Camp-Care-A-Lot

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In August of this year, a camp was born.  Sixty brothers and sisters, ages 6-17 who are in foster care, boarded a bus in Lansing and traveled to Mystic Lake Camp.  These brothers and sisters were like other brothers and sisters, with one exception, they live in different homes and are seldom able to see each other.

 

And thus began the special camp for our foster children, a first in Michigan, thanks to the hard work, perseverance and creativity of Board members, Rose Houk, Mary Chaliman, Melissa Threadgould and Don Allen.  The camp was held at Mystic Lake in Lake, Michigan, August 19-24 and was developed as an opportunity for these brothers and sisters, who have been separated, to have a special time together in a safe place and just do the things that brothers and sisters take for granted- play, talk, argue, make-up, have breakfast together, say good night and share memories.

 

Special activities, in addition to the regular camp programs, were planned throughout the week.  The highlights of the week’s activities were the talent show, which the kids produced on Wednesday night and the Memory Books that they created on Thursday.  Volunteers also presented yoga classes, art projects (special pillowcases which the kids took home and friendship pins), line dancing for the younger kids and life skills projects for the older kids. The program was diverse and included a visit from Adam Ballenger, MSU basketball player, who had his picture taken with each of the kids.

 

At the beginning of camp, there were arguments and tears because this sister or that brother didn’t want to stay with the group.  There were disagreements about sitting together for meals and which activities they would do together, a natural part of family life, but intensified for these kids.  By midweek, they were laughing and talking, playing together during the camp activities, hugging each other and the new friends they had made.  The week was not without its problems requiring occasional intervention.  The camp program director, Ricky Wright, and the camp counselors handled all these situations with tremendous grace and patience.

 

By Thursday night, many of the children said they didn’t want to leave . . . they wanted to stay.  One young girl told her counselor, “I want to stay for another 800 days.”  No one knows how she came up with that number, but Rose Houk, who spent the week at camp, understood what she meant.  “These kids want to be with their brothers and sisters, their families, “ said Houk. “ They know they can’t be right now, and the purpose of the camp was to give them some special time with their sisters and brothers that they could take home and keep in their hearts for 800 days and longer.  A 10-year-old camper summed it up best in her Memory Book: ‘Sisters and Brothers are like stars, you may not be able to see them, but you know they are always there’. I can’t wait to start planning next year’s camp.”

 

And the thirty volunteers who stayed the whole week or presented programs made the camp possible. Special thanks goes to: Margaret Albrecht, Donald Allen, Mindy Banks, Gail Cacciani, Mary Chaliman, Carol Fitzgerald, Janet Foreman, Milly Gilin, Kelly Gluszewski, Margaret Grost, Catherine Heyd, Julianna Kozara, Megan Long, Sam Mallory, Susan Mallory, Jane McCarthy, Meghan McCarthy, Wendy Odlum, Heather Ododa, Nancy Rostini, Michelle Skutt, Rebecca Slavin, Kathy Snyder, Melissa Threadgould, Maria Valdez, Virginia Waite, Stephanie Walton, Charlene Warner, Sue Ann Weiss, and Randall Wilson.  We are indebted to the entire community. Each camper knows that a whole lot of people CARE-A-LOT about them.

If you want to donate to Caring About Kids to help defray costs for the camp, please click here, fill out the form, and indicate that you want the money dedicated to Camp-Care-A-Lot.