©2011 Galesburg Broadcasting Co.
| Camp Teaches Kids Compassion and Healing in Tough Times |
There are many kinds of camps for children to attend, from sports to learning about nature, but dozens of young people from the area are gearing up for a camp that's teaches them how to cope with the the loss of a loved one.
The 10th annual Children's Grief Camp will be held Saturday on the Carl Sandburg College campus in Galesburg. It runs between 9 a-m and 3 p-m and is for children between the ages of 5 and 18 from ten counties. The goal is to help campers deal with death in a positive way and provide them with a fun and supportive day to build a foundation that allows the children to heal during difficult times like death.
Doug Gibb, a local counselor and the camp's director, tells WGIL the vision for the camp started 12 years ago.
"I was like could we ever do this, and could this be something we could ever pull off. Especially in our line of business, in that we deal with death and dying on a daily basis. For many, many years, children were thought of as forgotten mourners and so we said we need to do something. We started doing our research and said I think we can do this."
Gibb says officials have heard from people in the Quad Cities, Canton and elsewhere, and he hopes the camp is filling a need. He says the camp, which is very structured, is the only one of its kind in the Galesburg area. Gibb also says officials have found that the older campers help out the younger kids in the group setting. The children are allowed to attend the camp more than one time. Registration is done ahead of time and there is no cost to attend.
The camp is provided by the Prairieland Hospice Foundation and sponsored by Hospice Compassus, formerly known as Community Hospices of America. |
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| 05 08 09 by Newsroom |
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