Increasing Awareness of Grief Support: Public Relations and Media Outreach for Junie’s Place

Junie’s Place is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to supporting individuals and families experiencing pregnancy, infant, and child death. We reduce barriers to compassionate, grief-informed support through direct family assistance, education and resources, and training for clinicians and other professionals.

Founded by clinical psychologist Kristen Dillon in memory of her daughter, Junie, the organization combines lived experience with clinical expertise to address gaps in bereavement support.

Kristen has previously been published in The Boston Globe and has delivered professional presentations across Massachusetts and nationally through her work with the Department of Veterans Affairs. She brings experience in clinical education, public speaking, and communicating about grief and bereavement.

As Junie’s Place grows, we hope to build on this foundation by increasing public awareness of our services and establishing both the organization and its founder as trusted voices in grief and bereavement support. Greater visibility could help families discover available resources, encourage professional referrals, and create opportunities for education and collaboration.

We are seeking an experienced public relations professional to help translate our existing work and expertise into meaningful media opportunities. We would particularly value someone with experience pitching journalists, securing earned media coverage, and positioning nonprofit leaders as subject-matter experts.

This project can be completed virtually, with an initial emphasis on Massachusetts media and opportunities for broader national exposure.

The primary deliverable will be a focused media outreach campaign designed to increase awareness of Junie’s Place and position its founder as a knowledgeable voice on grief and bereavement support.

The consultant will:

1. Develop Media Positioning and Pitches

Identify two or three compelling story angles that highlight Junie’s Place’s mission, services, and founder’s clinical and lived expertise. Develop tailored pitches appropriate for journalists and other media professionals.

2. Prepare Essential Media Materials

Create a concise media kit, including an organizational overview, founder biography, key messages, and relevant background information. Incorporate existing media coverage and professional speaking experience.

3. Conduct Targeted Media Outreach

Identify a manageable group of relevant Massachusetts and national journalists, publications, podcasts, or other media opportunities. Conduct an initial round of targeted outreach, with assistance from Junie’s Place as needed.

4. Provide a Brief Follow-Up Plan

Document outreach contacts, responses, and recommended next steps so Junie’s Place can continue developing media relationships after the engagement.

The project will be completed virtually over approximately 12 weeks at 2–5 hours per week. We welcome the consultant’s expertise in determining the appropriate sequencing of activities.

Desired Outcome: A completed initial media outreach campaign, professional media materials, and an actionable foundation for continued media engagement. While media placements cannot be guaranteed, we hope to generate meaningful opportunities for interviews, coverage, and professional visibility.

Organization Mission

Junie's Place is a compassionate nonprofit organization dedicated to providing comprehensive, no-cost grief support services to families enduring the profound loss of a child, infant, pregnancy, or experiencing a stillbirth. Our mission is to create a nurturing and supportive environment in which grieving families can find solace, support, and the embrace of a community that intimately understands their sorrow. We strive to offer a safe place for families navigating the overwhelming depths of grief, providing no-cost counseling, support, educational resources, and programs tailored to their unique needs. Our commitment is to walk alongside these families through every agonizing step of their journey, offering unwavering empathy, guidance, and hope as they learn to honor their child's memory while gradually rebuilding their lives. Beyond direct support, we are committed to advancing grief-informed healthcare, education, and advocacy. We train professionals and organizations to better recognize and respond to the needs of grieving families, promote grief-informed policies such as bereavement leave, and work to shift cultural attitudes around loss. At Junie's Place, we believe that no family should grieve alone. Through care, education, and advocacy, Junie’s Place honors the memory of every child gone too soon and helps transform personal and collective grief into lasting legacies of love. Junie’s Place was founded following the sudden loss of my daughter, Junie. As a clinical psychologist, I realized that even with my professional background, the resources available were often without access to true, trauma-informed grief support. We exist to bridge that gap.