Since 1998, JLCV’s signature project has been Camp Knock Knock.  Founded in memory of a young girl who loved knock knock jokes, Camp Knock Knock (CKK) is a bereavement camp for families who have lost loved ones.  Our goal is to provide a weekend of open support and guidance and to provide opportunities for growth and healing for grieving families.  We now organize CCK in collaboration with the Visiting Nurse Association of Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties to fill a service gap in our community.  Research shows that children from families who do not have support for their grief can have decreased success in school, are more likely to drop out, and are more likely to have behavioral problems.  A high percentage of prison inmates experienced the loss of a parent at an early age.  We hope this unique program can lower these statistics for families in Vermont.  By providing peer support through activities with kids “just like them”, CKK decreases a child’s debilitating feelings of abandonment, guilt, fear, and lack of self-worth. 

How Camp Works:
We start planning for our signature project, Camp Knock Knock each October.  JLCV members direct and manage the overall camp which includes logistics, activities, and budget.  We partner with experts from the VNA to oversee clinical aspects of camp.  Families from across Vermont are recruited and screened for their readiness for camp.  This screening process allows families to determine if all adults and children are prepared to talk about their grief and “open the door for healing” (our camp motto).  We accept 15 families to join us each year.

Camp Knock Knock also touches a wide variety of volunteers.  All members of JLCV are involved with camp either through working year-round on planning, organizing fundraisers to support our programs, or being on-site for the weekend.  Over half of all of the volunteers who are trained for CKK each year are league members – even behind the scenes members find training full of valuable life lessons about the grief process. 

The first weekend in June, dozens of JLCV and community volunteers arrive at Camp Abnaki in North Hero to offer support and guidance to adult and child “campers.”  All family members receive supportive counseling for their loss in peer groups.  Children are grouped by age and sometimes by the type of loss they are experiencing – for example loss of a parent or sibling.  Adults have a special session to learn more about their children’s grief in addition to their own counseling group.

In between counseling sessions, campers participate in art and recreational activities and enjoy two entertainment performances.  These activities help them burn nervous energy as well as give them quiet time to talk individually with other campers.  We know many life-long friendships have started at camp as children meet others “just like them.”

As we approach our 10th year of Camp Knock Knock, we are considering ways to expand and improve our signature project.  Each year we learn and adjust to our families’ needs.  For example, we have taken on the challenges of supporting families experiencing losses from suicide and military service.  These efforts combined with the dozens of volunteers trained each year, show us that we are having an impact on how our culture accepts grief and how we, as a community, can all support each other through the many losses we experience in life.

CKK Accomplishments
Nearly 400 campers have participated in Camp Knock Knock over the past nine years demonstrating the need for grief counseling in our region.  This includes alumni families who return to camp to continue the healing process.  The impact of camp goes beyond the families themselves; as children return to their classrooms and families return to their communities more able to cope with their loss shared with and felt by others around them.

The success of Camp Knock Knock is measured by our evaluations, yet family comments truly reflect what camp is all about and how we support families through the most difficult times of their lives.  In 2005 and 2006 they wrote:

• I must say this was the most fun and relaxing weekend I’ve had in two years.  Thank you all!!  Everything went smoothly, I really felt like people care about us.
• This was the most amazing experience of mine and my children’s life – I wish we could come back every year.
• I can’t express how wonderful everyone is.  I know each and every member of my family got something out of this weekend.
• I came away with a feeling of hope I hadn’t had before.

Camp Knock Knock is supported by grants from the Charles P. Ferro Foundation and Hallam Associates with generous underwriting from YMCA's Camp Abnaki.

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Find out more about VNA and Hospice of the Champlain Valley