Brady Sunderlin, a sophomore at Reed City High School is making a big impact in his school and in his community. On top of homework, being involved in extracurricular activities, this young man is starting a non-profit called “Finding Yourself Through Grief”.
This non-profit is aimed towards students struggling with loss or grief. Brady explains, “Grief is a very dark and terrible feeling that you have. It can be the loss of a pet, a parent, a teacher or a friend.”
This is a feeling Brady knows all too well. In 2010, At the age of six, he lost his father Matt Sunderlin to rare cancer called Amyloidosis. “The hardest thing is I don’t remember his voice,” says Brady.
Today, Brady is taking action. Brady explains, “That hurt and the sorrow and grief that I felt really shaped me as a person and made me the leader I am today. There are so many teens now across the world that don’t know how to properly navigate their way through the grieving process. They go to the drugs the alcohol and even the cutting.”
This non-profit will give students access to professional counselors, support groups and the end goal is a summer camp.
His mother, April Sunderlin, an 8th grade English Language Arts teacher says, “Not many 16-year-old kids see the need and the ambition to take on a task.”
The Sunderlin’s are hoping that this tradition of compassion will carry on for years to come in Matt’s legacy.
April says, “I think he’s (Matt) looking down and I think he’s very proud of him and I think he’s probably not surprised.”
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