hear our stories
we provide a mind, body, & soul approach to support the grief community.
Punching our pain into purpose
Gloves for Grief creates experiences that promote healing and offers an opportunity to come as you are and connect with others who truly understand. We want you to always remember grief is not meant to be carried alone. It is meant to be shared.
While loss is not a club any of us want to be a part of, we're stronger together.
Gloves for Grief is a wonderful organization that celebrates lives lived with physical movement and connection to a community of others grieving. Every life is celebrated and this community carries each other along the grief journey.
“
Sometimes, grief takes us in places where we feel powerless, overwhelmed and maybe even angry at times and this event provided such a beautiful—and more importantly—safe outlet for all of those emotions so we could release them all and recenter.
“
It wasn’t about how strong you could punch, or how in shape you were—we just all came as we were, we cried if we needed to, and we did whatever felt right in our hearts.
“
Gloves for Grief was so much more than we expected it to be. It honestly felt more like a homecoming than an event to us because it was welcoming, so raw and emotional, and so spiritually healing at the same time.
“
fight for yours
While the Boxing Gloves connect us to a core element in our fitness program, they also represent the fight it takes to work through our grief. We are fighting for our lives and fighting for our comeback.
This is a comeback.
more than just a workout
hear our stories
We met in a support group called Empty Arms that focuses on losing a child through miscarriage, stillbirth, or SIDS. We both have lost our sons and are punching for Weston and Zane.
We want to create experiences that promote healing and provide a place you don’t have to hide your emotion; a place to find a release.
You are not alone! We see you, we hear you, and we are walking down this unthinkable road beside you.
gloves for grief co-founders
Ashley & Terra
because we're stronger together.
Ways to Join Our Mission
Ashley was amazing, she walked us through every drill using creatively chosen songs that helped us punch through our pain. With each hit, we felt seen; with each jab, we felt like we were understood despite of how deep and cumbersome our sorrow was.
“
With every sweat fell tears, and as our heartbeat became more palpable in our chest, we found a new drive and purpose—to keep going, to keep fighting, and to keep raising awareness so that our little angel’s loss would not go in vain.
“
We were reminded that we were not alone. We even got to make crafts to honor our sweet Frankie and got to take home a memento. We couldn’t be more thankful for this event, and already looking forward to the next one.
“
on the blog
read more →
Welcome to the Launch of Gloves for Growth: A 4-Week Virtual Grief Support Group!
Grief is a journey that no one should have to walk alone. That’s why we are thrilled to introduce Gloves for Growth, a transformative 4-week virtual grief support group designed to provide a compassionate, understanding, and healing space for those experiencing loss.
What to Expect
This online gathering offers a supportive community where individuals can come together, share their experiences, and heal in a safe space. Led by Certified Grief Educators Michelle Montgomery & Marie Brandon, this group is structured to provide insightful guidance, emotional support, and meaningful connections.
Each week, we will explore different aspects of the grief journey, offering tools and discussions to foster healing and growth. Participants will have the opportunity to engage in open conversations, learn coping strategies, and connect with others who truly understand their experience.
Program Details
📅 Dates: Weekly sessions from April 7 – April 28, 2025
🖥️ Format: Virtual, accessible from anywhere
💙 Facilitators: Certified Grief Educators Michelle Montgomery & Marie Brandon
🔄 Continued Support: Participants will have the option to continue with the next support group beginning the following month
Why Join?
- Find a supportive and understanding community
- Gain valuable grief-coping techniques
- Learn from experienced grief educators
- Feel seen, heard, and validated in your journey
Healing doesn’t have to be a lonely road. Gloves for Grief is here to walk alongside you, offering comfort, strength, and renewal.
📌 Reserve your spot today! Space is limited, so sign up now to join us on this journey of healing and hope.
Write something…
READ MORE →
We are honored to announce that Gloves For Grief will have a booth at the OneLegacy Donate Life Run/Walk 2025 on Saturday, April 26, 2025! This powerful event brings together thousands of individuals to honor organ, eye, and tissue donors, celebrate transplant recipients, and inspire hope for those still waiting.
