What are the opening hours?

Monday 8am - 4:30pm Tuesday 8am - 4:30pm Wednesday 8am - 4:30pm Thursday 8am - 4:30pm Friday 8am - 4:30pm

Fernside: A Center for Grieving Children

Home
United States
Blue Ash, OH
Fernside: A Center for Grieving Children

Fernside is a non-profit organization offering support and advocacy to grieving families who have experienced a death.

Fernside offers peer support for grieving families- children, teens and adults. Fernside works to increase community awareness of grief.

03/05/2026

Fernside welcomed these veteran volunteers to the office on Wednesday, February 25th to assist with the current Facilitator – Expressive Arts Training Class. Together these amazing volunteers have given a combined 71 years of volunteer direct service experience here at Fernside. Fernside’s 40 years of success is due in large part to the time, creativity, and connection that these volunteers and many others continue to make year after year.

A big thank you to (pictured left to right) Amy, Terri, Helene, Diane, and Cassie!

03/03/2026

We’re proud to be part of something amazing!

The Cincinnati International Wine Festival has been benefiting dozens of Greater Cincinnati nonprofits for 35 years, and that includes us. Every ticket sold helps us continue our mission and provide vital services in our community.

Join us March 5–7 at the newly renovated Cincinnati Convention Center for an unforgettable experience filled with incredible wines. When you attend, you’re not just enjoying a great festival—you’re making a real difference.

Get your tickets today at https://winefestival.com and help support nonprofits like ours. Cheers to doing good while having fun! 🥂❤️

02/27/2026

Fernside Friday Fact!

Did you know Fernside utilizes over 150 direct service volunteers a year to help provide grief support groups and services? Volunteers are essential to the continued success of Fernside programming, both behind the scenes and working directly with the children and families we serve. We can't thank our volunteers enough for their time and talents!

If you are interested in volunteering, please reach out to our office anytime to chat!

02/25/2026

This past Saturday, Fernside families gathered for the Winter installment of "Nature of Grief" at the Cincinnati Nature Center. Families spent time together experiencing the healing power of nature, talking about their grief journeys, and learning about mapling!

Thank you Cincinnati Nature Center for another wonderful outing!

02/20/2026

Time for another Fernside Friday Fact in honor of our 40th!

The original Fernside logo held many layers and meaning. It was composed of two intersecting circles and a dolphin. One circle represents those of us earth-side, while the other represents the space our person has moved on to after death.

Rachel and Paul's son, David, enjoyed reading and found the dolphin figures in Greek mythology and American Indian folklore fascinating, and knew they wanted to incorporate it into the logo. The dolphin bridges the circles between the child and their person who died. The dolphin serves as an "ambassador" from mysterious waters, helping the child to adjust and heal into a different but stronger self.

02/17/2026

Fernside was recently invited to sit on a panel at the Kennedy Heights Arts Center to talk about how grief shows up in our lives and our work. The conversations were insightful and helped set the scene to walk through the corresponding art exhibit titled "Rooms of Grief." Thank you for having Fernside and talking about the impact grief has!

Pictured below are panelists L to R: Mallory Feltz, Patricia Acker, Marianne MacQueen, Susan Carlson, Sally Ries, Douglas Linn and Ena Nearon.

02/13/2026

Happy (early) Valentine's Day! Our Fernside Friday Fact is a quote from our founder, Rachel Burrell.

"Grieving children need love, reassurance, and closeness within their families and in the outside world. They need to be able to explore and understand their own thoughts and feelings. And they need to know that others will listen to their fears and concerns and will validate them. If the outside world does this, then these children might feel safe enough to tip their masks to the side and reveal something of the new selves they are in the process of becoming."

What is a memory you love about Fernside or Rachel if you knew her?

02/12/2026

We are excited to introduce Fernside's newest team member, Emma Salas!

In her role as Program Coordinator, Emma will provide outreach and education throughout the community, as well as help develop partnerships and connections to broaden Fernside's reach. She will also be involved in both our School and Family Programs.

Emma joins the Fernside team with six years of professional experience in marketing and communications from her previous role. She is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati and brings a strategic mindset along with a collaborative approach to advancing organizational goals.

Emma is deeply passionate about providing grief support and is especially committed to this work due to her own experience with personal loss. We are grateful to welcome her compassion, skills, and dedication to our mission.

02/10/2026

Valentine’s love is in the air this week at Fernside! Long time volunteer, Jenny Perry, together with her wonderful team of co-workers at Tier1 Performance, created handmade Valentine's Day cards for Fernside families. Many groups will use these special valentines to send notes of appreciation to people who have helped them since their person died.

This is the second year Jenny and her team have provided these special cards. Thank you to Tier1 Performance for your creative efforts. It is much appreciated!

02/06/2026

Fernside Friday Fact!

Fernside orders an average of 125 pizzas each month for our evening peer support groups. That's a lot of pizza! It has been a long-standing Fernside tradition to feed our families LaRosa's pizza before each group night. Thank you for always making sure our group nights start off right!

01/30/2026

Fernside Friday Fact: Why Expressive Arts?

Very often, children and teens find it hard or nearly impossible to express their grief with words. At Fernside, we use art to help children explore the feelings they have after experiencing a death. Using expressive arts can facilitate a healthy release of feelings such as anger, frustration, anxiety, sadness and even joy. The arts provide an alternative to verbal communication and can allow a grieving child to express feelings that might be too difficult to talk about. They can draw it, paint it, sculpt it, or write it. An art piece created by a child can be a catalyst for communication among family members about their loss. The art conveys the range of emotions that are the reality for children who have experienced a significant death.

Address

4360 Cooper Road, Ste 100
Blue Ash, OH
45242

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 4:30pm
Tuesday	8am - 4:30pm
Wednesday	8am - 4:30pm
Thursday	8am - 4:30pm
Friday	8am - 4:30pm

Telephone

+15132469140

Website

http://www.fernside.org/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Fernside: A Center for Grieving Children posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to Fernside: A Center for Grieving Children:

Shortcuts

Address
Telephone
Opening Hours
Alerts
Contact The Practice
Claim ownership or report listing

Want your practice to be the top-listed Clinic in Blue Ash?