Your Opportunity to Sponsor a Weekend of Compassion and Healing

Bellis is thrilled to host the 11th annual Stronger Together Weekend Retreat on September 20-22 in Deerwood, MN.
Here, mothers whose children are parented by others come together from across the country to offer each other compassion and understanding. This is a unique grief, described as an ambiguous loss, for which there is no closure or ritual to help in the healing process.

The weekend retreat gives women the extended opportunity to grow in community, heal with one another, and go deeper within themselves to develop skills and resilience which are not easy to come by in daily life. Set amongst the serene setting of a lakeside resort, women get the chance to walk in nature, commiserate around the bonfire, and share in delicious homecooked meals, a true reflection of our commitment to radical hospitality. The retreat is lovingly aided by three of our licensed facilitators who guide discussions and activities aimed at introspection, meaningful processing, and application of thought.

For a few of the women who attend, this will be their 11th retreat, while others are bravely embarking on their very first retreat. While each of the women’s experiences vary greatly, the thing that binds them together is their grief, for which many have nowhere else to turn, making this time and space exceptionally important to their well-being.