Fox Valley Hands of Hope hosts fundraiser golf outing to support men’s grief programs

GENEVA – Fox Valley Hands of Hope in Geneva is hosting a Golf Classic fundraiser Aug. 8 at Eagle Brook Country Club, 2288 Fargo Blvd., Geneva, to support men’s grief programs, according to a news release.

The event will ensure the agency can continue to provide compassionate support to men who are grieving because they are not conditioned to share their feelings or to cry, according to the release.

Ken Schneider, a 15-year volunteer with Fox Valley Hands of Hope, developed a program called MALES, which stands for Men After Loss Expressing Themselves Safely. Schneider started the program a few years after the death of his wife in 2003, according to the release.

Ken Schneider started a grief group for men 15 years ago through Fox Valley Hands of Hope to assist men in the grieving process. A golf fundraiser planned for Aug. 8 will help support that program. (Photo provided by Claire Culton)

“There weren’t any places around for men to openly express themselves in a safe space and learn from each other,” Schneider said in the release. “Men are not conditioned to feel like they can cry or discuss their emotions without judgement.”

Schneider created that safe space through a monthly men’s grief group, which helps participants learn about the grief process.

“True strength is about asking for help and not being unemotional,” Schneider said in the release. “It is my job to help [men] understand that they will smile again, they will laugh again, and they will dance again, but they will never forget and it’s OK to have those moments of sorrow.”

Programs such as MALES are made possible by support from the community. Fox Valley Hands of Hope provides its programs at no cost to the community.

“I volunteer for Fox Valley Hands of Hope because I know if I went through what I did, felt the things I did and received the help I did [at FVHH], someone else probably feels the same,” Schneider said in the release. “I want to now be the one to help teach them that it is important to let themselves be human.”

Foursome tickets are $1,100 and single-person tickets are $275. Tickets can be purchased at one.bidpal.net.

Tickets include a pre-golf lunch, three drinks and access to the post-golf reception.