Children impacted by disasters like the Holiday Farm Fire are heading to summer camp on Monday, with a free relief and resilience program organized by Lane County.
Camp Noah will be held in three sessions, from August 2-20. Sponsors include the Eugene Rotary and the United Way of Lane County.
Games, activities and meals will be provided, as well as a story-based curriculum designed to build resilience and healthy coping skills.
Lucy Zammarelli is Lane County’s Health and Human Services liaison and hopes the camps will help children.
“The same way that environments get damaged and are affected by a disaster, people are affected by a disaster, and long-term stress can result from a disaster when someone doesn’t bounce back in a kind of resilient way,” Zammarelli said.
Camp Noah is a nationally acclaimed program through the Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota, and has been used in disaster relief around the United States.
COVID safety protocols will be practiced at camp, and each child will receive a backpack of items for disaster preparedness and building resilience.
Spots in all three camps are still open, and more information can be found on the Camp Noah website.