Walk With Us to Honor the Ultimate Gift
Every step we take on April 26th is in remembrance of those who gave the ultimate gift of life through organ donation. Their legacy lives on in the hearts of those they’ve touched, and this event is a beautiful way to come together in gratitude, remembrance, and hope.
As a nonprofit that supports those navigating grief, Gloves For Grief understands the profound impact of loss and the healing power of community. We invite you to walk alongside us as we honor these incredible donors and stand with the families who carry their love forward.
Visit Our Booth
Stop by our booth to:
✅ Share your loved one’s story – We welcome you to write a dedication or memory to add to our tribute.
✅ Learn about our grief support initiatives – Discover our holistic approach to healing through events like Box & Breathe Wellness, grief workshops, and more.
✅ Find comfort and connection – Whether you are grieving a loss, supporting a donor family, or simply want to honor a loved one, our community is here for you.
Be Part of This Meaningful Day
This event is about remembrance, resilience, and renewal. Whether you walk in honor of a loved one, a donor hero, or simply to support the cause, your presence makes a difference.
💙 Join us on April 26, 2025, at the OneLegacy Donate Life Run/Walk! Together, we remember. Together, we walk. Together, we honor the gift of life.
📍 Location: Azusa, CA
📅 Date: Saturday, April 26, 2025
🔗 Register & learn more: Registration Link
We can’t wait to see you there! 💙🏃♂️💚
READ MORE →
We are deeply honored to be a sponsor and have a booth at the Bradley Rofer Honor Walk this April, a profoundly meaningful event that celebrates the beautiful children who will forever remain in our hearts.
Join us on April 27th as we come together to honor organ donors like sweet Bradley Rofer, whose legacy continues to touch lives.
The Legacy of Bradley Rofer
At just six years old, Bradley founded Bradley’s Beautiful Bouquets, a heartfelt initiative that raised thousands of dollars to support sick children in his community. His kindness and generosity embodied the purest form of love and giving. Tragically, at the age of eight, Bradley was struck by a vehicle, leaving behind a community forever changed by his spirit. Today, the Bradley Rofer Foundation continues his mission, ensuring that his compassion and dedication live on.
What is an Honor Walk?
An Honor Walk is a powerful tribute held as a donor patient is transferred from their hospital room to the operating room, surrounded by love, gratitude, and remembrance. This year, the Bradley Rofer Foundation is creating a Memory Wall, a special space to honor and celebrate the lives of children—of all ages—who are forever in our hearts.
How You Can Participate
Families who wish to honor a child can submit a photo and name dedication to glovesforgrief@gmail.com, and we will ensure it reaches the Foundation’s team. No child is too young to be remembered, including those we never had the chance to meet. If you do not have a photo, a meaningful graphic can also be used. With your submission please include their Date of Birth, Date of Passing, and one line dedication (if you are comfortable)
Join Us in Celebration and Remembrance
This free community event in Rancho Santa Margarita (RSM) is a beautiful opportunity to come together, walk in remembrance, and celebrate the laughter, dreams, and love that continue to fill our hearts.
We hope to see you there as we walk in honor, love, and remembrance. Click HERE for more details and registration information
READ MORE →
Written By: Marie Brandon, BSN, RN, Certified Grief Educator
The Culmination of 2 Years of Blood, Sweat, and Tears
On February 22, 2025, Gloves for Grief reached a major milestone—our 2-year anniversary!
We were blessed to have over 50 attendees join us, showing up not only for us but for themselves. To commemorate the occasion, we enhanced our signature Box and Breathe event with meaningful moments and special mementos. The afternoon began with a heartfelt message from our co-founder and president, Terra, followed by a mindfulness moment and soul connection exercise, before transitioning into the body segment with boxing. As always, we closed with prayer and speaking our loved one’s names, but this time, we marked the milestone with a beautiful candlelight ceremony. With the lights dimmed low, every attendee was invited to speak their loved one’s name and place a tealight upon our remembrance table. The ceremony commenced with Karen reading her poem Today —a poignant reminder to give ourselves grace, forgiveness, and permission to continue living a meaningful and significant life, while carrying our loved ones with us. With the weight of grief a little lighter, we moved into the refreshment and community segment of our event —one of the most cherished aspects of Gloves for Grief. Here, attendees connected sharing stories with each other—not just about how our loved ones died, but how they lived and impacted our lives. In addition to heartfelt conversations and delicious refreshments, guests left with gift bags, journals for self-expression, and a signed copy of Karen Badal Hacker’s book 8:28-Hope In The Darkness.
