Welcome 2011 and the Camp Erin Season!

2011 is sure to be an exciting year for The Moyer Foundation and Camp Erin! We are looking forward to the new Camp Erin season and teaching grieving kids and teens across the country learn to cope and heal. Camp Erin continues to be the largest network of bereavement camps and is looking to serve over 2000 kids and teens in 2011. Camp sessions begin in April and continue through September. Be sure to visit the “Find Your Camp” section of The Moyer Foundation website to find camp dates and locations near you!

And from everyone here at The Moyer Foundation...Happy New Year!!!

Surviving the Holidays & Tips for Moving Forward

The holiday season is a difficult time for those who have experienced the loss of a loved one and are struggling to move forward. For kids and teens, this struggle can be even greater with the busy season approaching. Here are a few tips for making this time of year manageable and helpful for those experiencing grief:

-Prepare: Sit down with your friends and family and develop a holiday plan. This could include anything from books you want to read or fun events you would like to attend. As long as you have goals for the coming weeks, it will be easier to stick to them when you are coping with emotions.

-Socialize: Being isolated can often make grief worse. Go out and find new things to do with friends and family. Try to search for holiday events that are happening in your city. This could be anything from ice skating to a craft fair. Surrounding yourself with loved ones can alleviate holiday anxiety.

-Keep Moving: Take care of your physical well-being. Make sure to combat the holiday diet with healthy foods that will give you energy and strength. Kids and teens should also have regular exercise to reduce stress and stay active.


-Light: Gloomy winter weather can really impact stress levels in kids and teens during the holidays. Get out and get some sunshine. If the weather does not permit this, check out light boxes at local retailers and counseling centers.

-Reach Out: Volunteering is a great way for grieving kids and teens to see how they can give back. Seeing the impact that volunteering has on others can reduce stress and holiday anxiety.

For more information on holiday grief and resources for coping, visit GriefShare.

Don't Miss The Moyer Foundation on NBC!

2010 Camp Erin Season Comes to a Close!

The 2010 Camp Erin season has concluded and The Moyer Foundation is proud to congratulate all the Camp Erin partner agencies, staff and volunteers that made this year such a great success! With 35 camps in 23 states, Camp Erin welcomes nearly 2,500 grieving children and teens from across the country as Camp Erin alumni!

The Moyer Foundations thanks the many volunteers, staff, and bereavement experts who made the 2010 camp season truly remarkable. We are proud to have so many individuals dedicated to making Camp Erin a safe place for grieving children and teens to bond with their peers going through a similar life circumstance, learn skills and tools for coping with death in their life and most importantly, learn that it’s ok to have fun again.

Plans for the 2011 season are well underway! With new camps being created across the country, The Moyer Foundations is excited to see the success that this new camp season will bring. Stay tuned for more information on camp dates and new locations!

Back to School - Helpful Tips for the Grieving Student

Teachers and students of all ages are back in school and catching up from the fun summer months. With new schedules in full swing, it can be even more difficult for a grieving student to cope with his or her feelings while managing their studies. Anyone close to a grieving student can use these eight tips to make the transition back to school easier:

1.) Allow a grieving student to express how they feel in his or her own words.

2.) Be patient and give them time to adjust to their new schedule and schoolwork.

3.) Be honest with the grieving student. Knowing the truth helps them to understand and heal.

4.) Encourage the student to ask questions about the loss. Helping them to understand death will allow them to make correct interpretations.

5.) Grieving is hard work and every person expresses grief differently. Support your student regardless of how they may express their grief.

6.) Encourage your student to be open about what he or she needs from you. Let them know that they can always reach out to you for support.

7.) Connect them to resources outside the classroom. This could be a school psychologist or librarian. Allowing a student to leave the classroom when necessary will help when he or she needs personal space.

8.) Make sure to take time for you to grieve. The loss of someone close to your student may be affecting you as well. The more you let yourself heal, the better you will be at understanding your student’s grief.

Knowing how to help a grieving student can make the transition back to school easier and more comfortable for everyone. For more on these tips, visit  Help Your Student Deal with Grief and Loss.

Healing through Creativity

Guest blog by Kerri Schlottman, Director of External Relations, Alliance for Young Artists & Writer

Every year the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers is fortunate to witness the incredible talent of creative teens from across the country who submit their work to the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. The words we read and the artwork we view tell a multitude of stories about the experiences of teenagers from all walks of life. On September 15 we will once again open registration for students in grades 7 through 12 to submit their work in 30 categories of art and writing. We know that we’ll see a breadth of imagination and a depth of emotion. And now, thanks to a sponsorship by the New York Life Foundation, we will also be able to encourage students who are dealing with issues of loss and bereavement by offering six very special scholarships to select award winners.

The issue of loss is a common theme in the Scholastic Awards as teens use their creativity to deal with the bereavement process. 2009 Scholastic Award winner Chelsey Shannon used her creative writing skills to help deal with the untimely death of her father, comedian Blair Shannon. Chelsey, who also lost her mother at age 6, says of her father’s death, “Right after I learned he died, all I could do was write letters to him, just so I’d have some sort of connection.” Chelsey was one of more than a thousand teens honored at Carnegie Hall by the Alliance. She has since published a book and continues to receive accolades for her writing.

