DUNMORE — Hospice of the Sacred Heart received a $15,000 grant from the Northeastern Pennsylvania Health Care Foundation to assist with the Camp Healing HeARTs project.
Camp Healing HeARTs is a day camp experience intended to provide grief education to children ages 8 to 14 who have experienced the death of a loved one. Children work with trained bereavement counselors and members of the community to help them progress toward acceptance of the loss and to use the arts as a means of self-expression.
The five-day camp, scheduled for the week of Aug. 13, begins and ends with the same activities every day to provide a sense of routine, consistency and ultimately closure for the entire process. Younger campers are “buddy-ed” up with an older camper to facilitate teamwork and understanding. Each session has a different theme explored through the arts.
Some activities include adding projects to a Shadow Box so the campers have a sample of all the activities. Journaling serves as a tool of the free association and expression of feelings relating to loss. Community volunteers lend their time and talents to campers, with artistic projects culminating in a Memorial Service designed and presented by the campers at the Scranton Cultural Center.
The mission of Hospice of the Sacred Heart is to provide comfort, care, hope and choice to patients and their families, while guiding them through the end of life journey.
