BIG BAY — This August will be the fourth year that a summer camp will be available for kids and teenagers to get help during grief and mourning after the loss of a loved one.

Camp Star is not a therapy camp, rather a place where kids from ages eight to sixteen can be the center of attention instead of grief. Each camper is paired with a buddy between the ages of eighteen and twenty five that does all camp activities with the camper to give them one on one attention at all times.

“They come in and they’re shy. By Friday night they’re off communicating with each other, and by Saturday that bond is there. On Sunday, it’s hard for them to part,” said Jean Hetrick, the Youth Board Secretary.

For that reason, there is a reunion later in the fall for the campers and their buddies. The reunion gives the campers a chance to talk about how they are applying what they learned at school to their day–to–day lives.

“Chances are that they’re the only one in their classroom and maybe even the only one in their school who has suffered this kind of a loss,” added Hetrick.

To find a link to apply as a camper or volunteer, follow this link