This summer, two local girls donated their time and energy to the Moorestown Visiting Nurses and Hospice’s Camp Firefly, a camp for grieving children which took place from Aug. 23 to 25.
Joy Dickson, 12, a seventh-grade student at Rosa International Middle School in Cherry Hill, contributed arts and crafts supplies, while Elizabeth “Beth Anne” DiFrancesco, a 14-year-old from Blue Bell, Pa., created and donated over 50 comfort pillows to the camp, held at Camp Ockanickon in Medford.
Camp Firefly, which is one of Moorestown Visiting Nurses and Hospice’s bereavement services, also holds support groups for grieving parents, children and spouses.
According to Kim Plasket, director of public communications at the Moorestown hospice, members of the community are encouraged to make recommendations of grieving children who may benefit from the camp. After filling out an extensive application, the children are selected.
“The children are eligible regardless of their families’ income, and the camp is completely supported from community donations,” said Plasket of Camp Firefly, which combines traditional camp experiences with bereavement activities.
For example, “the children make boats, and then at a memorial service talk about the person they lost as a way to let go,” Plasket said. “It’s a chance to spend time with other children with similar experiences so they don’t feel so alone.”
Last year, Joy’s father, Jim, was in a severe car accident. Following the accident, he received care from Moorestown Visiting Nurses and Hospice that allowed him to make a full recovery.
One day, Joy read about Camp Firefly’s services in a pamphlet brought home by one of the hospice’s nurses. That information became the springboard for Joy to develop her project.
“It felt really great for those people to help a member of our family, so we wanted to give back,” she said.
As she’s often found drawing with colored pencils, Joy decided to share her love for art and began to create and hang posters in the hallways of her elementary school.
In no time, Joy had boxes full of markers, colored pencils, paint and paint brushes, as well as door hangers, picture frames and paper to decorate.
“Art is something you do to express your feelings. I thought these children could really benefit from it,” said Joy, whose mother, Judy Dickson, is an art teacher.
Joy’s family, including her parents and her sister, Hope, are already collecting art supplies for next year.
“It’s become a family project,” said Joy of the support she’s received with organizing and packing the supplies they’ve collected. “It’s fun.”
While Joy collected art supplies, Beth Anne created over 50 pink, blue and white comfort pillows as part of earning her Girl Scout Silver Award, which required her to take on a 40-hour community service project.
With the support of her advisor, Catherine Woods of Collingswood, a member of the hospice’s volunteer committee, Beth Anne chose her project as a way to gain leadership skills and use her talent for sewing.
Beginning in March and continuing for the next four months, Beth Anne prepared for, organized and bought supplies for her project.
“I have chosen this project for kids because I meet kids, my age and younger, who have been through a lot,” said Beth Anne.
Along with a handful of her closest friends and a teacher at Wissahickon Middle School, Beth Anne stayed after school two days a week to complete the project.
The teens designed, cut, pinned and stuffed the pillows that children at Camp Firefly decorated and took home as a keepsake.
“I believe this will help them release some of their sadness and help them create some happiness and joy in their lives,” said Beth Anne, who also hoped that the pillows will create new memories for the children at Camp Firefly.
Beth Anne’s father, Jeffrey, is an assistant leader to his daughter’s Girl Scout troop and first introduced Beth Anne to Woods, a family friend, and suggested her as an advisor for Beth Anne’s Girl Scout Silver Award project.
“As a father, it was really important for me to introduce my daughter to women who are conscious, intelligent and strong citizens involved in the community,” said Jeffrey.
With Beth Anne’s instruction, her friends learned how to sew for the project, but they also learned about helping other people with their efforts.
“We all needed to work together,” Beth Anne said. “Each of us has some talent to give to our communities.”
Joy also reflected on the contributions she made to Camp Firefly that hit close to home.
“It makes me really sad to think that they lost somebody important,” said Joy about the children who attended Camp Firefly. “It must be hard to go to camp away from family when they already lost a loved one.”
Joy Dickson, 12, a seventh-grade student at Rosa International Middle School in Cherry Hill, contributed arts and crafts supplies, while Elizabeth “Beth Anne” DiFrancesco, a 14-year-old from Blue Bell, Pa., created and donated over 50 comfort pillows to the camp, held at Camp Ockanickon in Medford.
Camp Firefly, which is one of Moorestown Visiting Nurses and Hospice’s bereavement services, also holds support groups for grieving parents, children and spouses.
According to Kim Plasket, director of public communications at the Moorestown hospice, members of the community are encouraged to make recommendations of grieving children who may benefit from the camp. After filling out an extensive application, the children are selected.
“The children are eligible regardless of their families’ income, and the camp is completely supported from community donations,” said Plasket of Camp Firefly, which combines traditional camp experiences with bereavement activities.
For example, “the children make boats, and then at a memorial service talk about the person they lost as a way to let go,” Plasket said. “It’s a chance to spend time with other children with similar experiences so they don’t feel so alone.”
Last year, Joy’s father, Jim, was in a severe car accident. Following the accident, he received care from Moorestown Visiting Nurses and Hospice that allowed him to make a full recovery.
One day, Joy read about Camp Firefly’s services in a pamphlet brought home by one of the hospice’s nurses. That information became the springboard for Joy to develop her project.
“It felt really great for those people to help a member of our family, so we wanted to give back,” she said.
As she’s often found drawing with colored pencils, Joy decided to share her love for art and began to create and hang posters in the hallways of her elementary school.
In no time, Joy had boxes full of markers, colored pencils, paint and paint brushes, as well as door hangers, picture frames and paper to decorate.
“Art is something you do to express your feelings. I thought these children could really benefit from it,” said Joy, whose mother, Judy Dickson, is an art teacher.
Joy’s family, including her parents and her sister, Hope, are already collecting art supplies for next year.
“It’s become a family project,” said Joy of the support she’s received with organizing and packing the supplies they’ve collected. “It’s fun.”
While Joy collected art supplies, Beth Anne created over 50 pink, blue and white comfort pillows as part of earning her Girl Scout Silver Award, which required her to take on a 40-hour community service project.
With the support of her advisor, Catherine Woods of Collingswood, a member of the hospice’s volunteer committee, Beth Anne chose her project as a way to gain leadership skills and use her talent for sewing.
Beginning in March and continuing for the next four months, Beth Anne prepared for, organized and bought supplies for her project.
“I have chosen this project for kids because I meet kids, my age and younger, who have been through a lot,” said Beth Anne.
Along with a handful of her closest friends and a teacher at Wissahickon Middle School, Beth Anne stayed after school two days a week to complete the project.
The teens designed, cut, pinned and stuffed the pillows that children at Camp Firefly decorated and took home as a keepsake.
“I believe this will help them release some of their sadness and help them create some happiness and joy in their lives,” said Beth Anne, who also hoped that the pillows will create new memories for the children at Camp Firefly.
Beth Anne’s father, Jeffrey, is an assistant leader to his daughter’s Girl Scout troop and first introduced Beth Anne to Woods, a family friend, and suggested her as an advisor for Beth Anne’s Girl Scout Silver Award project.
“As a father, it was really important for me to introduce my daughter to women who are conscious, intelligent and strong citizens involved in the community,” said Jeffrey.
With Beth Anne’s instruction, her friends learned how to sew for the project, but they also learned about helping other people with their efforts.
“We all needed to work together,” Beth Anne said. “Each of us has some talent to give to our communities.”
Joy also reflected on the contributions she made to Camp Firefly that hit close to home.
“It makes me really sad to think that they lost somebody important,” said Joy about the children who attended Camp Firefly. “It must be hard to go to camp away from family when they already lost a loved one.”
