Strike A Chord: Finding Comfort in Camping

Krista Collopy lost her father to a brain tumor when she was nine years old. Her grief stuck with her through her teen years. But then, she stumbled upon Comfort Zone Camp, a non-profit organizations that helps kids and teens who have lost a parent. Comfort Zone Camp matches a grieving child with a mentor, and uses different activities during a weekend-long retreat to help children understand their loss. Krista says attending one of those weekend camps changed her life.

“So when I went to my first camp at sixteen, I looked at my facilitator, and I said, ‘that’s my dream job.’”

That was ten years ago, Krista is now the organization’s National Communications Facilitator for the East Coast. She says she looks forward to growing with the organization, and knows her dad would be proud of her work helping these kids.

“I know that though he can’t be here now, he would definitely look down and just be honored that I was his daughter.”

Comfort Zone camp is free for kids, because as the organization puts it, kids are not in charge of their family’s finances, and grief knows no economic boundaries.