Here are a few more highlights from our event:
As we celebrate how far we’ve come, I invite you to join me as we take a look back at our humble beginnings.
How It All Began
Co-founders Terra Pickett and Ashley Guarrasi met through Empty Arms, a support group for individuals and families grieving the loss of a baby due to miscarriage, still birth, and infant death. Inspired by a deep desire to transform their pain into purpose, Terra felt a calling to create something meaningful to support others navigating grief. With their shared pain of infant loss, a passion to help others, and Ashley’s decade of boxing expertise, Gloves for Grief was born. What started as a small gathering of just 7 attendees at the first Box and Breathe event on February 7, 2023, has grown beyond anything we could have imagined.
The Core of Our Mission: Our Box & Breathe Wellness Events
Grief is a journey that looks different for everyone, but one thing remains true—it demands to be felt. One of the many feelings experienced during grief is anger. While it’s commonly recognized as the second stage of grief, we know that grief isn’t linear. It ebbs and flows, and anger can resurface when you least expect it. That’s where we come in.
From the very beginning, healing through movement has been at the core of our mission. I’ve been involved with G4G since November 11, 2023, and I’ve learned firsthand that sometimes the only way to release anger about my son’s death is to punch it out. It’s been incredible to witness so many of you embrace healing through movement at our Box & Breathe events.
In just two years, Gloves for Grief has become an official 501(c)(3) nonprofit, hosted 12 public Box and Breathe events, 2 private events, and traveled twice to Porterville to host the annual Fallen Firefighters Memorial Event. We’ve traveled more than 500 miles, supported over 1,000 grieving individuals, held an art grief workshop, and launched our first 6-week Grief Through the Holidays program. We were able to purchase 25 personalized punching bags through generous donations and have been recognized by the City of Mission Viejo for our work in the community.
But we’re not stopping here. Our mission is expanding—reaching schools, at-risk youth communities, and forming partnerships with like-minded nonprofits to extend our impact even further. As we continue to grow, let’s take a moment to reflect on some of our most memorable wellness events—moments that remind us why we do this and the strength we’ve found in this community.
A Look Back on a Year of Healing, Strength, and Connection
On February 17, 2024, we reached a significant milestone, mobilizing our team and punching bags to travel 200 miles north to Porterville for the first annual Fallen Firefighters Memorial Event. This special gathering honored Patrick Jones, Ray Figueroa, Damien Pereira and all fallen firefighters, bringing their families, friends, and community together in remembrance and resilience.
Mother’s Day and Father’s Day can be especially difficult for those who have lost a child or a parent. Last June, we held our first Father’s Day Box and Breathe event, recognizing the importance of creating a safe space for men to grieve and feel supported. The turnout was incredible, reinforcing the need for these spaces of brotherhood and fellowship.
Last August, we had the privilege of hosting a private wellness event for The Shea Center in memory of their beloved equine specialist and friend, Heidi. The Shea Center, a fellow nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization in San Juan Capistrano, CA, provides equine assisted services to individuals addressing over 85 physical, emotional, social, and cognitive challenges. It was an honor to contribute to their healing journey.
To close out the summer, we organized a two-day Box and Breathe event at the Samueli Academy in collaboration with The Orangewood Foundation. The first evening was a private event for the Samueli Academy students, including fostered youth that attend and are housed at the academy. The following day, they opened their doors again to the community for a second Box and Breathe event.
