INDIAN HILL, Ohio — Barely holding back tears, Kim Lewis quietly talks about her daughter, Grace.
"Grace was always different," she said, letting the tears flow. "She always wanted to just be outside and she loved animals. She was just an amazing child."
Lewis doesn't worry about the tears anymore. She can't stop them and has decided she won't.
"There's tears of joys of memories of her and tears of the sadness missing her," Lewis said. "Of course there probably won't be a day in my life I don't cry, but that's OK."
From a young age, Grace just did things differently. She didn't just love animals, she loved caring for them. She wanted to be in nature, where her mom said she was at peace.
Greenacres Farm in Indian Hill was where Grace loved to go for camps. At Greenacres, there are hundreds of acres of unspoiled land with creeks to explore, salamanders to find and horses to ride.
Her mom describes Grace as a happy child. And so, it was a surprise to the entire Lewis family when Grace died by suicide six weeks after graduating from Indian Hill High School.
"We didn't see it coming," Lewis said. "She didn't do this to hurt us. She loved us, we loved her. She had so many people that loved her, and we just miss her."
The devastation of losing a child can be more than a family can bear. The heavy weight of it, the deep sadness it brings can crumble the strongest people. But the Lewis family decided that the 18 years they had with Grace were a gift and her passions were worth sharing with others.
"She always did for others," Lewis said. "She was always the first one to help somebody out. She was the first one to donate her last dollar to whatever charity she found. She was the first one to pet the stray dog, and somebody's got to do that now for her."
The Lewis family decided to create the Exploring with Grace Foundation so, her mom said, "other people can be touched by Grace forever."
Grace never wanted presents for her birthday, Lewis said. Instead, she would choose charitable organizations and ask her family to donate. So the Lewis family devised a simple plan — host a 5K race (because Grace loved being outside and racing) and give all the proceeds to charities Grace appreciated.
In their first two years at Summit Park in Blue Ash, the Exploring with Grace Race raised $100,000.
The family's first stop was Greenacres Foundation, where they created an "Exploring with Grace" program. It brings children who have probably never seen woods and animals to Greenacres after school, feeds them and sends them home with healthy food. And in between, the kids commune with nature.
"I've worked in the nonprofit space for about 20 years and I've never encountered a program so cool and so unique," said Scott Wingate, director of education at Greenacres Foundation. "We focus on kids that are in under-resourced areas and potentially at risk and we go in, we get a bus to pick them up all for free, we bring them out here to Greenacres, we provide them with an amazing educational program."
Many of the kids who attend have never seen a horse before. By the end of the program, Wingate said the kids are riding a horse and feeling confident.
The Exploring with Grace Foundation also gives to a jiu-jitsu program that Grace loved. For the most part, it is instructing Spanish-speaking children and kids who are underprivileged.
"They instruct in the communities for these kids who have not otherwise have the ability to meet people and learn jiu-jitsu, which is wonderful for mental health," Lewis said.
Grace had planned to enter the military and had found a 501c3 called The Warrior's Next Adventure that helps veterans deal with PTSD, so the Lewis family sponsors veterans to go out west and enjoy that program.
"This past year, we sponsored a climb on the top of one of the mountains in Colorado for 14 veterans with PTSD, and it was amazing," Lewis said.
The hope now is to continue to give to these organizations that help others. The third annual Exploring with Grace Race will be held March 16 at Summit Park in Blue Ash with proceeds going to the three programs the family believes Grace would have been proud of.
For the Lewis family, it's a way to honor Grace and the joy she brought them.
"Grace is not defined by how she died," said Lewis. "Grace is defined by how she lived. And we were so fortunate to have her for 18 years."
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