Children aren’t the only ones who process grief at camps sponsored by Carle Health Hospice.
Sometimes, adult volunteers and communities also experience healing.
Camp Healing Heart and Kourage Kids Camp are for children and teens ages 5 through 17 processing the death of a loved one or friend. The goal of both one-day camps is to provide a safe and caring environment for campers to express their grief, emotion, fear and concerns while learning coping skills that will help them in adulthood.
Many camp volunteers are counselors who also have experienced grief. As they support campers with therapeutic sessions and fun activities, the volunteers also may experience healing.
“At the end of the day, you see growth in the kids, the volunteers and even yourself,” longtime Camp Healing Heart volunteer Jared Ellison, who is superintendent of the Gifford Grade School District, said. “It’s nice to be a part of something like that.”
As he worked with campers and volunteers last year, Ellison processed his own grief, experiencing the loss of a loved one in 2024.
When children and volunteers leave camp and use the productive coping skills they learned, as opposed to more negative options, that can only be good for their families and communities.
Camp Healing Heart and Kourage Kids Camp are open to any grieving child or teen, not just Carle Health patients. Both camps are free, thanks to generous donations to Carle Health Center for Philanthropy. A significant gift from Rick and Jeanene Stephens of Champaign will fund Camp Healing Heart for five years. For more information, visit carle.org/give-change.
“I appreciate that Carle Health offers this for families because there is a need,” Ellison said.
Registration open for campers, volunteers
Kourage Kids Camp, which began 26 years ago, is 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Sept. 27 at Camp Manitoumi in Lowpoint. Volunteers are members of the Carle Hospice team and hospice volunteers, Carle Health Methodist Hospital team members, Bradley University Social Work students and community volunteers.
Kourage Kids Camp registration deadline for campers and volunteers is Sept. 19. To register, call (309) 672-5746 or email Jill.Prosser2@carle.com. For more information, click here as a camper or click here as a volunteer.
Camp Healing Heart, which began 20 years ago, is 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Oct. 4 at 4 – H Memorial Camp at Allerton Park, Monticello. Volunteers are members of the Carle Health team, community members and individuals from the University of Illinois and Parkland Community College.
To register for Camp Healing Heart, click here or here as a camper and click here as a volunteer or call (800) 239-3620. Registration deadlines are Sept. 26 for campers and Sept. 19 for volunteers.
Camps include therapeutic sessions, fun activities
In addition to therapeutic sessions, both Kourage Kids and Healing Heart include fun camp activities.
“Each age-appropriate activity is tied to a grief support objective,” Jill Prosser, MS, MSW, Carle Hospice Peoria Region volunteer/bereavement coordinator, said. The intent is fun with a purpose, so the youth can express their fear, anger and sadness in a safe environment with counselors and peers who also have experienced death of a loved one.
“There are few opportunities for kids to be in a situation where they are with other kids who also have experienced grief and loss,” Prosser said. “The campers learn how to cope with grief. They recognize they aren’t alone in their grief, which gives them hope that they can have a positive future despite their loss.”
“Hopefully, our camp will promote healing for them as they grieve,” Prosser said. “Camp also tells them it’s OK to have fun, even if you have lost a loved one.”
A member of the Camp Healing Heart planning committee, Andrea Beyke, MAEd, MATh, hospice chaplain, said, “Grief camps not only normalize the grieving process but also help break the isolation that children may experience by providing specialized support through various activities targeting different aspects of grief throughout the day. During the camp, children not only learn healthy coping skills but also remember and honor their loved ones.”
Most volunteers are trained counselors, and the research-based therapeutic sessions are structured so the youth feel safe in expressing themselves.
“Investing in programs like grief camps creates ripple effects, providing crucial support to grieving children and fostering an environment for them to thrive, ultimately contributing to healthier communities,” Camp Healing Heart planning committee member Aamina Iftikhar, MSW, LSW, hospice social worker, said. “The children will bring skills back to their classrooms and communities.”
Volunteer shares story of resilience
Frank Valente’s value as a long-time counselor at Kourage Kids Camp extends beyond his training and experience as a chaplain and grief counselor.
It’s also because of his personal journey.
“As I lead the groups, I fit right in because I grew up in a home with an absent father,” Valente said. “He was always working, then he died at an early age when I was in high school. I was angry and spent a lot of time by myself.
“I tell the campers that I share my story and give back so that what happened to me doesn’t happen to them. I don’t want them to get stuck.”
Valente was able to heal with the help of friends, his relationship with God and using what he learned in college when he majored in counseling.
“If I had a program like Kourage Kids Camp, I would have gotten through it sooner,” he said.
