Camp Bridges 2024: Cold Toes and Warm Hearts
November 21st, 2024, is Children’s Grief Awareness Day, a day dedicated to helping people learn about the ways they can support a grieving child. In Canada, over 757,000 children will experience the death of someone in their extended family, with 1 in 14 experiencing the death of a parent or sibling. In recognition of Children’s Grief Awareness Day, the Prairie Mountain Health Palliative Care team would like to share information about our children’s grief program, Camp Bridges.
Camp Bridges 2024 began with a surprise late May snowstorm, but that didn’t stop 32 children and youth from attending grief camp. Despite the chilly weather, Campers enjoyed the whole camp experience, including a campfire with smores, staying up late into the night, giggling, and doing fun activities like ziplining and horseback riding. While their toes were cold, their hearts were warmed with the knowledge that they were not alone in their experience of the death of someone that they love.
Camp Bridges is a children’s bereavement camp organized by the Palliative Care Program at Prairie Mountain Health. It is open to any child in Manitoba, aged 7-15 years old, who is grieving the death of someone significant in their life. Camp Bridges provides a safe environment where campers can interact and share their feelings with other children in similar circumstances. While the camp is not designed to provide grief therapy, Campers learn to understand their grief as a normal experience, recognize they are not alone and have the chance to “just be a kid again.”
In 2024, Camp Bridges was hosted at Circle Square Ranch, a beautiful Western-inspired campground with friendly animals and many fun activities. Upon arrival, Campers were welcomed by smiling volunteers. They had the opportunity to choose from an assortment of donated comfort items, including a hand-made blanket/stuffy from Project Linus, a knitted hug scarf from Palliative Manitoba and a bag of camping goodies from Shine Through The Rain Foundation. Campers said goodbye to parents and caregivers, who were sent home with a resource package to help them understand and support their child’s grief.
After checking in, Campers head to their cabins to unpack and get to know their cabin mates. It is astonishing how quickly the children form bonds with each other by sharing their names and why they came to this special camp. Campers are invited to create a picture frame and display a photo of their person on the Table of Memories. This activity allows children to talk about the person who died, share favourite memories and form connections with other grieving children. As they look upon the table, filled with photos of parents, siblings, grandparents, friends and other important people, they know they are not alone in the experience of losing someone special.
Camp Bridges offers everything expected from a summer camp, including ziplining, archery, mess hall meals, horseback riding, outdoor games and lots of laughter and fun. Thankfully, the weather warmed up, and the Campers could enjoy all the different activities offered. Sprinkled in alongside are memorial activities that teach children about grief, allow them to acknowledge their loss and find support in one another and camp volunteers.
Memorial activities include creating a memory box, writing on HOPE stones and sewing a pillow made from their loved one’s clothing. As an annual Camp Bridges tradition, a memorial service is held where children can light a candle for their special person in a space of shared reflection, empathy and support. These activities help children maintain a continued connection with the person who died and let them know that death ‘ends life, but not love.’
Campers had the opportunity to participate in sessions to help them with grief, which included dog therapy, movement and breathwork exercises, and take-home coping skills stations. These activities help children connect to their emotions and express them through creative outlets, physical movement and improved grief literacy skills. Children learn that grief is a natural and normal response to loss and that expressing their feelings can help.
Finally, it was time to close out Camp Bridges with a butterfly release ceremony. The sun shone brightly as the Campers and their families gathered in a large circle to release Monarch butterflies. In that moment of watching the butterflies take flight, one could grasp the profound impact Camp Bridges had on these young grievers and their families.
Camp Bridges is facilitated by a dedicated group of volunteers who give their time, energy and heart to create a warm, fun-filled atmosphere. Fourteen cabin leaders ensure Campers attend scheduled activities and provide care and guidance throughout the weekend. A second crew of ten volunteers help children sew memory pillows, a treasured keepsake that will comfort them for years to come. Volunteers are trained in recognizing and supporting the unique ways that children grieve. Finally, Camp Coordinators made up of staff from PMH Palliative Care, provide camp oversight and nursing duties for the weekend. If you are interested in volunteering with Camp Bridges 2024, please contact Carla Mitchell at 204-578-2310 or [email protected].
Camp Bridges is thankful to all the special people who make this camp possible! Due to the generous donations received, we can offer Camp Bridges free of charge for 40 campers each year. In 2024, the number of applications received exceeded the available spots, highlighting the continued need for children’s bereavement support services. We are grateful to the individuals, organizations, community service groups and palliative care volunteer committees who contributed financially. If you want to donate to Camp Bridges, please contact Melissa Peters at 204-578-2340 or [email protected]. Income tax receipts are issued for donations.
To learn more about Camp Bridges or to find additional resources to support grieving children, visit our website. Please note: Camp Bridges 2025 applications will be available in January 2025.