August 6, 2013

Kids Path Awarded Grant for Expansion of CHAMP Camp

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August 6, 2013

Hospice and Palliative Care of Greensboro (HPCG) has been awarded a grant in the amount of $4,900 to increase the participation and expansion of Kids Path’s CHAMP Camp.

“A grant from the Future Fund of the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro will expand our teen camper program (TC) for our annual CHAMP Camp,” said Paul Russ, vice president of marketing and development.

This successful camp is an experience for children and teens grieving the serious illness or death of a loved one. Post event surveys show that children who attend the camp feel less isolated and realize there is a community of children who are overcoming the same struggles as they are.

While working through grief can be difficult for adolescents, the TC program gives these teens a proactive role at the camp that can be therapeutically beneficial. This strategy is based on a best practice learned from war veterans returning from the Middle East with post-traumatic stress. These men and women have found therapeutic value in helping fellow soldiers as they return. It’s a grief task called “reinvestment in the future.”

“As part of our comprehensive plan to transform our program to meet the current needs of grieving youth in Greensboro, we will work to position teens in leadership roles in our program,” said Marion Taylor, director of Kids Path.

Like the veterans, teens can use the opportunity to serve as mentors to younger grieving children to make meaning of their own loss and reinvest in the future. Their loss can become part of their personal “story” to be used in adulthood as a source of strength and wisdom. They can model this reinvestment process through the role of Counselor-In-Training at CHAMP Camp.

CHAMP Camp, held annually in the spring, takes place at Haw River State Park in Brown Summit, North Carolina for bereaved children and teens. The camp allows grieving children and teens a chance to share memories and hosts various activities for the participants to process their emotions.

The grant will allow Kids Path to provide enough resources to allow more participants for the 2014 spring CHAMP Camp.

HPCG, a nonprofit organization serving Guilford County and surrounding areas for more than 30 years, is situated on an eight-acre campus at 2500 Summit Avenue. HPCG provides physical, emotional and spiritual support for children and adults faced with a life-limiting illness, as well as their caregivers and families. For more information, contact HPCG at 336.621.2500 or hospicegso.org.

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