Sometimes, adult volunteers and communities also experience healing.
Camp Healing Heart and Kourage Kids Camp are for children and teens ages 5 through 17 processing the death of a loved one or friend. The goal of both one-day camps is to provide a safe and caring environment for campers to express their grief, emotion, fear and concerns while learning coping skills that will help them in adulthood.
Many camp volunteers are counselors who also have experienced grief. As they support campers with therapeutic sessions and fun activities, the volunteers also may experience healing.
“At the end of the day, you see growth in the kids, the volunteers and even yourself,” longtime Camp Healing Heart volunteer Jared Ellison, who is superintendent of the Gifford Grade School District, said. “It’s nice to be a part of something like that.”
As he worked with campers and volunteers last year, Ellison processed his own grief, experiencing the loss of a loved one in 2024.
When children and volunteers leave camp and use the productive coping skills they learned, as opposed to more negative options, that can only be good for their families and communities.
Camp Healing Heart and Kourage Kids Camp are open to any grieving child or teen, not just Carle Health patients. Both camps are free, thanks to generous donations to Carle Health Center for Philanthropy. A significant gift from Rick and Jeanene Stephens of Champaign will fund Camp Healing Heart for five years. For more information, visit carle.org/give-change.
“I appreciate that Carle Health offers this for families because there is a need,” Ellison said.
Registration open for campers, volunteers
Kourage Kids Camp, which began 26 years ago, is 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Sept. 27 at Camp Manitoumi in Lowpoint. Volunteers are members of the Carle Hospice team and hospice volunteers, Carle Health Methodist Hospital team members, Bradley University Social Work students and community volunteers.
Kourage Kids Camp registration deadline for campers and volunteers is Sept. 19. To register, call (309) 672-5746 or email Jill.Prosser2@carle.com. For more information, click here as a camper or click here as a volunteer.
Camp Healing Heart, which began 20 years ago, is 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Oct. 4 at 4 – H Memorial Camp at Allerton Park, Monticello. Volunteers are members of the Carle Health team, community members and individuals from the University of Illinois and Parkland Community College.
To register for Camp Healing Heart, click here or here as a camper and click here as a volunteer or call (800) 239-3620. Registration deadlines are Sept. 26 for campers and Sept. 19 for volunteers.
Camps include therapeutic sessions, fun activities
In addition to therapeutic sessions, both Kourage Kids and Healing Heart include fun camp activities.
“Each age-appropriate activity is tied to a grief support objective,” Jill Prosser, MS, MSW, Carle Hospice Peoria Region volunteer/bereavement coordinator, said. The intent is fun with a purpose, so the youth can express their fear, anger and sadness in a safe environment with counselors and peers who also have experienced death of a loved one.
“There are few opportunities for kids to be in a situation where they are with other kids who also have experienced grief and loss,” Prosser said. “The campers learn how to cope with grief. They recognize they aren’t alone in their grief, which gives them hope that they can have a positive future despite their loss.”
“Hopefully, our camp will promote healing for them as they grieve,” Prosser said. “Camp also tells them it’s OK to have fun, even if you have lost a loved one.”
A member of the Camp Healing Heart planning committee, Andrea Beyke, MAEd, MATh, hospice chaplain, said, “Grief camps not only normalize the grieving process but also help break the isolation that children may experience by providing specialized support through various activities targeting different aspects of grief throughout the day. During the camp, children not only learn healthy coping skills but also remember and honor their loved ones.”
Most volunteers are trained counselors, and the research-based therapeutic sessions are structured so the youth feel safe in expressing themselves.
“Investing in programs like grief camps creates ripple effects, providing crucial support to grieving children and fostering an environment for them to thrive, ultimately contributing to healthier communities,” Camp Healing Heart planning committee member Aamina Iftikhar, MSW, LSW, hospice social worker, said. “The children will bring skills back to their classrooms and communities.”
Volunteer shares story of resilience
Frank Valente’s value as a long-time counselor at Kourage Kids Camp extends beyond his training and experience as a chaplain and grief counselor.
It’s also because of his personal journey.
“As I lead the groups, I fit right in because I grew up in a home with an absent father,” Valente said. “He was always working, then he died at an early age when I was in high school. I was angry and spent a lot of time by myself.
“I tell the campers that I share my story and give back so that what happened to me doesn’t happen to them. I don’t want them to get stuck.”
Valente was able to heal with the help of friends, his relationship with God and using what he learned in college when he majored in counseling.
“If I had a program like Kourage Kids Camp, I would have gotten through it sooner,” he said.
Categories: Community
Tags: camps, grief, Healing, hospice, kids, Kourage, philanthropy