This summer, the Moorestown Visiting Nurse Association will present Camp Firefly for grieving children at Camp Matollionequay in Medford.
This weekend-long, overnight bereavement camp will start on Saturday, Aug. 25, and conclude on Sunday, Aug. 26.
The overnight camp is open to children ages 7 to 14 who have lost a parent, sibling or any special person through death and are still coping with grief.
Campers spend the weekend in a caring, nurturing environment with The Hospice of Moorestown VNA’s team of grief professionals and volunteer counselors, as well as peers who have experienced a similar loss.
Traditional camp activities such as swimming, canoeing, hiking, arts and crafts and cookouts will be combined with specialized bereavement activities designed to help the children overcome grief and cope with the loss of a loved one.
In one particularly intense and moving activity, the children design and build small boats containing mementos of a loved one. After dark, these boats are individually candle-lit and launched from the shores of the campsite’s lake.
Volunteer counselors ages 21 and older are being sought to assist during the camp. Adult volunteer counselors will stay at Camp Matollionequay during the entire weekend and will participate in all activities with an assigned group of children.
Junior counselors, ages 16 to 20, are also being sought to help out on-site during the camp.
Younger volunteers, ages 14 and older, may choose to support bereaved children by working in the offices of Moorestown VNA by preparing materials for the camp weekend.
Appropriate training will be provided for all volunteers.
Those interested should call the volunteer department at (856) 552–1300, ext. 2165.
Camp Firefly provides a place to remember lost loved ones, and a place to heal.
To learn more call (856) 552–1300, email services@moorestownvna.org, visit www.moorestownvna.org or facebook/moorestownvna.
