Clad in matching gray T-shirts, their sweet tooth recently satisfied by ice cream sundaes from Dairy Queen, 44 children ages 5 to 13 — along with counselors, staff and family members— gathered under towering trees on a perfect Friday afternoon to plant a red maple in memory of lost loved ones.
The ceremony closed out this year’s Camp Braveheart, which is dedicated to helping kids cope with the grief of a recent death.
The day camp, hosted Aug. 10-12 at Marmon Valley Farm in Zanesfield, offers a variety of activities from archery and horseback riding to making calm-down bottles for deep-breathing exercises. Many of the activities are specifically designed with the goal of teaching coping skills.
According to Lauryn Schlinglof, who’s directed the camp the last four years, they plan games and crafts related to loss, which often prompt the campers to talk about their grief with a freedom they might not have felt before.
“We try to normalize feelings of grief,” Lauryn, an OSU graduate student and development manager at Central Community House in Columbus, said. “A lot of times kids feel really different when dealing with loss.”
Lauryn’s mom, Karen Schlinglof, a director at Universal Home Health (Bellefontaine) and a hospice nurse, added, “It gives them an opportunity to open up. We hear kids sharing their similar experiences with each other.”
Both women stressed how much they appreciate the way the community supports the camp. From the aforementioned DQ sundaes to pizza donated by Vicario’s to United Way of Logan County for providing most of the funding, they are grateful for all of the people and organizations that make Camp Braveheart possible.
“And I can’t say enough about Marmon Valley Farm,” Karen said. “They’re just good at working with kids and meeting them where they are. When something doesn’t work out, they jump in where needed with another option, like square dancing.”
Since Lauryn was unable to attend the tree-planting ceremony, Karen read her daughter’s closing thoughts: “We hope very much that every camper here understands they are never alone, their grief does not make them different, and they have made some friends that will last a lifetime.
“We are gathered today to honor the lives of those we have lost, understanding that although they are no longer here with us, the mark they left on our lives remains.”
For more information, including grief resources for children and teens, visit Universal’s website at uhcinc.org/camp.