Gratitude in Greenfield
Society is quick to judge a disaster by how long it stays on the front page.
But sitting in a circle with a group of children in rural Iowa a week after a tornado ripped the roof off their lives is a stark reminder of how the impact of these events can linger long after the camera crews leave.
In the midst of running camp in Greenfield, IA for kids who lived through the recent EF-4 tornado that leveled a significant portion of their town, we’re hearing a collection of heartbreaking stories: homes lost; lives upended; innumerable questions about what comes next.
But there are also tendrils of hope.
We’ve heard this group of children processing their experience together, and finding a shared language of gratitude for what remains. Sitting in our twice-daily gratitude circles, they’ve given thanks for family members being alive, for homes still standing, and for something as simple as a sleepover with a close friend.
These kids uplift one another. They look out for friends who need extra attention or care, and advocate for those who struggle to communicate their own needs, sometimes literally picking each other up when they fall.
It doesn’t take a tornado for kids to do these things, but providing a venue for children to be there for one other and experience collective healing in the wake of a disaster is critical. Being able to reconnect and reforge ties of community is the backbone of resilience, and we’re grateful that we can help foster it.
With gratitude,
Mikey
Bulletin Board
We were thrilled to present at – and participate in – the Oregon Resilience Summit earlier this month. Our Director of External Affairs Henry Meier learned an incredible amount from community leaders throughout the state who have been on the front lines of response and recovery.
As we head into wildfire and hurricane season, we’re building out a network of camps to help us provide high-quality, local youth professionals to help kids out after disasters hit. We’re excited to have welcomed more than three dozen camps into the network already, and any camps interested in joining can reach out to our Camps Manager Madeline McClelland at madeline@projectcamp.co.
