Jessica’s House will soon have a new heart to display on its wall of Heart Circle Contributors after a Gustine car group raised thousands of dollars for the family grief support nonprofit.
The inaugural Motors on Main event held in February in Gustine generated proceeds of $30,000 which was donated to Jessica's House in Turlock on Sunday.
Motors on Main was organized by Bernie Medeiros in honor of her husband Victor, who passed in November 2020 from a heart attack. It brought hundreds of classic cars, hot rods and motorcycles to downtown Gustine for a car show.
Delivering a donation of $30,000 came as a surprise for Medeiros.
"Our first goal was to raise $10,000 and then we bumped it up to $20,000 and ended up with $30,000 after expenses," Medeiros said. "We are so grateful."
Jessica's House is a grief support facility in Turlock that has a particular focus on helping children and teens deal with the loss of a loved one. The organization, which was founded in 2012, moved into a new 15,600-square foot facility on Christoffersen Way in August 2021.
The house currently serves 670 families from 30 cities across the Valley, including Turlock, Sonora, Pleasanton and many more.
More than $6.5 million was raised towards construction costs and a program growth fund. Most of the proceeds went to construction of the house which cost $5 million. The nonprofit was able to stay on budget because of support from dozens of contractors. Half of the remaining funds went towards soft costs such as furnishings and signage.
The other half was used to launch the Heart Circle Drive to ensure Jessica's House is ready to serve every child, teen and young adult. The entryway of Jessica’s House features a wall of hearts, recognizing the businesses, organizations and individuals who have supported the nonprofit. Motors on Main will have a its name on a jade-colored heart on the wall soon.
Members of Motors on Main took a tour of Jessica’s House on Saturday, seeing first-hand where children and teens gather to share in their grief and receive support. The new facility features a number of different areas for children and teens to express their grief, like the circular talking room, music room, hospital playroom, where children can use imaginative play to safely express their grief and trauma if a death involved a hospital, and sensory room, to name a few.
“About one in seven children will experience the death of a parent or a sibling by the age of 25. There are a lot of risk factors that come along with that if you don't have support and you're not able to express yourself, so we really knew that we needed a place like this,” said Erin Nelson, founding executive director of Jessica’s House.
— Sabra Stafford contributed to this report.
