When Vice President of Member Benefits Kim Krueger first told me that Hermann Sons had chosen grief support services as its focused service cause, I thought it was a wonderful idea. Then when she told me that we would like to offer a Grief Support Session at our Camp in Comfort, I got really excited because I soon realized just what a need there is for it.

Our journey started in July of 2016 when Kim, Engagement Director Jennifer Cernosek and I went to visit Camp Fire El Tesoro-De La Vida during its week-long grief session. It was amazing to see the work the therapists were doing and I remember on the way home realizing just what an amazing opportunity we had to serve our members and others in our communities.

I distinctly remember the lead therapist telling us that often a child is able to make the same amount of progress during one week at a camp like this as they do after several months of individual counseling. He told us there is just something powerful about grief support happening in a camp setting and after seeing it in action I was a believer.

In the fall of 2016, thanks to Community Service Coordinator Laura Adams we made a connection with the Children’s Bereavement Center of South Texas located in San Antonio. We knew we had the facility and the program staff to make the camp aspect of the Grief Support Session possible, but we were missing the therapeutic aspect. Our partnership with the Children’s Bereavement Center has been such a blessing and we are so excited about working with them to make our first Grief Support Session possible. The Children’s Bereavement Center’s mission is to foster healing for grieving children and youth, their families and the community. They offer individual counseling services, grief support groups with peers, as well as family counseling opportunities. The center has also offered grief camps in the past.

We are excited because several representatives from the Children’s Bereavement Center of South Texas will be joining us for Open House on Saturday, June 10. That day they will be holding the first of two pre-camp meetings for families who have campers attending our Grief Support Session. This will be a great time to tour the Camp, experience some activities and have an opportunity to meet with the therapists and ask some questions.

Our Grief Support Session will be held July 5-8 at the Hilltop site. It is for children between the ages of 6 and 17 (by Sept. 1, 2017) who have lost a loved one. This session will be different from anything that we have done in the past. It will take place in a small setting with only 50 campers and many volunteers. The application for the session is currently live on our website and registration is open to Herman Sons members as well as non-members through June 16.

This is a true community service project. There is a $50 assessment fee associated with the application but this is the only money that will be required from the camper and the family. Thanks to our generous members we have been able to raise the remaining cost of the session. Once an application is received, families will receive a phone call from a therapist to learn some more about the camper. If for some reason it is decided that the Grief Support Session is not a good fit for a camper, they will receive a complete refund of the assessment fee. Applications will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis.

I am sure you are wondering what campers will be doing during the half-week session. When campers arrive on Wednesday, July 5, they will come to the Houston Home Association Activities Center where they will be greeted by Camp staff as well as therapists from the Children’s Bereavement Center. We will have an opening meeting together and then families will have the opportunity to get their camper(s) all moved into their cabin for the session. Campers will be placed in cabin groups based on their age and gender. Bunks will already be assigned when families walk into the cabin on opening day.

After campers are all settled, families will leave and we will begin getting to know each other. First, campers will have an opportunity to get to know their cabinmates and cabin counselors during a cabin team meeting. Following the meeting we will take cabin photos and then there will be a free swim. After campers have the opportunity to cool off in the pool, it will be time to get changed and ready for dinner.

Once dinner has been completed we will have our first official whole Camp meeting with everyone. This will be a time for us to create our community as a whole group and campers will have an opportunity to get to know everyone who they will be working with. Campers will also have a chance to participate in their first Healing Circle on Wednesday evening when they get to introduce their Special Person that they lost to their small group followed by an opportunity to learn about everyone’s Special Person when we gather back together as a community. Once the Healing Circle is finished we complete our nightly grateful circles and get ready for a good night’s sleep.

Thursday and Friday will be similar days for the campers. Campers will have the opportunity to participate in a mixture of regular camp activities while continuing their healing circles with their small group. Some of the traditional camp activities that campers can pick from are Recreational Games, Adventures in Nature, Rocketry, Camp Crafts, Ceramics, Archery, Dance, Soccer, Volleyball, Basketball, Tennis, Court Hockey, STEM Exploration, Flag Football, Cheerleading and Drama. In the morning campers will go to two activities and one Healing Circle. In the afternoon campers will pick one activity, attend a Healing Circle and then have the opportunity to swim. Each evening we will gather for a full Camp activity that will include a variety of things like a campfire and Camp dance. 

At the conclusion of the session we are planning a picnic lunch with our campers and their families. It will be a time to celebrate the time they spent at Camp and share what they accomplished with their family. Parents and guardians also will have the opportunity to meet with the therapists to learn a little bit more about what the campers did throughout the week and some things they can do to continue to help them on their healing journey.

We know that a grief journey is never quite finished, however we are excited to provide our campers with some skills and tools that they will be able to use as they continue their journey as an individual and with their family. We can’t wait to serve our members and other individuals in our communities during the Grief Support Session.

Are you interested in supporting the Grief Support Session or our focused service cause of grief support services? Here are some things you can do to help:

1. Tell others about the session we are hosting. We have room for 50 campers for the session and even if you do not know a child between the ages of 6-17 personally who could benefit from the session, someone else might.
2. Share this blog post on social media to help get the word out!
3. Make a donation to the Grief Support Session online.
4. Encourage your lodge to have an event or fund-raiser and donate the funds to an organization in your town that supports our cause such as a hospice center. There is actually a list of different grief support services available on our website.
5. If you live in the San Antonio area you could volunteer through the Children’s Bereavement Center of South Texas. They are always looking for individuals to serve as greeters, provide the meal for an evening or even possibly assist with group sessions.
    

I am so excited for the session and the opportunity we have as an organization to really impact our communities and the individuals in them. I would love to hear what you are doing to support this amazing cause.

If you have any specific questions regarding the Grief Support Session please call the Home Office and we will be there to support you. Thanks go to our members who have already helped to make this focused service cause a success!