Amazing Testimonies
From the Campers
This camp is so great! I love the people here! I’m gonna miss everyone! It’s been sooo much fun!
It’s a great camp. The staff knows what everyone likes. I’m definitely going to ask my dad if I can come next year!
I like the ways we were able to express ourselves. I had an unforgettable experience.
I love camp ‘cause I made new friends and I love to dance.
This camp is the most funnest. I want to be here every day.
I had a great experience. And I felt like this was my second family.
It was my most favorite camp.
In music, the campers wrote a camp song. Each age group wrote a verse, the oldest group’s verse was very meaningful. “We share the same loss so our friendship grew strong.”
From the Caregivers
The camp was wonderful. It did great things for my daughter’s self-esteem and confidence.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for this unique camp. I lost my mother when I was 12 so I know it is a lonely road to travel. My son lost his dad at age 11 and it has rocked his world. It’s so wonderful that he could meet and get to know other kids going through the same thing.
My son thoroughly enjoyed the camp. I think it’s a wonderful experience for these children to be with others who have experienced a loss and to be able to express themselves freely through the arts.
My children made giant steps toward working through the healing in their lives. Thank you for helping them work through the loss of their beloved father, your camp filled a gap in their grieving process.
I’m so thankful to God for planting this seed in someone’s mind and allowing it to take root and manifest. Thank you for helping and embracing my daughter.
My child enjoyed this camp very much. She came home sharing with me things she did daily. She looked forward to coming each day. She showed me a praise dance that she learned and would like to teach someone else the steps. She’s all excited about teaching them.
I thank God for the opportunity for my sons to laugh, learn, to smile and use their imaginations again. I’m signing them up for life!
From the Staff
The program was an outstanding opportunity for children to create something as beautiful and positive as artistic expression out of something as difficult and negative as losing a parent…the children’s tenacity and vivaciousness inspired us as much as we hope we were able to inspire them… I was honored to be a part of this program and I hope that The Joffrey will continue its involvement for many years in the future.
-Pierre Lockett, The Joffrey Ballet
There is nothing more healing than the shared experience of suffering. HTHTA is a unique opportunity for these children to come together and feel connected to each other in ways that create hopeful meaning of their losses.
- Alan Irgang, LCSW
…there was a freedom for the young people to create and experience new things that they never thought they could do, whether it was a new dance step, a new song or spinning plates…or participating in a challenging theatre exercise. A true ensemble developed as they trusted themselves and their peers… We marveled that in two short weeks they had learned so much and helped to craft theatre pieces from their ideas that they shared so freely. It was a most amazing journey and I am very privileged to have been a part of that healing project.
-June Podagrosi, Child’s Play Touring Theatre
Personally, I have never been so touched by an experience that lasted such a short time. The purpose of the camp, every young person, and every staff member involved made this experience a truly memorable one. So in too many words…thank you.
- Tina Parker, HTHTA Staff
