The Olivia Chan Foundation was featured on the latest edition of the Sacramento Breakfast Optimist Club Bulletin for November 12, 2023. Here is an excerpt:

Wally introduced today’s Guest Speakers, Mel and Reina Chan.  Mel and Reina are founders of the Olivia Chan Foundation, in honor of their young daughter Olivia who tragically died in January 2022 three days after having received a diagnosis of a very rare (1%) form of Leukemia.  

Their world turned completely upside down, the Chans discovered that finding adequate grief support that met the needs of their family was a challenge.  They heard Olivia’s brother express the simple but profound desire to “feel understood,” which only added to their grief process.  They encountered lengthy wait lists, seasonal-only programs, and a scarcity of grief resources within their community.  

An estimated 1 in 12 children in the U.S. will lose a parent or sibling before age 18, constituting over 4 million children nationally.  Not everyone possesses the ability to engage in conversations surrounding grief, and this is especially true for children.  This leaves them dealing with grief feeling alone and isolated.  

It is this void that that the Olivia Chan Foundation seeks to fill – a haven where individuals navigating loss can find unwavering support and genuine understanding.  “To help others in their time of need and to lift them up when all is dark.  To honor those who have been lost and to help families heal so they can find their way in a world that no longer makes sense to them.” 

The goals of the Olivia Chan Foundation are:

  • Create a safe and inclusive space for children, teens, young adults and their families to express their emotions.
  • Provide peer grief support groups where people can connect with others who have experienced similar losses.
  • Train all team members and volunteers with the Dougy Model of the Dougy Center for Grieving Children and Families in Portland, OR.
  • Raise awareness about grief and its impact on mental health through community outreach and events.
  • Use art and play to promote emotional well-being and creative grief self-expression.  To this end, the Chan’s noted a particular need for donated art supplies (or money for such.)

As Olivia’s parents described, Olivia was a “joy in human form.  She loved life and all her people.  She worried about friends with hurt feelings and she wrote notes to brighten everyone’s day  She was fun-loving, spunky and laughed easily.  She loved rainbows, unicorns, mermaids and dresses as much as wrestling with her brother and playing tackle football with her dad.”  Olivia left such a big hole in their lives, the Chan family found it difficult to find light in the darkness — until they started finding handwritten notes, text messages she had sent, and numerous hilarious videos she had created.  She was such a positive force, the Chans knew they needed to find a way to share her light with the world.  Thank you, Mel and Reina, for sharing your and Olivia’s story with us.