Camp Firefly

Camp Firefly 2024 was a huge success. We supported 40 grieving children from Winnipeg and the surrounding Manitoba areas (many of them grieving multiple deaths). We held our camp on August 24th at Camp Manitou (in Headingley Manitoba). I planned and directed the camp for the months leading up to it and then we had 30 volunteers selflessly come out to make it all work on the day itself. We received two major grants through the Winnipeg Foundation and the Suicide Prevention Network. We also received a handful of small personal donations as well which certainly helped. Many of the grief campers who attended Camp Firefly could be considered 'at-risk'. Though we have a diverse camper roster in terms of ancestry the majority of our grief campers came from Indigenous backgrounds. Many of our grief campers come from poor neighbourhoods and many are in CFS care etc. Because of this we put on a huge 'cultural demonstration' as part of the camp. Traditional Indigenous singers drummers and dancers came out to inspire our grief campers. They also talked about their own grief. It was incredibly powerful. Our Camp is quickly becoming a safe space for cultural connection and for bringing people together who generally wouldn't meet (all in the name of learning how to grieve in healthy ways). Without trying to overstate our importance Camp Firefly truly does feel like a place of reconciliation. We had many grief activities at camp - which are purposely designed to improve mental and emotional health. And the kids did all of them by their own choosing. Our camp is intentionally sensitive emotional and vulnerable. And the kids really responded to that. All of them made huge strides of personal progress last year (many hadn't really spoken about their grief until camp). We continue to be so impressed with their courage in their grieving journeys. We continue to get emails on a regular basis from the families of the kids who attended our camp. Many of them are asking to come back. Which is incredible because they're essentially asking to come back to a grief therapy camp and face their most difficult emotions. That's how much it meant to them. We continue to shape our camp to the needs of the kids and communities we support. And we're learning more each year. Thank you to the CRA for giving us the opportunity to run this camp as a registered charity. I am forever grateful for that. - Rhys Williams