News Release

Contact: Heather Kube
Public Relations Director
(563) 244-3519

Treasure Chest Memory Camp

The grief of children is often overlooked in part because they are so resilient. As a result parents may take on a more protective role to shield children from sad thoughts and their own grief, inadvertently encouraging the child to withhold normal grief expression. In an ongoing effort to assist families in understanding and accepting grief emotions Mercy Hospice held a bereavement day camp specifically for children who had lost a loved one. Referrals came from word of mouth, school counselors and newspaper articles. One family heard about it when they received a newspaper clipping in with their sympathy card.

Seventeen participants, ages nine to seventeen, attended the activities at Grace Lutheran Church Camp in DeWitt on November 7th. After a challenging memory-testing activity designed to introduce everyone, a discussion was begun about death and the different ways people die. This led into talk about emotions, specifically sadness and the various ways it is expressed. They compared their own grief responses with those of significant adults. The group then went for a nature walk to hunt for items to be incorporated into a 'branch weaving' scrapbook. Following the sharing of these items back at the retreat center an activity was introduced to strengthen healthy memories. Each person had two lists to write, one "I Know This" and the other 'I Will Find Out'. In the beginning prepared questions such as loved one's favorite color, middle name, place of birth, number of siblings were answered. Each child then spontaneously added their own information that gave substance and a picture to their memories. These were shared with the group and memories 'came alive'. A wooden treasure chest was then presented to each participant in which to keep many of the items they had made. A reporter from Channel 4 showed up at this time and interviewed one of the girls for the local news program.

The group then split up; some helped in the kitchen and others played outside. At the end of the day the families arrived to share the spaghetti dinner with the children. Certificates of Participation were presented and another Treasure Chest Camp had ended. Later in the week we were told that one of the boys had taken his Treasure Chest to his principal who had then shared it with the class.

Eve M. Palm, Mercy Hospice Bereavement Coordinator, was responsible for program coordination, grief support and publicity. Jeannie McKenzie, Mercy Junior Volunteer Coordinator, was the activities director and 'cook-in-charge'. Jean Morgan, Mercy R.N. and Roy Goddard, Mercy volunteer were our volunteers. George West, husband of a former patient of Mercy Hospice, made the treasure chests.