Amanda the Panda's mission is to restore grieving children and families back into the mainstream of their lives supported, validated, encouraged and empowered to go on. Extensive, year-round services are provided to achieve this purpose. Some of the many services include Camp Amanda, Support Groups, Fun Days, and Holiday Cheer Boxes.

Description:
Amanda the Panda provides support to grieving children and their families through a variety of services. Extensive support is provided to children, teens, and adults who are grieving the death of a family member through accident, illness, suicide, or homicide. This support is provided through weekend camps, support groups, home visits, fun days, school presentations, pen pal programs, Halloween and Christmas parties, birthday cards and remembrances on the anniversary of the death.

History:
Amanda the Panda began in the heart of JoAnn Zimmerman in 1979 with no money, only a dream - to be a caring presence in the community. She formed Amanda Cares, Inc. and created Amanda the Panda in 1980. Amanda's primary focus for the first seven years was to be a special friend to children living with cancer. Amanda made frequent and repeated visits to children in their homes, hospitals and schools, locally and statewide, bringing a huge heart, a listening ear and lots of warm and wonderful bear hugs!
Almost immediately, another dream surfaced as Amanda realized that children with cancer are children first, and cancer patients second. It was to have a week-long, residential summer camp in Iowa exclusively for children living with cancer. The focus of the camp would be on CHILDHOOD, not cancer, and the children would experience the week of a lifetime. It took JoAnn three years to single-handedly raise the money to create the first camp in June of 1984, Camp-A-Panda. It was extremely successful and surpassed all expectations! Four years later, in 1988, The Heart Connection took over Camp-A-Panda and it continues today under their auspices.
Amanda the Panda's work with grieving children evolved naturally from her work with children living with cancer. In the fall of 1982, JoAnn created Camp Amanda, a weekend camp exclusively for children who have experienced a death in their family through accident, illness, suicide or homicide. Camp Amanda is one of the first and longest running camps in the United States for grieving children and teens.
That first camp of 1982 has now grown to three weekend camps each year for children and teens ages 6-17 whose mother, father, sister or brother has died and three separate camps each year designed exclusively for adults whose child, spouse or parent has died. Today, over 30,000 children from 96 of the 99 counties in Iowa have benefited from Amanda the Panda. More than 900 grieving adults have attended the adult camp which was first developed in 1989. Amanda the Panda has achieved phenomenal success since its humble beginnings in 1980.

Contact people:

(email) JoAnn Zimmerman, (phone), (email)

Office fax number: (515) 223-4782

Address:

1000 73rd Street #12 Des Moines, IA 50311 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.amandathepanda.org