor their Loved Ones, and Find Hope and Healing

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – February 22, 2022 

ARLINGTON, Va. – The family members of America's fallen military heroes will gather at the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) Regional Survivor Seminar and Good Grief Camp, February 25 to 27, at the Jacksonville Hyatt Regency in Jacksonville, Florida. This event will bring together more than two hundred surviving family members to share their stories of love and loss, learn ways to cope with grief and find healing in their shared experiences, along with members of the military and veteran community to be mentors to surviving children at Good Grief Camp. 

For adults, support and comfort will come from connecting with peers in sharing groups and attending workshops with grief professionals where they will learn how to cope with traumatic loss. Children attending the TAPS Good Grief Camp will gain a network of new friends their own age who are also grieving a fallen hero, learn that they are not alone in their grief, connect with a military mentor one on one, and come to understand that they are now part of an American legacy of service and sacrifice. As one child said, “The TAPS Good Grief Camp is like the best kind of family – they get me!”

“The regional military survivor seminars bring military families grieving a fallen hero together with support, resources, and compassionate care,” said Bonnie Carroll, TAPS president and founder and a 2015 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient. “Together, we honor the lives of our heroes, cope with our grief, and have hope for the future.” 

Interview Opportunities

5:00 PM – 6:45 PM – Family Dinner

Surviving Families, TAPS Experts on Grief and Loss, TAPS Founder and President, Bonnie Carroll

6:00 PM – 8:30 PM – Good Grief Camp Zone

Meet children of fallen military as they arrive from across the country, and interview military mentors as well as other volunteers as they support the Good Grief Camp Zone.

5:00 AM –9:00 AM – Morning Show Stand-ups Available

Interview TAPS Founder and President Bonnie Carroll and surviving family members of America’s fallen military heroes as they pay tribute to their loved ones who died in service to our nation.

9:00 AM – 5:00 PM – TAPS Good Grief Camp

Children and teens engage in interactive activities to help cope with military loss and trauma with the help of military mentors. Interviews available with TAPS Staff and military and veteran service members serving as mentors to surviving children, along with surviving children, TAPS Legacy Mentors, who mentor other surviving children.

9:00 AM – 8:00 PM – Meet Families of the Fallen, Talk with Experts on Military Loss

Interviews available. In addition to talking about the seminar, experts can provide an interview about coping with grief, no matter their military/veteran loved one’s cause of death.

5:00 AM – 8:45 AM – Morning Show Stand-ups Available

Interview TAPS Founder and President Bonnie Carroll and surviving family members of America’s fallen military heroes as they pay tribute to their loved ones who died in service to our nation.

9:00 AM – NOON – TAPS Good Grief Camp

Children and teens engage in interactive activities to help cope with military loss and trauma with the help of military mentors.

9:00 AM – 1:30 PM – Meet Families of the Fallen, Talk with Experts on Military Loss

Interviews available. In addition to talking about the seminar, experts can provide an interview about coping with grief, no matter their military/veteran loved one’s cause of death.

Jacksonville Hyatt Regency
225 East Coastline Drive
Jacksonville, Florida 32202
Virtual Options Can Also Be Made Available

To request an interview with a surviving family member, grief expert or TAPS representative, please email media@taps.org; or call 202.588.TAPS (8277) to speak with someone in TAPS Communications directly. Due to COVID protocol, we are not able to allow members of the media onsite without advanced coordination and approval. We appreciate your support to maintain a safe environment for our surviving families.

ABOUT TAPS
The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) is the leading national organization providing compassionate care and survivor support services for the families of America’s fallen military heroes. Since 1994, TAPS has offered support to all those grieving the death of a military loved one through peer-based emotional support, connections with grief and trauma resources, grief seminars and retreats for adults, Good Grief Camps for children, casework assistance, connections to community-based care, online and in-person support groups and the 24/7 National Military Survivor Helpline, all at no cost to surviving families. For more information, please visit TAPS.org or call 202.588.TAPS (8277).

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