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Wendy Healy: 203-744-6367, wendy@LDRNY.org

CHILDREN ATTEND CAMP NEW GROUND FOR SECOND SUMMER IN A ROW

NEW YORK, N.Y. – July 8 – Camp New Ground – a day camp launched after 9/11/01 by Lutheran Disaster Response of New York and Koinonia – got off the ground for a second summer on July 7, at seven sites around the greater Metropolitan New York area.

New Ground is a faith-based one- and two-week summer camp for all kids, where campers go beyond recovery to discovery of who they are as children of God, empowered by the Holy Spirit. Campers are able to talk about their feelings and grow, as they express their concern about terrorism, war and the changed world we live in, in a safe place with trained counselors. Camp sessions will run at approximately 30 other locations in New York City, New Jersey, Westchester County and Long Island through Aug. 22.

At Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Bellerose, Queens, 36 campers, grades kindergarten through fifth, registered for the two-week session, according to site Coordinator Denise Best. Several of the campers were back from last year, including Best, who also coordinated Holy Trinity’s 2002 summer camp. This year, Best said the church decided to hold the camp for two weeks.

Several of the children are Holy Trinity members, but most are from the community, according to church Pastor Gary Schulz. The high registration shows that there is really a big need in the community for such programs, he said.
How are the children doing after 9/11?

“They’re doing just great,” said Stella Woodroffe, a credentialed school counselor who is the on-site mental health professional through New Ground’s association with the Lutheran Counseling Center. Woodroffe is director of the Guidance Department at Martin Luther High School in Queens and has worked with many children and teens following 9/11. “The fact that so many of them came back from last summer means that they’re having a great time,” said Woodroffe.

Several of the counselors said that while the children have overcome much of their fright of terrorism following 9/11, this year, several of the children now are expressing fear of war. “One young boy wants to go to West Point, and several want to go into the military to defend our country,” said Counselor Mary Button, a Texas native who attends New York University in Manhattan. “Some kids seem to be affected by war,” she said. “Some are having nightmares about it. It’s really kind of sad.”

That’s where the camp’s Spiritlife curriculum can help. “It teaches children that as God’s children, we’re loved,” said Pastor Ann Tiemeyer, director of Koinonia NYC, who oversees the camps.

Fifth-grader Bobby O’Donnell grinned as he explained his plans to go to college at the U.S. Military Academy West Point. “My mom’s cousin went there, and I want to go, too,” he beamed.

“A lot of people think that because they’re kids, they can just get over things, like war,” said Counselor Leah Milbrodt of Kansas City, Missouri. “But they’re often not able to easily express their feelings.”

Jared Carson is team coordinator of the counselors. An Indianapolis native, Carson is overseeing a staff of four. The counselors, who come from all around the country, stay at Pr. Schulz’s parsonage.

For more information about Camp New Ground, check the LDRNY website, www. LDRNY.org. LDRNY is a joint ministry of the Metropolitan New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Atlantic District of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod to help those affected by 9/11/01.