Briana’s Bench Dedication

Family, friends, students, and members of the Eastport Elementary community gathered to honor Briana.

On June 22, our family, friends, students, teachers, and members of the Eastport Elementary community gathered for a moment that was incredibly meaningful to all of us – the dedication of Briana’s Bench.

For most people, a bench is simply a place to sit. This one is different.

Briana’s Bench is a place to remember a beautiful little girl whose kindness, compassion, personality, and love left an impact far beyond the years we were blessed to have with her. It is also a place meant to carry those qualities forward.

A Piece of Briana Will Always Be at Eastport

Eastport Elementary was part of Briana’s world. It was a place where she learned, made friends, laughed, grew, and left behind memories that continue to mean so much to the people who knew her.

Briana's Bench, decorated with white roses and surrounded by memories from the dedication.

Seeing everyone gather around the bench was difficult to put into words. There were flowers. Photographs. Family and friends. Briana’s classmates and members of the school community. There were tears, but there were also smiles, stories, hugs, and reminders of just how many lives one child can touch.

Standing there and looking around, it was impossible not to feel Briana’s presence in everything the day represented.

Be Kind. Be You. Make a Difference.

Those words capture what we hope Briana’s legacy continues to teach.

More Than a Memorial

We never wanted Briana’s Bench to simply mark something we lost. We wanted it to give something back.

Sharing a few words during the dedication at Eastport Elementary.

A place where a student can sit when they need a quiet moment. A place where two friends can talk. A place where someone who feels alone might find somebody willing to sit beside them. A place that reminds every child who passes it that kindness matters – sometimes much more than we realize in the moment.

That is the kind of legacy Briana deserves. Her life continues to push us toward compassion, connection, and doing something meaningful for another family or another child whenever we have the opportunity.

A quiet moment at Briana's Bench on the day of the dedication.

From Briana's Memory to Briana's House

That same spirit is at the heart of Briana’s House and The Strong and Brave Foundation.

Everything we are working toward comes back to families and children.

A Home Away From Hospitals

Briana’s House is our vision for creating a place where families facing childhood cancer can have time together away from treatment rooms, appointments, alarms, and the constant medical environment that can consume their lives.

A place to breathe. A place to reconnect. A place to simply be a family.

Briana’s Bench now represents another small piece of that larger promise: that Briana’s story will continue creating kindness and comfort for others.

Thank You, Eastport

We are deeply grateful to Eastport Elementary School, its administration, faculty and staff, the students, families, friends, and everyone who helped make this dedication possible.

Briana's classmates, friends, and loved ones gathered together at the bench.

Thank you to everyone who attended. Thank you to those who brought flowers, shared memories, stood beside our family, helped prepare the space, and simply showed up. Those things matter more than people sometimes realize.

And most of all, thank you for continuing to remember Briana – not only for what she went through, but for who she was.

Her kindness. Her courage. Her smile. Her heart.

That is what we want people to carry forward.

Briana will always have a place at Eastport.

Be kind. Be you. Make a difference.

Remembering the Day

The dedication took place on June 22, 2026, at 9:45 AM in the Eastport Elementary School courtyard. The event invitation below helped bring our school community together for this special morning.

June 22, 2026

A Place for Kindness, Love, and Her Lasting Legacy