In October 2022, Premier Preneed Marketing and National Guardian Life Insurance Company (NGL) donated $10,000 to Roberta’s House, a grief support center based in Baltimore, Maryland. The donation was presented during the Professional Women’s Conference Reconnect: Women Making Waves event at NFDA’s International Convention & Expo in Baltimore.
“We had the wonderful opportunity to learn about Roberta’s House and meet its president and co-founder, Annette March-Grier, earlier this year at the Professional Women’s Conference in Miami,” said Jessica Grann, NGL senior vice president and chief culture and communications officer. “We were so inspired by the organization’s dedication to supporting families and dealing with grief that we wanted to provide a donation to support them in their continued efforts.”
Said March-Grier: “The March family and Roberta’s House are grateful to NGL for the thoughtful donation and their generosity… The funds will provide free services to children and their families attending Families Healing Together, a 10-week program that provides meals, art supplies, journals, counseling and educational materials to help families in their grief journey.”
March-Grier and her family have been pillars of the Baltimore community for more than 65 years, with community outreach and support just two values behind the firm’s success since its founders, William C. and Julia Roberta March, began in 1957. The March Funeral Home started bereavement support programs in 1982 when hospices introduced bereavement aftercare as a goodwill, educational outreach for funeral homes.
March Funeral Homes, one of the largest firms serving an urban African-American population, created a plan to address its clients’ undeniable grief and traumatic losses daily. Many deaths were due to violence, poor health, accidents and overdoses. The March family felt a corporate and community responsibility to make a difference by establishing “A Time of Sharing,” a bereavement program, and made it known that their business was not only a business but also a ministry for serving.
With the support of her siblings, funeral director Annette March-Grier, RN, took the lead in facilitating adult bereavement programs around the city. There were no grief support programs or counseling for children and teens.
After 30 years of facilitating bereavement programs in the community, her dream of establishing a full-service bereavement center for all ages became a reality. In 2007, Roberta’s House – named after matriarch Julia Roberta March – was established to serve children and adults of all ages.
In 2021, the March family and the company’s board of directors spearheaded a capital campaign to construct a 22,000-square-foot, $14 million center on the original site of the William C. March Funeral Home. The center includes art and activity rooms, a library resource center, a theater, a fitness room, a game room and family counseling rooms. Through its 15-plus grief support programs, Roberta’s House serves an average of 3,000 families each year.
Kenneth Floyd, vice president of preneed-specialty markets at Premier Preneed, has known the March family and has had a professional relationship with March Funeral Homes for more than 30 years. “I believe giving is about more than making a donation. It’s about making a difference, and that is what the March family is known for,” said Floyd. robertashouse.org; premierpreneed.com; nglic.com