Children touch our lives so simply, yet amazingly, through a smile, a laugh, a hug. We admire their playful spirit as they laugh with friends, swing on the monkey bars, and even color outside of the lines. It’s often easy to overlook the pain that some children experience through the loss of a loved one.
Sometimes, a child’s laughter and playfulness masks an inner pain. We recognize that children grieve in many different ways. They want support from their peers and to know that there are others with similar challenges. For these reasons, we created Katherine’s Camp, a safe, caring environment where children can express their feelings and connect with others going through similar experiences.
The camp was named in memory of Katherine Carr Teachey who was diagnosed with leukemia and passed away in January 2000 at the age of four. Katherine is survived by her parents, Mary Fran and Michael, and her sisters, Caroline and Michaela.
Few programs existed that focus on children’s needs as they grieve. To meet this need, Katherine's Camp was started in the Spring of 2006 as a semi-annual camp.
Our next Katherine's Camp is November 4-6, 2011 at White Oak Conference Center in Winnsboro, SC (right outside Columbia). If you know of a child (ages 5-18) who has suffered a loss in the past two years, please contact HPCF to request information on Katherine's Camp. You can also visit Katherine's Camp on Facebook
Below is a short video taken at our Fall 2009 Katherine's Camp at Carowinds as well as the Fall 2011 Camp at White Oak Conference Center. Also below are photo galleries from the Fall 2010 Camp and Spring 2011 camps!
