Camp Phoenix Fall Campers Scale New Heights on Saturday, September 26
Like all good camps, Camp Phoenix offers fun and games to campers ages 7-15 and their parents. This year, the camp introduced the new element of rappeling from a tower at Karyea Park YMCA Family Outdoor Center.
What makes this camp unique is that, mixed in with the fun, campers are exposed to a broader understanding of the pain of losing a loved one. Children who attend are dealing with the deaths of cherished mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and grandfathers.
Grief sessions are designed to help the families face death, learn how to identify feelings of grief and how to cope with change related to loss. Counselors use crafts, art, remembering exercises and storytelling as part of their plans to help children accept death as a natural part of life.
"Grief comes in spurts, mixed in with times of fun and laughter," says Terri Ray, director of grief services at Gaston Hospice. "So Camp Phoenix offers relief from the seriousness of mourning with fun activities." This year, new activities include:
- age appropriate grief work
- family-oriented activities
- family picnic
- fun recreational events
Camp staff are professional counselors from the New Hope Counseling Center for Grief and Loss of Gaston Hospice. Special bereavement volunteers receive instruction to work with grieving children and "often volunteer because they have learned the value of grief therapy from personal experience," says Adrian Thornburg, Gaston Hospice grief counselor in charge of the camp.
There is no charge to attend Camp Phoenix, although there is a $10 refundable fee to hold a space. The camp is sponsored in part by BI-LO. Anyone interested in finding out more about the camp should call the Gaston Hospice office at (704) 861-8405. The next Camp Phoenix will be held in the spring.
