When my mom died, I felt achingly alone. It was an isolation that I had never experienced before. But as soon as I started attending Dinners… that loneliness abated. It was kind of a Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz moment — I was stepping out of a completely colorless world and back into something that was richer and more vibrant than before. I felt like I could start reclaiming my life again.
The Dinner Party is life-changing. Full stop.
— Alix, Philadelphia Dinner Partier
The Dinner Party is a platform for grieving 18-45-year-olds to find community, peer-led support, and build lasting relationships.
From 2018 - 2026, The Dinner Party connected more than 20,000 grieving peers across the country to one another. We screened, trained and supported a growing network of peer Hosts, and connect them to 10-15 other grievers to form Table. And, we hand-matched folks 1-to-1 through our Buddy System.
We’ve been featured on NPR’s Morning Edition, On Being with Krista Tippet, CNN, NYT, O Magazine, BuzzFeed, and dozens of other publications, and as a case study in various books, including The Upside of Stress, The New Better Off, and The Power of Meaning.
Our Mission
Our mission is to connect young adult grievers to a caring and supportive community of peers, transforming our most isolating experiences into a source of long-lasting companionship, personal meaning-making, and culture change.
Our Vision
We envision a world where the death of our people and the isolation of our grief are met with authentic care and community; where we form connections with peers that make us feel deeply seen and heard in our grief, celebrated and empowered in our stories, and better equipped to show up for ourselves, others, and the world at large, as we navigate loss and life beyond.
Fostering a culture of care between people (outside of their professions, existing circles, and social media feeds) is a radical act.
Our Values
Talia’s Table in L.A.
Peer Care
We can find some of our deepest friendships and most genuine belonging through the vulnerability of our grief.
Tender Connection
People are their own best experts.
Agency
Ritual is one of our most powerful tools in navigating times of loss.
Rooting in Ritual
We honor the legacy of those who came before us and are building something in service to a vision that extends beyond ourselves.
Legacy
We conducted a survey about the experiences of Dinner Party Table participants.
In the fall of 2021 social scientists Dr. Laura Brady and Dr. Tobin Belzer surveyed 222 Dinner Partiers from 82 of our 120 Virtual Tables.
97%
recommend The Dinner Party to a friend (81% already had).
Here are some preliminary findings:
said their table allowed them to form relationships with people with whom they would not normally connect.
95%
92%
indicated that their table played an important role in their journey with grief.
84%
considered people at their table to be friends.
And, as a result of participating in The Dinner Party, the majority of respondents indicated they:
86%
Experienced a sense of belonging.
84%
Expanded their support networks.
Developed empathy for themselves.
70%
70%
Developed empathy for others.
2023 Impact Report
