Children in Burlington, Camden and Gloucester Countieswho have lost a parent, sibling or any special person through death, and are seeking support to help cope with grief, are able to receive that opportunity at the Moorestown Visiting Nurse Association’s Camp Firefly, thanks in part to two $2,500 grants from the Investors Bank Foundation in partnership with the Roma Bank Community Foundation.
According to Moorestown VNA’s President/CEO, Chickie Holcombe, “The generosity of Investor’s Bank and The Roma Bank Foundation is fundamental in our ability to provide comfort and support to grieving children when they need it most. We truly appreciate this investment in Camp Firefly to promote the well-being of children and their families in our community.”
Moorestown Visiting Nurse Association presents Camp Firefly for grieving children at Camp Matollionequay in Medford marks the 10th anniversary of Camp Firefly. The weekend-long overnight camp was held on Saturday, Aug. 22, and concluded on Sunday, Aug. 23. The overnight camp is free, and enables the campers to 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.
The campers participate in traditional camp activities such as swimming, canoeing, hiking, arts and crafts and cookouts, along with specialized bereavement activities designed to help them deal with their grief and cope with the loss of their loved one. In one particularly intense and moving activity, according to Holcombe, the children design and build small boats containing mementos of their loved one. After dark, these boats are lit with candles and launched from the shores of the campsite’s lake. To date, nearly 500 local children have benefited from attending the camp.
“Dealing with the death of a loved one is difficult enough for an adult,” said Investors Bank Vice President and Senior Market Manager Carmine Pannullo, “but for a child, it must seem impossible to cope. The Investors Bank and Roma Bank Community Foundations are privileged to support Camp Firefly and Moorestown VNA’s efforts to bring comfort to children suffering from such a tremendous loss.”
Moorestown Visiting Nurse Association applied for the grant from Investors Foundation and the Roma Bank Community Foundation, both of which support non-profit organizations that enrich the diverse communities served by Investors Bank; Roma Bank became part of Investors Bank in early December 2013.
