David, a senior in high school, described Experience Camps as his second family. It’s the place where he doesn’t feel alone, or feel different than anyone else. It’s the place where he feels safe to be exactly who he is.
2019 was David’s second year as a Leader In Training (LIT), and third year as a camper, and so he felt pretty comfortable talking openly about the loss of his Dad. As an LIT he enjoyed interacting with the younger campers, and took his part as a role model very seriously. He also appreciated the “more adult” talks that the counselors had with the LIT’s and the opportunities to do new activities.
As a parent, David’s mom is grateful to have Experience Camps in her corner. “The camp community helps me to worry less about how my son is going to be affected by the loss of his father as he becomes an adult. It helps me to not worry so much about having to have ‘all the right answers’ on our grief journey or about how to navigate it. Knowing that David is being given support and skills and encouragement to deal with his grief, is a tremendous relief for me as a parent.”
David and his family feel so confident that he is in good, capable hands when he is at camp. “I see the difference in him every time I come to pick him up at the end of camp. He has grown, in so many different ways, on so many different levels.”
David can’t wait to return to camp as a volunteer in 2021!