In October, we took our Box and Breathe event out for the night, joining Enerji Under the Stars and Project Eli for a special evening featured barre instruction, boxing, pickleball, dancing, and great food. This early Halloween celebration was a powerful reminder that healing happens in community.
The holiday season can be particularly difficult for those who are grieving, including children. While we welcome kids at all our events, last December we hosted our first kid’s only event, Jingle Bell Jab. Thanks to the generosity of Rudy’s Christmas Trees, we created a special festive, supportive space for children navigating loss during the holidays.
These 6 special events were in addition to our regularly scheduled Box and Breathe community events. Together, we are more than boxing—we are a movement of healing, strength, and connection.
Connecting Beyond Boxing
While Box and Breathe remains at the heart of our mission, we are committed to providing year-round support for the mind and soul, not just the body. Through workshops and community collaborations, we continue to create spaces of healing and connection.
In December 2023, we hosted our first therapeutic art workshop, where 20 attendees created keepsake ornaments in honor of their loved ones.
July brought a fun-filled day with The Angels. We had a day of community including tailgating, food, music, games, running the bases and of course—baseball.
During Suicide Prevention Awareness Month in September, we joined the OCAPICA Made for All K-Pop event, providing support and resources for those struggling with mental health challenges related to grief.
As October brought cooler temperatures, we joined Forever Footprints at the OC Walk to Remember. A cause close to our hearts, Forever Footprints supports families who have suffered a pregnancy or infant loss. The annual Walk to Remember provides families and friends a day of remembrance and the opportunity to walk the steps their babies will never take. We were honored to stand alongside grieving families and offer additional support and resources.
The holidays often bring heightened emotions of grief, which is why in November of 2024, we expanded our art workshop from the previous year into our first-ever six-week grief workshop, Holding Your Hands Through the Holidays. Meeting once a week, we created a space filled with community, activities, and shared understanding to help navigate this challenging season. These workshops are just the beginning of providing long-term grief support to all who need it.
Community Strength and Gratitude
When we first started, we didn’t even own a single pair of gloves. Today, thanks to the generosity of our incredible partners, we own all our equipment. This is a game-changer. While we are based in Orange County, CA, grief knows no geographical boundaries. Owning 25 punching bags allows us to mobilize and bring healing wherever it’s needed most.
G4G wants to extend a heartfelt thank you to our corporate bag sponsors: BBSI, First Pacific Bank, Apriem Cares, Colab Space, Genesis Bank, and NPT. As well as our personal bag sponsors: Rob & Brinda Guarrasi, Jeff and Candy Mack, Brenda Crawford, Ray Bacchus, Cindy Wilbur, Marie Brandon, Ashley Adelizi, Rick and Karen Hacker (on behalf of Empty Arms and 8:28/ Hope in the Darkness), Charlene Geselowitz, and many others.
Your belief in our mission keeps us moving forward, and we are endlessly grateful for your support.
June 2024 was a month of recognition and blessings for our organization. Our founder and President, Terra, was honored with the Resilience Award and recognized as an Inspirational Member by the Mission Viejo Chamber of Commerce for her dedication to this cause. G4G was also the recipient of the Healthy Living grant from City of Hope, further affirming the impact of our work. These honors are not just for Terra; they are for all of us — the resilience, courage, and love that each of you brings to this community.
Here’s How You Can Help
We can’t do this without you. As we prepare for another year of impact, we need your ongoing support to continue building this community and expanding our reach.
Here’s how you can make a lasting difference:
- Join our monthly giving community: While we now own our equipment, there are still many expenses. Your ongoing support ensures that we can transport our equipment and provide Box and Breathe events, host healing workshops, and provide grief resources year-round.
- Stay involved: Attend our events, share your story, and invite others to join this space of healing.
- Volunteer: Your time, love, and energy are what truly make this community thrive. There is always an opportunity to help at one of our events. We would love to welcome you into our family.
This organization, born out of loss, has become a gift of light, love, and hope to so many.
Together we will continue to shine a light in the darkest of times.
Thank you for being a part of this incredible journey. We look forward to all that’s to come in 2025.
