A North Texas camp is turning grief into hope.
One August weekend every year, children from ages 6 to 17 gather at Lake Texoma to learn how to move on after a loved one dies.
Nic Vannostran said he and siblings, as teenagers, didn't know how to cope with the loss of their sister until they found Camp Erin.
"I would still be dealing with that by myself, and that's not OK with me," Nic Vannostran said.
His sister, Diana, died three years ago from a rare blood disease, Fanconi's anemia, at age 11.
"I think it made me more open to talk about it and not be as so cut off about it," said Kaelynn Foster, Vannostran's sister.
The Moyer Foundation founded by Major League Baseball player Jamie Moyer created and funds Camp Erin.
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"It was very intimate and it was very close groups, and I felt like I was brothers with the people that I was in the cabin with," Vannostran said.
Campers form bonds that help them work through their grief and move forward through activities meant to be fun and others designed to be meaningful.
"You meet with a group and come close with it, and you didn't really expect, and you do all these activities that don't really seem like it at the time but are really make you closer to people and are able to share your experiences, and it's a fun place to be," Foster said.
For more information on the Dallas/Fort Worth camp, contact Kristina Stephens at ChristianWorks for Children at 972-960-9981 or KStephens@christian-works.org.
