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 21-45-year-olds to find community, peer-led support, and build lasting relationships. Since 2018, The Dinner Party has connected more than 13,000 grieving peers to one another. We screen, train and support a growing network of peer Hosts, and connect them to 10-15 other grievers to form Tables.
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.
Peer Care
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.
Tender Connection
We can find some of our deepest friendships and most genuine belonging through the vulnerability of our grief.
Agency
People are their own best experts.
Legacy
We honor the legacy of those who came before us and are building something in service to a vision that extends beyond ourselves.
Rooting in Ritual
Ritual is one of our most powerful tools in navigating times of loss.
2021 Impact Report
The results are in
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The results are in –
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. Here are some preliminary findings:
97%
recommend The Dinner Party to a friend (81% already had).
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.
Get in on the goodness by pulling up a chair to one of our currently available Tables.
Build lasting community for grievers in isolation through a tax deductible donation.