Picture a typical summer camp full of swimming, kayaking, fishing, sports & games, and arts & crafts. Now think of someone you know who has lost a loved one. The two don’t seem to have anything to do with each other, but they are what makes up Camp Good Grief.
Camp Good Grief is a weeklong bereavement camp for children ages 4-17 located in eastern Long Island. It goes from 9-3 each day of the week, but every day is very different. The children get to choose their own free time activities, like the ones listed before (fishing, swimming, archery, etc.), but they also take part in various types of therapy that are designed specifically to help children who are in grief. The different therapies include small group therapy, art therapy, and music therapy. Each day they all follow a similar theme – remembering the loved one, dealing with different emotions, finding ways to incorporate the loss into our lives – but they do so in completely different ways. In small group therapy all of the children, volunteers, and main therapist from each group sit together and discuss the day’s theme. This is a time for the children to share their own stories, but also hear the stories of their peers. Music therapy allows the kids to express themselves and their feelings through music and guided activities, and the same goes for art therapy but it is done through art that the children get to take home at the end of the week.
All of the group therapists are certified social workers or psychologists who have undergone extensive training by East End Hospice in preparation for camp. Every volunteer has to go through training to learn how to approach certain questions or statements appropriately. There is also an annual in-service training that has to be completed in the month before camp to go over the safety rules to ensure the safety of all campers and volunteers.
I have chosen Camp Good Grief because I know how much it helps the children. I lost my dad suddenly when I was seven years old, and my sister was four. It’s hard for adults to understand what death actually means, but nearly impossible for a young child. Camp Good Grief guided both me and my sister through understanding, but also provided a sense of community, I now knew that I wasn’t alone. Now I am back at Camp Good Grief as a volunteer, and every year I am amazed at the transformation. The first day most of the kids don’t want to share because they are afraid, but by the end they are all best friends, discussing the death they experienced openly. It may sound strange, but the testimonials from the campers speak for themselves. I have provided a link below so you can read through.
All of the money that is used to fund the camp is from individual donations, or money raised from the East End Hospice Thrift Shop located in Westhampton Beach, NY. Any amount helps, it can help buy Band-Aids or art materials or food because everyday lunch is provided to all of the camp members. Last year there were about 180 campers and almost the same number of volunteers, but every year the camp is growing. There is a waitlist because of how many people want the service, and there is a three-year limit for all children. I love Camp Good Grief, and I hope you will too.
The testimonials mentioned can be found at this link:
Here is an article from a local news source that celebrates the 20thanniversary of camp if anyone wants to read more:
Hi Jillian,
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to start off by commending and thanking you for sharing your story with us. I cannot imagine what you, your sister, and the rest of your family went through and I am glad that you had Camp Good Grief to support you along the way. Just from what you shared, it seems like a really amazing and supportive place; one that you appreciated so much that now you volunteer there.
Although I haven’t heard or seen the other charity pitches, I’m happy that Camp Good Grief is an option for us to donate our money to. I’m also very relieved to hear that the hundred so dollars that we donate will be able to be put to good use immediately (band-aids, food, etc.) rather than simply placed aside to reach a larger goal.
I think it was a very smart move to include the testimonials in your charity pitch. I have read through them and it is heartwarming to see how much of a positive impact the camp has had on the children and teenagers. It seems to be very loved as one seven year old child says “The one thing I would change about camp is have it all summer.” One parent described how her daughter loved the first day so much that she woke up an hour earlier than she needed to from the excitement. I also loved to hear parents describe how their children would come home much happier, or even in some cases, less angry. It seems to be a place that was widely loved and that campers and their parents are very grateful for.
A close family friend of ours recently passed away from breast cancer and her four sons were all older than seventeen but the youngest child, a daughter of seven, was very destroyed and confused by her mother’s death. I wish I had known about Camp Good Grief so I could have referred her. It really sounds like such a supportive and successful place.
The only thing I found a bit odd was that the camp is only once a year for five days. What do you think about this - as a past camper and now a volunteer? Do you feel like it is enough time? Do you think there should be a winter session too?
Best of luck on your presentation,
Yann
Jillian,
ReplyDeleteI know Yann has already commented on this, but I just have to say it. Thank you for sharing your story with the class. I can’t imagine that sharing something as personal as the loss of a parent with a class who you’ve known for only a few months to be an easy thing to do.
Camp Good Grief is the type of non-profit that I always struggle with. It’s one of those groups that aims to help by healing the spirit. A group that aims to bring light back into someone’s life. It’s not trying to cure cancer or end world hunger. Instead it’s trying to heal the heart. It’s just as important of a task. I struggle with it though because even though I know this to be the case, I still have this nagging sensation that tries to tell me I should be sending the support I’m lending to a group like Camp Good Grief to another charity that is trying to save lives. But, after reading your pitch, I didn’t get this nagging sensation. Instead, I remembered a little twelve-year old me who struggled through the loss of a loved one. I remembered how he had his family and his friends to support him as well as help him understand what had just happen. I remembered how much it helped. It sounds as though Camp Good Grief is doing what my family and friends did for me in my darkest hour. And just for that I’m already really biased towards it.
Your pitch was really well-written. Your personal story and connection with the charity made me feel as though I can trust it and let me now that it works. Including the links was a great way to have me start actively searching for information about the charity and really get to better know it. I look forward to seeing the presentation that goes along with this post.
- Anthony
Hi Jillian, I just wanted to commend you once again for your wonderful charity pitch. This charity pitch was one of my favorites because of how different it was because I have never heard of a camp like this existing. I also loved the personal connection it had to you. I originally saw your blog post before your presentation and decided that I was going to wait until you presented before I shared my comments. Again like this rest, thank you for sharing a personal side of yourself with the class and despite us spending the semester together I know it is hard to be transparent and vulnerable to your classmates.
DeleteI loved how you included the testimonials of the other children who went to this camp with your charity pitch because it was able to give us more of a closer look towards the impact that Camp Good Grief has had. Another thing I loved is how you enjoyed and cherished your experience so much that you went back to become a counselor. That also showed me how important this organization was to you, that you were willing to go back and give younger kids the experience that you enjoyed so much when you were in their shoes.
Lastly, I mentioned briefly in class. I also had a parent that passed away, although I was 14 and older than you were when that happened. I personally did not know anybody my age whose parent(s) had passed so a camp like this would have definitely struck my interest because having people who cannot only relate and comfort you is amazing but having fun and doing kid activities would have been nice.
I hope for Camp Good Grief to get more recognition that it deserves so it can be more than a week in the summer.
Hey Jillian. Thank you for sharing this organization with us and being so vulnerable to open up and tell us your story. I really loved your presentation for Camp Good Grief. The image you painted in your blog post had me interested at first, and then your presentation solidified my decision in supporting your organization.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, this organization is very unique in that I have never heard of an organization that caters to helping young kids specifically through the stages of grief. Also, knowing that it is within a community and can cater to children from all over, but mostly that community show the sense of family within the camp. I would like to see this organization expand, because there are so many kids going through so many different things that are never given the proper mental help and it has negative effects on them as people as they grow older.
I hope this organization continues to expand to students even in inner cities and other parts of New York as well. I like how it’s a different approach to dealing with grief too. Instead of giving students a scary approach of sitting down with someone in an office, it is a chance to escape through art and activities while still achieving the same goals. As a child, I saw a lot of deaths around me that it became normal to me. However, I always knew it did not sit right with me. Being able to have the opportunity to go to a camp like Camp Good Grief, I wish was an option for me as well.