2011 Camp Good Grief for KIDS

Nestle's gentle touch with the campers at Camp Good Grief.

Baptist Trinity Hospice
Therapy animals complement the work the volunteers do
and sometimes reach campers in a way a volunteer cannot.

“Kids are drawn to the therapy animals because they don’t tell them what to do,” states Camp Director, Angela Hamblen. “Campers tell the animals their secrets. Some cry to the animals. They are critical to our work with the campers. They also help some of the campers who are disengaged; they are more drawn to the animals.”

And somehow, the animals just know who needs them. During one camp, a camper did not want to attend the memorial service. He was at camp because his mother had died. Kacie, one of the therapy dogs, was beside him.

“He asked me if Kacie’s mom had died,” Hamblen said. “I told him ‘yes,’ and he said, ‘Well, I’d better go so I can help her.’
So they went together to the memorial service.”

        
Serving the Children and Families of
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital