Camp Noah offered healing and hope
With the generous support of donors and the hard work of the MVLTRG staff and volunteers, Camp Noah day camps were funded, organized and held free of charge at Blue River and Walterville within the McKenzie Valley for elementary aged children in August 2021. Camp Lutherwood also held a five-day, overnight Camp Noah for middle school kids. About 70 children attended these camps in total. Each was given a backpack courtesy of the Lutheran Church in Seaside which contained personal hygiene items, art supplies, craft projects and plush toys along with a note from a volunteer wishing them well. Noah and his family appeared every day at each camp with resiliency stories to tell, and a daily puppet theater show shared strategies and stress reduction tools that were easy to grasp by young minds. In Walterville, McKenzie Fire & Rescue brought in a fire truck and rescue boat for the kids to play on, with flashing lights and powerful water hoses to experience. The McKenzie River Trust offered classes on valley mammals, and the Davis Restaurant provided abundant breakfasts and lunches to everyone. Handmade blankets were also provided to all campers. Everybody had a lot of fun and loved being back in social community after a year of remote school—and while strict COVID protocols were maintained with masking and social distancing, children seemed to accept that as normal and were happy to be at camp.
Camp Noah Curriculum
Lane County and Camp Lutherwood staff and volunteers noted in their after-camp debriefing that the curriculum as adapted to the Oregon program was excellent. The camps were a lot of work to organize and had many challenges in building trust with parents and communities. Mental health professionals were present at each camp to help out when needed. Working with the school districts to build community support was a big key to success.
It is important to note that the children related to Noah when staff talked about Noah’s journey. Some campers talked about their own experiences during the past year. One commented about being “so sad for the trees that were burned”. There were conversations that “dove deep into the hearts of the children” as they told their own stories. This was especially true for children at the Blue River camp which was held in 100-degree heat and dense smoke from a nearby fire.
Camp staff commented on the importance of holding camps within the affected communities to demonstrate that others have compassion for them and their children. Yet hosting community camps took a great deal of work, and required many volunteers. The children blossomed over the week, gaining confidence and expressing their strengths in the face of adversity. Camp Lutherwood staff saw kids change over their five days at camp to become happy campers. They saw how much the kids loved being outdoors having fun and rebuilding their lives.
Conclusion
The Camp Noah journey, from its inception in February 2021 to the last camp held in mid-August 2021, has been an amazing story of financial and emotional outpouring of support from many people and organizations. These are folks that believed in the transformational power of outdoor camps, mental health professionals, many caring volunteers and the fantastic resources of the Camp Noah Program. Under the leadership of the MVLTRG Spirituality Committee, it is hoped that these camps are just the beginning of on-going work to help families and children affected by wildfires.
Lutheran Social Service’s Camp Noah was adapted for children who experienced loss during the Oregon wildfires of 2020. It was sponsored by the McKenzie Valley Long Term Recovery Group (MVLTRG) and collaborative partners included Lane County Health & Human Services, Camp Lutherwood of Oregon, LoveFirst Disaster Relief, and many others. Funding was provided by the Oregon Community Foundation, Oregon Synod ELCA, Eugene Rotary 5110, and United Way of Lane County. The McKenzie School District provided facilities in Blue River, and the Springfield Public Schools provided facilities in Walterville.