History

























Following the loss of David Fajgenbaum's mother, Anne Marie Fajgenbaum (AMF), to Brain Cancer in October 2004, he decided to create an outlet for students, who like himself, were suffering in silence-without support.  Students of AMF began as a support group for 10 of David's peers and quickly grew into a support network that involves over 400 members of the Georgetown community.  Currently, there are four programs that bring together the entire academic community take a unified and integrated approach to supporting these young adults. The Support Group brings together students who can share with other students in a safe, comfortable, and uplifting environment. The Service Group provides an opportunity for grieving and non-grieving students to join together in the fight against terminal illnesses. The Angels Program pairs faculty "Angels" with students in the support group to provide mentoring. The SAINTS Program provides mentoring to children in the community who have experienced a loss.  Georgetown Students of AMF was recently named the University's "Outsanding Direct Service Program."

The national statistics indicated that this issue extended far beyond Georgetown. It is estimated that between 35-48% of all college students are grieving the death of a family member or close friend from within the last 24 months. Following inquiries from students and administrators from around the country about expanding Students of AMF, we decided to create the National Students of Ailing Mothers & Fathers Support Network in April 2006. The goal is to empower and support all grieving college students across the country by creating other campus chapters, providing interactive e-support on our website (www.StudentsofAMF.org), awarding leadership scholarships and research grants, holding conferences on college student bereavement, and hosting fundraisers.  Already students and administrators from more than 20 universities have contacted AMF about starting a chapter of AMF on their campus.