In January, Camp I Am Me staff, volunteers, and survivors participated in two separate support programs outside of Illinois. The Thrive Retreat, hosted by the British Columbia Professional Firefighter’s Burn Fund and a Winter Teen Trip put on by Hoosier Burn Camp. With the continued partnership growth with other Burn Camp-like nonprofit organizations across the country (and beyond), the opportunity to further support burn survivors from Illinois expands. See two terrific examples of these partnerships in action below!
The New Year started off with an invitation from the British Columbia Professional Fire Fighter’s Burn Fund to send a camper and counselor to their Thrive Retreat for burn survivors ages 18 to 25.
It was an incredible opportunity to spend time in British Columbia at the SilverStar Mountain Resort. The retreat staff and adult counselors are made up of fire fighters, burn care professionals and burn survivors. Participants were led in sessions ranging from yoga to topics such as being your authentic self. There was an Open Mic as well which allowed every one of the teenagers to share their stories.
The MasterChef who prepared all the meals during the retreat also entertained with a cooking session on one of the nights.
During the retreat there was also time for fun and frolic, including games, tubing, skiing, snowshoeing, and even attending a hockey game.
Chris and Diego hit the slopes after taking a morning ski lesson on the Sunday of Thrive. They chose the easiest run on the mountain. Quote from Chris: “Let’s just say, easy slope in Canada is probably close to a medium to hard slope in Illinois or Wisconsin. The day proved interesting but we both survived.”
Thrive Retreat was an amazing adventure! We are grateful to the BC Professional Fire Fighters Burn Fund for including us in such a wonderfully healing program.
See Photos from the BC Burn Fund Young Adult Retreat!
In mid-January, two campers from Camp I Am Me were invited to attend Hoosier Burn Camp’s Winter Teen Trip for burn survivors ages 13-18.
The trip was to Wilderness Resort in Wisconsin Dells for some outdoor winter and indoor water park fun. HBC designs these trips, so they offer unique experiences that build confidence, create connections and encourage teamwork.
Campers Shaniyah and Bryce met the Hoosier Burn Camp teens in Belvidere at the Oasis before caravaning with the group on their final leg to the resort. Two three-level A-frame houses next door to one another, served as home base for the extended weekend, and each included a very cool treehouse-style sleeping area.
Home cooked meals were provided by the fire fighter volunteer staff. They kept everyone well fed throughout the program.
Despite the freezing temperatures, the teens got to participate in tubing for a few hours in the snow. There was also a trip to Wizard Quest where the group was split into small teams to work through a fantastical array of different indoor environments to solve quests.
While skiing was originally on the agenda, the minus 25 temp made it a no go. Instead, the entire group spent the day at the resort’s arcade playing games, driving go-karts, trying their hands at mini-golf, and even playing laser tag. In the evening, there was another opportunity to have fun in the three water parks at the resort.
Everything from Uno, to Werewolf, to Imposter, to Dutch Blitz, and Screaming Toes, were played in the time between the scheduled activities. And there was an ice cream social one night too, with many different flavors of ice scream, waffle cones, sauces, and sprinkles.
On the way back home, the group stopped in Pardeeville, Wisconsin to learn the Winter Olympic sport of curling!
No ‘winter blues’ here. The HBC’s Winter Teen Trip was A++ on our end! Our campers made new friends, took lots of photos and had lots of laughs and smiles.