Jaime’s Tree House was founded in 2006 by Hospice of Laurens County in memory of young Miss Jaime Reeder, the youngest daughter of the late Marian Reeder. Marian Reed, who herself died in 2014, served the Laurens County community as the Director of Case Management at Laurens Memorial Hospital for many years and as a Board Member for Hospice of Laurens County. Marian’s youngest daughter, Jaime Reeder, died of a rare childhood cancer, at age 7 in 1994. Her favorite color was RED. The night before Jaime passed away, she drew a picture of her “house in the sky” replete with birds, flowers and butterflies and oddly “on stilts” as if symbolic of her imminent journey to her heavenward home!

Jaime’s Tree House is the program under which Hospice of Laurens County organizes its grief outreach for children who have experienced a death in their family. Through follow-up with families of former hospice patients, outreach efforts by volunteers and hospice staff and through the help of local school systems, Hospice of Laurens County seeks to identify children that have experienced the loss of a significant person in their lives and continue to struggle with the grief associated with that loss. During Jamie’s Tree House Bereavement Day-Camp, counselors interact with children through games, crafts and activities. The interactions are tailored to allow the children to share their stories of loss and experiences with grief. The bereavement camp offers a safe place to voice feelings and achieve progress in dealing with loss.

• The first Jaime’s Tree House Grief Day-Camp was held Saturday, June 16, 2007 with 28 kids.

• There have been held 18 camps since then, the most recent of which was Saturday, November 14, 2020.

• The next Jaime’s Tree House Grief Day-Camp will be on Saturday, October 23, 2021. 

In addition to the annual day camp, Jaime’s Tree House Grief Groups are another manifestation of HOLC’s Grief Outreach Program. They are organized by professionals in local schools and are facilitated by professional staff from Hospice of Laurens County. The grief groups typically meet once weekly over the course of approximately six weeks in private space provided by the respective school. Jaime’s Tree House Grief Group participants are afforded the opportunity to express their thoughts and emotions in a confidential setting and are provided age appropriate dialogue, activities and education regarding a wide range of social, cultural and spiritual elements associated with loss and subsequent bereavement, grief and mourning.

Grief groups in local schools began in March 2007 at Clinton Elementary and have since been completed at Eastside Elementary, Ford Elementary, Bell Street Middle, Clinton Middle and Clinton High.

As part of the mission of Hospice of Laurens County and the generous support of our community, there are no fees associated with any child’s participation in the Jaime’s Tree House program.