Hands Together, Heart to Art® 2009
Celebrating the healing power of creative play!
A summer day camp for children ages 7-14 who have experienced the death of a parent.
Executive Director Brett Batterson receives State Farm Embrace Life award for Hands Together, Heart to Art
Chicago
Roosevelt University
July 6-17 | Ages 7-11
July 20-31 | Ages 10-14
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Welcome to Hands Together, Heart to Art 2009! Our camp was formed from personal experience. The Auditorium Theatre’s Executive Director, Brett Batterson, unexpectedly lost his father to a heart attack when he was seven years old. He experienced many of the classic symptoms of grief and had a difficult time expressing those feelings to others as he did not know any classmates who had also experienced the death of a parent. However, Brett found an outlet for his emotions in his participation in theatre, as well as a supportive group of friends. He gained self-confidence and learned to express himself without fear of ridicule.
Now a successful leader (Mr. Batterson was recently named one of NewCity's 50 "most influential people on and offstage in Chicago"), Brett created this camp to help other children discover the healing power of creative play, to find other who have experienced a similar loss, to have access to qualified counselors and listen to the stories of successful adults who lost a parent as a child.
Through their experiences, the children will come to see that they too have important stories to share. While their stores have many chapters yet to be written, it is the goal of Hands Together, Heart to Art to make sure all of them ultimately have very happy endings!
Explore our camp website, download the 2009 application, and be sure to stop by our media gallery. We’d also love to hear from you. Contact us for more information or to recommend a camper.
Nicole Losurdo
HTHTA Camp Director
312.922.2110 ext 353 - education@auditoriumtheatre.org
