TRUE BROTHER
Alumnus Provides Comfort for Grief-Stricken Children Brandon English (High Point) serves as a program manager for the New Jersey office of Comfort Zone- the nation’s largest bereavement camp for children. By Brandon English (High Point)
Editor’s Note: This article was published originally in the High Point University’s Iota-Phi chapter newsletter. Brandon English’s story about his work with Comfort Zone is a testament to how our Core Values and Ritual teachings can be lived and applied throughout our lifetime. I got started with Comfort Zone as a volunteer in April of 2009. I attended four camp sessions as a volunteer before the offer was made to me to take the helm of the New Jersey office. Comfort Zone Camp is the nation’s largest bereavement camp for children who have experienced the death of a parent, sibling, or primary caregiver. Our research shows that losing a parent or sibling is one of the most traumatic things a child can experience. In the United States alone, one in seven children will lose a parent or sibling by the age of 20, which means that 2.5 million children in this country have experienced this trauma. Since our start in 1999, we’ve helped more than 7,000 children. Our mission is to lend a voice to grieving children and to provide a place and a community in which to heal, to grow, and to lead more fulfilling lives. We run weekend camps Friday-Sunday, free of charge, for kids ages 7-17, or 18 if they are still in high school. Most kids are merely told to “get over it,” or “move on,” and other things of that nature which we know can’t be done. Grieving is part of an ongoing journey through life.
www.lambdachi.org/cross-crescent
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Cross & Crescent May 2012