Trails of Hope Camp
Our October 3rd, 2009 camp was a huge success, but would not have been possible without the generous support from both the corporate and personal donations we received. We thank you and the kids thank you! Here is a list of our donors...if you see any of these folks around...tell them thanks too!
2009 Trails of Hope Camp Donations
Business Donations
Arni’s Restaurant
Caring Paws
Dippin Dots
United Methodist Church (Brown Street)
Eagle Creek Publications
Evangelical Covenant Church
Fellure Foods
First United Methodist Church
Grace United Methodist Church (Vacation Bible School)
Hippensteel Funeral Service and Crematory
Integrated Information Systems
Lafayette Breakfast Optimists
Lafayette Noon Optimists
Northridge Middle School (Student Council)
O’Malley Insurance Agency
Payless Supermarket (West Lafayette & Greenbush St.)
Serenity Hospice
St. Elizabeth Hospice
St. James Lutheran Church (Sewing Circle)
Stan’s Professional Plumbing Service
Tipmont REMC
Wilderness Directions
Personal Donations
Carmen Balfour
Tammy Benner
Gary & Linda Bennett
Jane Bisher
Kathryn Brewer
Robert & Ruth Ann Brown
Camellia Bushman
Charles & Rosemary Caldwell
Joe Canaday
Kathleen Carmosin
J.J. Dickensheets
Paul & Lynne DiFabio
SeAndra Donaldson
Shirl Donaldson
Paul Dunbar
Carl & Carla Ellis
Dore & Cecelia Evans
David & Erin Fassnacht
Robert & Theresa Fischer
Michael & Penny Glotzbach
Joan Gramman
David & Andrea Graves
Vicki Green
Corey & Yvonne Hardebeck
John & Hannah Hassell
Theresa Hasser
Terry Hayden
Larry & Jane Horstman
James & Melinda Hoffman
Jeana Jenkins
Mark Jordan
Monica Keyes
John & Rebecca Keys
Julia Kuckartz
Agnes Maupin
David & Anita McGaughey
Lawrence McKinney
Vicki Mann
Bobbi Messman
Tom & Ruth Mobley
Thomas O’Malley
Rebecca Peters
Julie Pope
Leonard Puetz
Joanna Primeau
Kristin Reeves
Ronning Family Musiciana
Jerry Shafer
Carol Sikler
Tammy Smith
Stephanie Sondgeroth
Meghana Suchak
Sara Tedrick
Charles & Celeste Tyner
Vicki Van Kirk
Randy & Clarissa Van Vickle
Marcy Wastl
Jane Woods
The death of a loved one can be very painful. It can be especially difficult for children when they don’t understand death and how to cope with the feelings of loss. Children need and deserve special support as they grieve.
In response to this need, Trails of Hope Camp has been founded. This annual camp provides an environment for children to share their feelings of loss with other children and caring adults. Campers learn their feelings are normal, and, like the seasons, persons in grief change and grow. Trails of Hope Camp is paid for entirely by community donations. CAMPERS ATTEND FREE OF CHARGE.
Trails of Hope Camp is an annual weekend camp experience for grieving children and teens in a safe, professionally structured environment to help facilitate a healthy adaption to loss. Trails of Hope Camp is held at Camp Tecumseh in Brookston , Indiana. This is a beautiful setting that offers many amenities to make this camping experience fun as well as a growing and healing experience for the children.
Campers are assigned to groups with children and teens of similar ages and are supervised by adult "buddies" as they participate in camp activities:
- Sharing sessions
- Arts and Crafts
- Campfire and Songs
- Recreational Activities
- Quiet Time for Reflecting and Writing in Journals
- Closing Memorial Service
To Register a Child
If you know a child age 7 to 17 who would benefit from attending Trails of Hope Camp, please call 765-742-7302. Camp directors screen potential campers, assuring that their attendance is appropriate. The camper’s parent/guardians must provide a bereavement history, health history, personal information, and consent forms to camp directors. The camp is held one weekend each year. Registration is limited.
To Volunteer or Provide Financial Support
We need your time and talents. This camp works with the help of many individuals from registration, to crafts, to entertainment, to facilitators, and we also need your financial support. This camp is free to campers, but we must pay for all goods, lodging, and non-volunteer services. If you would like to volunteer or make a tax deductible contribution, please contact us at 765-742-7302.
Trails of Hope Camp
We have learned in the last few years how very important it is that children be allowed to grieve. When someone they love is absent forever from their lives, it is our privilege to be a part of their grief, to support them, and to serve as gentle teachers. Children, when given loving support, can handle grief as well as, if not better than, adults. Working with children, whose honesty is unquestionable, whose feelings are so open, is delightful and extremely rewarding. It is our privilege to be a founding sponsor, and we look forward to sharing that privilege with others in our community who are dedicated to serving children.