Hal Bruno Camp for Children of Fallen Firefighters – ages 7-17
The 5th annual Comfort Zone Camp in Memory of Hal Bruno for Children of Fallen Firefighters was held on July 8 – 10 at Lions Camp at Teresita Pines in Valyermo, CA. The camp was located in the beautiful Angeles National Forest just outside of Wrightwood. Thirty three campers, each paired with a “Big Buddy” volunteer, blended wonderfully from the start. A total of fifty four volunteers assisted with camp. Campers enjoyed the usual camp activities—swimming, games, archery, etc. Each day campers shared their experience regarding the death of their firefighter in Healing Circles and participated in a Confidence Course where they learned skills to cope with their grief. A bonfire on Saturday night provided campers with an opportunity to remember and honor their special firefighters. A Memorial Service concluded camp on Sunday. The Camper and Big Buddy friendships created will extend well beyond camp!
Hal Bruno Camp for Children of Fallen Firefighters – Ages 4-6
The Hal Bruno Camp for Children of Fallen Firefighters was held at the CoCo Key Hotel & Water Resort, in Orlando, FL, August 18-21. Camp began with a “meet and greet” breakfast, where four little campers who attended camp last year remembered each other! They bonded immediately and their friendships continued to grow throughout camp. Using games, books, art and other activities to help express their feelings, they learned grief processing and coping skills. Moms attended sessions that provided opportunities to share their struggles, triumphs of living life without their partner and learning skills on parenting without guilt. All family members attended the final session at camp, each family created a family mandala together that represented all things that make their family so special. Camp ended with a balloon release in memory of the campers’ firefighters.
Colorado Outward Bound School
The 2nd annual Colorado Outward Bound School partnership program for young adults ages 18-25 was held on August 8-14 in Leadville, CO. Seven young adults participated in this year’s program. Program participants spent seven days in the Colorado Rockies Alpines. During this transformational seven-day experience, participants explored powerful reflection activities and developed team building skills woven into the context of the traditional Outward Bound adventure curriculum – consisting of mountain climbing, high angle rope work, rappelling down granite cliffs, navigating through forests and alpine meadows while hiking, backpacking, rock climbing and more.
“The trip was fun, challenging, meaningful, healing, and a wonderful opportunity to meet friends and grow together in the amazing Colorado wilderness. We did many activities around remembering those we lost and how we are dealing with it.”
