I lost my partner, my person, my light in April 2020. Losing John was heartbreaking, to say the least. But losing him during the Pandemic was suffocating; the person I loved most in the world was gone, and the thing I loved most in the world (travel) was non-existent. There was simply no way to escape the nightmare I was living in every single day. No dinner with friends, no break from routine, and no getting on a plane and just leaving the country. 

Travel has a way of healing one’s heart. Meeting new people, experiencing a new place, eating new food, and even just figuring out the logistics of getting from Point A to Point B can bring your soul to a new place. The connections you make on your journey are always priceless; the challenges you may face are easily put into perspective and become almost comical. “I lost my person, I can figure out the train schedule,” I’ve said to myself in a foreign country more times than I care to count.

Some may say it’s a distraction from feeling; I believe it’s an exercise in living. Being free and independent. Gaining back a little of the light you lost when the person you love left this world. 

Through my job, I have been gifted the ability to travel — to lose myself in a new life experience, coming home richer and fuller than before. However, I know that oftentimes with widowhood come barriers, especially surrounding finances and child care. We sacrifice our own healing to focus on more pressing needs.

The idea behind The Sunshine Fund is to gift one widow a trip with Widows in the Wild. A trip that will be life-changing, from getting to the airport to meeting a community of people who will hold you up beyond the plane ride home. The gift is to help put your mind at ease and allow for an experience that will heal, To bring you a little bit of sunshine.

I can’t wait to hear all about it.

-Emily Cappiello, CEO, Emily Jane Communications