Last year, The Center hosted a virtual Camp Wellness. While the event was still a fun, enriching, and educational experience for the kids, its impact was unavoidably diminished by the virtual setting. However, the kids got to send heart-warming letters to the elderly all over the state who were shut in due to the pandemic. This year, we were especially excited to bring back Camp Wellness in-person! We hosted one in San Antonio and another in La Vernia / Wilson County.
Camp Wellness is a three-day event where children ages 5 – 15 learn how to build wellness habits from professional counselors and artists. The kids engage with the therapeutic expressive arts to create artisan masks, compose their own poetry and music, and paint on canvases. We also give the campers wellness boxes with a journal, stress ball, and other items to help them manage stress away from camp. Counselors emphasize what empathy is so the kids learn how to be there to help others when they are struggling, too.
In previous years, campers learned how to face difficult situations such as bullying, divorce, deployment of a parent, grief/trauma and even homework from the videos of Trevor Romain, best-selling children’s author. This year, we were thrilled to host Trevor in-person for a workshop for kids and parents! Everyone had a fantastic time and stayed safe!