LIFECHANGER

Camp changes lives.

About ten years ago, I was lucky enough to be part of a team of people that conceived and opened Experience Camps for grieving children. Back then it was called the Manitou Experience and we welcomed a mere 27 boys to a spectacular week of camp in Maine. Every camper had experienced the loss of a parent, sibling, or primary caregiver and every staff member (most of us at the time were Manitou alums) volunteered their time to create for these boys the most incredible week of their lives.

Fast forward to today, and that original program now hosts 150 boys every summer at Manitou along with another 350 boys and girls at programs in Pennsylvania, southern California, and Georgia. And, in 2018, a girls program begins in Maine right here at Somerset! I am so proud of the growth of this incredible organization and humbled that Somerset now gets to play a part in its story.

For the past nine summers I have continued to run the Manitou Experience program. This one week in Maine has become, without question, my favorite week of the year and one I deeply cherish. Having this time back in a camp setting was, for me, the affirmation I needed to change the direction of my life. It not only reminded me of my true passion but the courage of our grieving campers and the reality of life’s preciousness gave me the courage to make a change.

Like I said, CAMP CHANGES LIVES. That is what Kate and I believe with every fiber of our being. It doesn’t matter where you go, how much it costs, why you’re there, or how long you stay. What matters is the experiences, the people, and the release from daily life it provides. Childhood can be tough, especially those challenging teen years. Grieving kids feel more alone and isolated than their peers as they live with a trauma that most kids, and adults, simply do not understand. We are committed to changing and improving our campers’ lives every day of the summer. And even when the Somerset season ends, we are proud to keep our gates open for an organization like Experience Camps that is committed to doing the same.

To learn more about Experience Camps, or visit www.experience.camp.

-JH