A Round-up of Camps and Connections for All!

FUN, FRIENDS, MENTORS & MOMENTS

While Camp Erin and Camp Mariposa run all year long, summer is a big season for packing as much fun, community and connections as you can! Still every year, our
programs evolve and expand to include more campers and build greater, long-lasting impacts for campers involved.

CAMP ERIN – Welcoming Family Camps into Our Network

While Camp Erin has been traditionally youth-centered, providing guardians, parents, and caregivers with grief resources and education has been a pillar of our model. We’re excited to expand on this legacy and increase support for the whole family through Camp Erin family camps. Family camp programs launched during the COVID-19
pandemic and are now a valued addition to our program offerings. In 2023 alone, the Camp Erin network will host 19 in-person family camps, and Eluna’s Camp Erin Online will host two family workshops and monthly family drop-in support groups.

“It feels really good to feel loved. The staff and volunteers poured their hearts out to help walk with us through the grieving process. I will carry their love into
the future and continue to shine bright as I have seen them do. No one walks alone and Camp Erin has reminded me of that. Thank you for this.”

– June, adult
family member/camper

Family Camps

Family camps include a blend of peer support (adults with adults, kids with kids) and family activity time. Camp Erin family camps offer both caregivers and their youth
opportunities to build community, develop coping skills, experience peer support, and learn they are not alone. It’s common for grieving caregivers to prioritize the needs of their children over their own. When caregivers are able to attend to their own grief, they have more emotional space to care for family members and can model tools for coping with grief.

“It feels really good to feel loved. The staff and volunteers poured their heart out to help walk with us through the grieving process. I will carry their love into the future and continue to shine bright as I have seen them do. No one walks alone and Camp Erin has reminded me of that. Thank you for this.”
– Jody, adult family member/camper

At Camp Erin family camps, the wellbeing of the whole family system is nurtured through fun activities and space to grieve together as a family.

“My daughter LOVES Camp Erin. She doesn’t get support from her middle school friend-group and being around kids who have also experienced loss is helpful. I also love that you get to connect with families from all over and have fun sharing about your loved on.” – Ann, adult family member/camper CAMP MARIPOSA-

Welcoming Camp Mariposa Anderson County into the Mix

Camp Mariposa Anderson South Carolina held its first camps in August! The camp hosted kids ages 9-12 its first camp early in the month, then followed two weeks later with its first teen camp, where youth ages 12-17 took part. Set within the idyllic atmosphere of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the two sessions were filled with reflection, learning and most of all, community as campers and mentors enjoyed weekends of hiking, swimming and fun. With a large network of mentors and volunteers behind them and through the leadership of United Way Partner and Camp Mariposa Anderson Program Director, Shawn Coleman, youth created and began building bonds that will only grow over time as Camp Mariposa continues its experience throughout the year.

“Camp Mariposa has helped me get away from hard times and talk about problems with people I trust. Camp has helped me make new friends and learn to cope with things I need to cope with.” –Adam, Camper, aged 9

How Camp Mariposa Helps

Central to the Camp Mariposa program model is free weekend sessions (Friday evening through Sunday afternoon) that are held 6 times throughout the year, a program obligation that participants and their families commit to attending for one year and often stay longer. These additional educational, social and mentoring activities give kids the chance to get to know each other and their mentors better and more deeply than one camp session could allow.

Camp Mariposa Anderson Children & Teens

While a first camp session is always exciting, for Shawn, it signaled the culmination of nearly a year of dedicated work with Eluna and his boots-on-the-ground team at United Way Anderson County to bring it all together. Camp Mariposa network partners follow a proven set of protocols, a full program of activities and educational sessions designed by experts in addiction prevention and mentorship. For both youth and teen camps, the program protocol is the foundation of the weekend and has helped Eluna’s Camp Mariposa to have a profound impact:

In 2022, 90% of youth who came to Camp Mariposa had at least one parent who struggled with substance use disorder. Eluna’s award-winning addiction prevention and mentoring program has had the following impact:

• 95% of youth have not been involved in the juvenile justice system
• 93% of youth have not used any substance to get high
• 97% of youth report that there are adults they trust at Camp Mariposa
• 95% of youth have made friends at Camp Mariposa

These kinds of statistics showcase the strength of the program and its methodology. The most important aspect of camp life is how it affects real lives. Take for instance this story from Director Coleman:

“Many of the campers were experiencing being away from home for the first time. With our camp, a mother sent two boys from the same family, one 9 years old, one 12. At home, the boys fight like cats and dogs. But at camp, after a day of fun, the younger boy got the jitters, and got scared of his first night away. Mentors, sensing an opportunity to let the boy build his leadership skills, asked the older brother to come to the young brother’s cabin and reassure him that all would be ok. Taking care to help him feel supported.”

It’s a snapshot of one of the hundreds of moments for both camps that showcased the power of the program and the possibility it offers for children and teens impacted by the disease of addiction. In the words of one camper:

“I never want to leave”

To learn more about Camp Mariposa Anderson County check out the September 14 story in the Electric City News!