For youngsters like Jessica Adamczyk, 11, Camp Evergreen, a Diakon Children’s Bereavement Program, provides a safe haven to explore and discuss the emotions experienced after a loved one dies. “I came here to express my feelings and talk with the other kids and the counselors. My dad died in a car accident when I was just two years old and my friend, who was 8, just died in a four-wheeler accident,” says Adamczyk.

In the rural setting of Camp Kresge, White Haven, Diakon Children’s Bereavement Program hosts Camp Evergreen each summer. Geared towards helping youngsters cope with loss through therapeutic activities along with peer, counselor, and volunteer interaction, the camp helps children regain normalcy in life.

This year’s free camp is scheduled for June 22 through June 24 and is open to all youth eight to 14 who are coping with the loss of a loved one.

“When participants meet other kids who have experienced loss, they know they are not alone,” says Christina Fedorko, director, Diakon Children’s Bereavement Program and camp organizer. “They quickly bond and support each other throughout the weekend.”

Camp Evergreen offers a myriad of activities such as fishing, swimming, boating, sand art, creating memory boxes, journaling feelings, campfire time, planting flowers and a symbolic evergreen tree. Through informal and formal activities, children discuss their experiences with death with one another and the trained volunteers and counselors.

Youth who have attended the camp find it comforting and helpful. “Sometimes I felt like I was going crazy. At camp, I realized other kids felt the same way too. It’s not crazy, it’s grief,” remarked a 14-year old camp attendee.

Another past participant, age 12, says, “I loved being outdoors, doing the crafts, being with other kids, and talking with my buddy. Everything helped me to talk about my uncle’s accident. Now I feel I will have an easier time talking with my mother about it.”

To end Camp Evergreen, campers and counselors plant an evergreen tree to symbolize the youths’ continuing love for the person they lost. Campers write letters to their loved ones and have the option to plant the letters within the roots of the evergreen tree.

“Whether they plant their letter or not, the evergreen tree is a memorial to their loved one. The evergreen tree does not fade; it stays green and reminds us that love lasts in our hearts forever. Camp Evergreen helps young people to remember that,” says Fedorko.

Campers stay in cabins furnished with bunk beds and bathroom facilities. Meals and snacks are provided.

The camp is free of charge. However, registration for Camp Evergreen is required. For additional information or to serve as a volunteer, call 1-877-DIAKON-7.

Diakon offers other services in addition to Camp Evergreen.

Founded in 1979, Diakon Hospice Saint John is one of the oldest hospices in Pennsylvania and is a service of Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries. The Diakon Hospice Saint John team of nurses, aides, social workers, chaplains, volunteers and physicians work together to meet the clinical, emotional, psycho-social and spiritual needs of those that they serve. They also serve as an educational resource in end-of-life issues, grief and bereavement to the communities that they serve.

Providing senior living accommodations, health care, and a range of family and children’s programs in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware, Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries serves people without regard to religious affiliation. Dating to 1868, the nonprofit organization annually touches the lives of 70,000 persons through programs ranging from adoption and foster care and services for at-risk youth to family counseling and continuum-of-care retirement communities.
To learn more about Diakon, visit www.diakon.org.