More Information
9th Annual Camp Forget-Me-Not
Friday, June 4, 2010
6:00-8:30 pm
Ele's Place, 1145 West Oakland, Lansing
and
Saturday, June 5, 2010
8:00 am - 9:00 pm
Storer YMCA Camp, Jackson
Camp Forget-Me-Not is a day camp for children in grades 1-7 who have experienced the death of a family member or other loved one. This year's theme is "Seasons."
The camp provides grieving children with:
- The opportunity to share their feelings and memories with other children who are coping with similar loss.
- Creative educational activities to help children understand their feelings of grief and loss.
- The chance to remember their loved ones and honor their expressions of grief.
- A fun week-end with other children who understand, so they do not feel alone in their grief.
The camp is staffed by professionals and trained volunteers who provide guidance through support groups, creative learning, music therapy, and camp activities such as games, crafts, and other nature and recreational activities. In the support groups a variety of tools are used to help children work through their feelings of grief and have them validated in a safe, secure setting by staff who have experience with bereavement issues. Click here to review the draft schedule of events.
Children must be pre-registered to attend Camp Forget-Me-Not. Please register by May 22. Enrollment is strictly limited to 60 children and will be filled on a first-come, first served basis. Click here to register online or Click here and print a PDF of the Registration Form to complete and submit by mail.
The registration fee is $10 and payment can be made via paypal on the online Registration Form, or include a check for $10 with your printed Registration Form.
The registration fee includes snacks on the evening of June 4, lunch and dinner on June 5, bus transportation to and from Storer YMCA Camp on June 5, and all supplies. Campers will also receive a T-shirt and backpack.
On Friday, June 4 parents are responsible for transporting their children to and from Ele's Place (1145 West Oakland, Lansing, MI 48915) for the 6:00-8:30 session. This session will orient parents and children to the camp, introduce the campers to each other through fun activities, and provide information to parents/guardians about children, grief and loss.
On Saturday, June 5 campers will be transported to Storer YMCA Camp in Jackson for a full-day of activities, as described above, as well as a closing ceremony. Parents are responsible for transporting their children to Ele's Place by 8:00 am. Transportation will be provided to the Storer YMCA Camp and buses will be leave Ele's Place promptly at 8:15 am. It will be the responsibility of parents to transport their children to Storer YMCA Camp if their children miss the bus. Return transportation will also be provided from Storer YMCA Camp to Ele's Place, with an anticipated arrival time of approximately 9:00 pm. Click here to view the Storer YMCA Camp.
Last year approximately 40 children attended Camp Forget-Me-Not. Participants and parents alike evaluated the camp highly. Click here to read some of the comments that the children and the volunteers and staff, provided in their written evaluations.
Again this year, Camp Forget-Me-Not is offered through the collaborative efforts of Michigan’s three non-profit hospices (McLaren Visiting Nurse and Hospice, Hospice of Lansing, and Sparrow Hospice Services), and Ele’s Place, a healing center for grieving children. These four charitable organizations are dedicated to serving their community by working together to provide Camp Forget-Me-Not in support of grieving children. The mission of Camp Forget-Me-Not is to improve the emotional health and well-being of grieving children in mid-Michigan.