There are many others like Chelsey out there, and we are grateful to the New York Life Foundation for providing us the opportunity to encourage them to use their artistic and literary talents to help them heal. Please spread the word by encouraging every teen you know in grades 7 through 12 to submit works of art and writing that deal with loss and bereavement to the 2011 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Six students will be selected to earn $1,000 scholarships. For more information, visit http://www.artandwriting.org/.

For specific information on the New York Life Award:

www.artandwriting.org/Awards/categories

http://www.artandwriting.org/ORGPrograms/Show/10

Camp Erin feature from ESPN E60!

Check out this incredible feature on Camp Erin from ESPN E60! Thank you ESPN for sharing this amazing story!

New Video from Camp Erin Palm Springs!

Check out this new video highlighting a few of the powerful moments at Camp Erin Palm Springs! Thank you to everyone who made the camp such a success!

Good Luck Camp Erin Chicago/Northern Illinois, Hawaii and Milwaukee!

Best of luck to the Camp Erin Chicago/Northern Illinois, Hawaii and Milwaukee teams as they all get ready for camp this upcoming weekend! With over 250 campers and volunteers all of us at The Moyer Foundation are excited for the smiles, friendships and support that will come from this weekend. We are thinking of you and all the grieving children whose lives you are about to touch!

GOOD LUCK!

10

Here are 10 ways to honor your father this Father's Day, and turn a scary day into a joyous occasion of love and remembrance!

 1. Take a special card to his grave - or to where his ashes were buried or scattered

 2. Tie your Father’s Day card or a special message to a helium balloon and let it soar into the sky

 3. Blow some bubbles and send him your love on the wind

 4. Plant some bulbs or a shrub in a place that holds special memories of your Dad - what was his favorite color?

 5. Have his favorite meal - fish and chips? roast dinner ?

 6. Listen to his favorite music - {however awful his taste was!!}

 7. Begin to make a memory box in which to keep things that remind you of him - photos, shells, holiday snaps, glasses, silly tie

 8. Make or buy a new frame for your favorite photograph of him - what was he doing?

 9. Ask your Grandma or Grandad for their memories of Dad as a little boy, and/or your mom for her memories of when she and Dad met

10. Write him a letter or a poem or a song. Maybe you could start with something like ‘If you came back for just five minutes, I’d tell you......’

Download the list at Winston's Wish

Good Luck to Camp Erin Toronto!

Best of luck to the team at Camp Erin Toronto as they head to camp for the weekend! More than 70 campers and nearly 50 community volunteers are all set for a weekend of making new friends, learning new ways to cope with death in their lives and most importantly.... FUN!!!

We are thinking of you!

Music therapy as a healing device

Ever consider music therapy as a way for your child to cope? Melina Roberts wrote about her experience as a music therapy instructor for bereaved children, and the great benefit it brings.

She noticed that children used music therapy sessions for:

• diversion and fun – to escape the grief that had impacted their lives and their homes
• self expression – to explore and express what thoughts and feelings had been evoked by grief
• an opportunity to ask questions – particularly questions about grief that the children couldn’t ask of their Mom or Dad for fear of making them cry
• an opportunity to remember their loved one – to express memories about their deceased loved ones
• an opportunity to speak about being excluded from bereavement activities – for example, when two children, a brother and sister, were not allowed to attend their grandmother’s funeral
• an opportunity to explore and express spiritual beliefs – opportunities to make music, sing and draw about what happens to loved ones after they die
• an opportunity to talk about the impact of grief – opportunities to highlight the past and the present and how grief had caused changes in their lives.

TMF's GIG Network is launching June 3rd!

GIG Network: GET INTO GIVING

A new way to learn about philanthropy and support The Moyer Foundation's Camp Erin - bereavement camps for children and teens

The Moyer Foundation will host a variety of networking events in 2010 at some of Seattle’s premier hot spots - providing opportunities to network, exchange ideas, and share common interests with your peers in a fun environment. Plus- you’ll hear the latest updates on Camp Erin and get the inside scoop on upcoming events and opportunities where you can get involved and give back -- in ways that work for YOU and your busy lifestyle.

Find out more about GIG!

UPCOMING GIG EVENTS:
First GIG HAPPY HOUR THURSDAY JUNE 3rd
ENJOY FREE APPETIZERS & GREAT DRINK SPECIALS
Meet new people and learn more about GIG and Camp Erin
There is no charge to attend
 TINI BIGS Martini Bar!
100 Denny Way · Seattle (lower Queen Anne)
4:00 -7:00pm
Show up or RSVP in advance to rachel@moyerfoundation.org

Cool website just for bereaved kids!

Winston's Wish is an excellent website resource for all aspects of bereavement for adults and children. 

They also have a special webpage just for bereaved kids! Here they can be apart of a community of other kids experiencing loss, and watch dvd's, ask questions, express their feelings, and so much more.

Check it out!

For YOUnG pEOPLE!

A guide to supporting young people through bereavement

Cruse Bereavement Care offers information for parents, caretakers, teachers, and military families facing all aspects of bereavement. Loss from a child's perspective, funeral homes, and activities are just some of the topics discussed on this website to help you address key concerns.

Supporting Children and Young People

more sources