April 7, 2026: Welcome to Camp Aloha

Life is about hellos and good-byes.  We say hello to new friends, experiences, and so much more.  But life is also about saying good-bye, including good-bye to the people we love when they die.  For children, this can be traumatic.  Thirty years ago, Hospice Savannah opened Camp Aloha to children aged 6-17 experiencing the loss of a loved one.  This year, Camp Aloha will happen on May 1-3 at the Ebenezer Retreat Center in Rincon, GA.

Today, Betsy Kammarud, Director of Bereavement Services, at Hospice's Full Circle Grief and Loss Center, joined Barbara for a discussion of grief and how children experience grief when they lose a loved one.  In addition to individual and group support for children and support for schools on grief and loss to identify children in need of support throughout the year, Camp Aloha offers a weekend overnight camp experience for grieving youth.  During the weekend, youth engage in diverse activities, including writing letters to their loved ones that are burned in a campfire as they watch their letters' ashes ascend into the night sky.  

Families of grieving children throughout Georgia can now apply to Camp Aloha through April 24.  Applications and more information can be found at https://www.hospicesavannah.org/CampAloha/.    Camp will be held this year from May 1-3; children can take a bus to the camp from the Full Circle Grief and Loss Center at 6000 Business Circle Drive, Savannah GA or be brought to the camp directly by their families.  You can call 912-303-9442 for more information about Camp Aloha and the Full Circle Grief and Loss Center.

Next week on Voices of Resistance, we will talk about May Day--its origins, why it is not now a day to celebrate labor in the USA, and how that might change as we move forward.