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Community Corner

Free Camp Offered for Grieving Kids

Camp Clover is still accepting registrations for children who have lost a loved one.

Camp Clover, a free, week long summer bereavement day camp, held in partnership with the JCC Deeny Riback, a JCC Metrowest Camp, located in Flanders, is designed to help children and teens ages 7-15 deal with the loss of someone close to them.

The camp will run from August 22-29. Free lunch will be provided. With a maximum of 50 spots, the camp has already recruited 20 children and hopes to have at least 35 by the time camp begins.

Camp Clover is still looking for participants and free transportation will be provided for children who reside in Essex, Somerset, Union and Morris counties. 

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"Any child is welcome to attend the camp," said Marcie Colon, the manager of the social service department of Atlantic Home Care and Hospice as well as the camp's director. "Free transportation is only available in those areas, but if a parent is willing to take their child up to the camp or to the bus stop we will certainly consider having them."

The registration process is simple. Families are asked to fill out an application and once that application is received, they are interviewed by phone.

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"We look at the whole picture," said Colon. "The phone interview is a time for the families to get to know us and for us to get to know the families. We want to make sure that it is the appropriate time for the child to participate. Every child is different."

Colon added that registration was continuing until all of the spots were full and that placement was on a first come, first serve basis.

"The tentative schedule for camp right now is 9:00 a.m-3:15p.m. every day, but we won't know for sure until we know the bus schedules," Colon said. "Camp actually starts before the children get to the camp site. There will be supervised games and activities on the bus as well."

Camp Clover is staffed by 25-30 people, all volunteers. One counselor will be assigned to every two children and those children will be assigned to a group. Each group has daily schedules of activities they must follow while at camp.

"Camp Clover offers traditional summer camp programs like swimming, sports and arts and crafts combined with educational and therapeutic activities designed to assistant children in their grieving process," said Colon.

The children will be creating memory boxes as well as participating in daily sharing circles, where the children will be able to talk about their feelings and own awareness of death, as well as find out where they can go if they need someone to talk to. In addition, "Mr. Fred" will be making slime and ice cream and there will be a "Family Night" on the Thursday night of camp for any siblings or other family members who want to attend.

"You can't take a seven year old and say we want to talk about this, you have to do it through learning," said Colon.

In addition to volunteers, two grief counselors, at least one nurse, and an EMT will be on site at all times.

Diana Ackerman, the director of Camp Deeny Riback, said she is excited and thrilled to be partnering with Atlantic Healthcare and Hospice on this project.

"I am very excited to be doing something for our community and our youth, especially youth who are going through such devestation," she said. "Doing whatever we need to do for our children is important and I am very proud of all our partnerships and collaborations with different organizations. We must do whatever we need to do on behalf of our children, it is part of our responsibility."

Allison Cole, a pre-school teacher, who will be volunteering at Camp Clover, is also enthusiastic about the program.

"I got involved with Camp Clover because my mother is the camp director and before this, I had been an adminstator and counselor at Deeny Riback for seven years. As a teacher, I have seen children who go through loss and recognize that they are sometimes forgotten because they can't express how they are feeling with words."

Cole adds that Camp Clover is a place where children and families can be part of a community and find a place where they belong.

"It's a place where people can find support when they need it, and it isn't just about the kids, it is for the families also," she said. "Families grieve as a whole and they can find kindreds in other families."

For more information on Camp Clover or to refer a child call (973) 379-8440 ext. 8596.

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