Children’s Grief Camp Is an Amazing Experience for Both Campers and Volunteers

By ELYZABETH MARCUSSEN
Hospice of the Chesapeake

PASADENA, Md. (May 21, 2025)—For children grieving the death of a loved one, summer can be especially difficult —but Camp Nabi offers a space where healing and hope take root. Hosted by Chesapeake Life Center, this beloved weekend grief camp returns Aug. 8 to 10 at Arlington Echo Outdoor Education Center in Millersville, Maryland, offering comfort, connection, and classic summer fun to both campers and volunteers.

Registration is open for children ages 6 to 18 who have experienced the death of a loved one. With a full team of counselors and trained volunteers, campers will participate in activities focused on memorializing their loved ones, learning coping skills in small groups, and using integrative arts to help kids express their grief. Of course, this also will include fun camp activities, like swimming, field games, ropes course and more.

To make this experience possible for grieving children living within its entire service area, free transportation will be available from one location in each of the counties it serves: Anne Arundel, Calvert, Charles and Prince George’s.

The cost is $100 per camper. Thanks to community donations, there are a limited number of scholarships for families in need.

There is also a need for volunteers to help make this a successful and safe summer adventure. It can be a healing experience for many, as it is for longtime Camp Nabi volunteer Jay Beeler. His mother died in a car accident when he was 12. When he read about the camp, he thought about how that would have helped him then. Now he’s hooked.

“You see these kids from different lifestyles, different backgrounds, different experiences, yet they connect so well because it’s such a great feeling to know that you’re not alone,” Beeler said. Learn more about Jay’s experience in this brief video: https://vimeo.com/936367684.

To register for camp or to become a volunteer, call 1-888-501-7077, email griefinfo@chesapeakelifecenter.org or visit https://www.hospicechesapeake.org/family-support/about-chesapeake-life-center/

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PRESS ON
Exhibition Explores Possibilities of Letterpress Printing

By KATE TAYLOR DAVIS
Pyramid Atlantic

HYATTSVILLE, Md. (May 23, 2025)—Artists from all over the US, with additional participants from Canada, France, and Japan, are featured in this exhibition that celebrates letterpress as a powerful medium for artistic expression. In addition to traditional letterpress printing, varied techniques include inkless pressure printing and linocut blocks reconfigured to be used on a letterpress machine. The resulting show has nearly 100 works and is a testament to the creative possibilities of letterpress.

PRESS ON opens Friday, May 30 with a reception from 6–8 p.m. The exhibition runs through July 13 in Pyramid’s Helen C. Frederick Gallery. Gallery hours are Wed & Thu, 10–8 p.m. and Fri –Sun, 10–6 p.m. Pyramid is located at 4318 Gallatin Street, Hyattsville, Maryland 20781. For more information and an RSVP link, visit pyramidatlantic.org or call 301-608-9101.

The show features a wide range of formats, including artist books, work on fabric, vinyl, and paper. The content ranges from political to inspirational; narrative to conceptual; and type both representing and exploring language, including English, French, Hebrew, Japanese, and Korean.

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Meeting You Where You Are With Summer Grief Support Groups and Workshops

By ELYZABETH MARCUSSEN
Hospice of the Chesapeake

PASADENA, Md. (May 21, 2025)—From free, come-as-you-are drop-in grief support groups to workshops that explore grief through artistic expression, Chesapeake Life Center offers a variety of grief support groups and workshops for adults this summer.

• Creating Hope: Therapeutic Art Exercises in Griefwork—Creating can help us express things we have no words for, discover more about ourselves and glean beauty through our sorrow. In each session, people will participate in a therapeutic art project to help with personal grief work and connect with one another. This workshop is open to teens, as well as adults. Supplies are provided. No art skills are required. It will be held from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, July 19 and Aug. 23, at the Burnett Center for Hope and Healing, 4559 Sixes Road, Prince Frederick, Maryland. The cost is $10 per session.

• Monday Morning Mindfulness —Start your week with intention and clarity with this morning session. Whether you're new to mindfulness or have an established practice, this session offers guided meditation, gentle breathwork and reflective prompts to help you center yourself for the week ahead. It will take place at 8:30 a.m. on July 14, Aug. 11 and Sept. 15, on the John & Cathy Belcher Campus, 90 Ritchie Highway, Pasadena, Maryland. This is a free program.

• Drop-In Grief Support Groups are open to anyone grieving. Groups offer participants an opportunity to share their feelings and obtain support from others who are experiencing loss. There is no fee. These groups will meet in Calvert County as follows:

- North Beach Senior Center, 9010 Chesapeake Ave., North Beach, Maryland, from 1 to 2 p.m. Wednesdays, June 4, July 2, Aug. 6 and Sept. 3.

- Southern Pines Senior Center, 20 Appeal Lane, Lusby, Maryland, from 2 to 3 p.m. Tuesdays, June 10, July 8, Aug. 12 and Sept. 9.

- Calvert Pines Senior Center, 450 W. Dares Beach Road, Prince Frederick, Maryland, from 1 to 2 p.m. Tuesdays, June 17, July 15, Aug. 19 and Sept. 16.

• SoulCollage Studio—Join us in person or virtually for a time to create unique collages reflecting and expressing loss and the journey through life. It will meet from 2 to 5 p.m. on Monday, July 14, at 9500 Medical Center Drive, Suite 250, Largo, Maryland. The supply fee is $10.

• Loss of Life Partner/Spouse Evening Group is a group for individuals grieving the death of a spouse or life partner. It will meet from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Wednesdays, June 11, July 9 and Aug. 13, on the John & Cathy Belcher Campus, 90 Ritchie Highway, Pasadena, Maryland. The cost is $10.

• Loss of Parent or Parental Figure Support Group provides space for those grieving the loss of a parent or parental figure to come together to feel supported in their grief. The group will meet from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Thursdays, June 12, July 10, Aug. 14 and Sept. 11, on the John & Cathy Belcher Campus, 90 Ritchie Highway, Pasadena, Maryland. The cost is free.

• Child Loss Support Group is for parents grieving the death of a child, regardless of age or circumstance. It will meet from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Mondays, June 30, Aug. 4 and Sept. 22, on the John & Cathy Belcher Campus, 90 Ritchie Highway, Pasadena, Maryland. The cost is $10.

Childcare is not provided and children are not permitted in any of these groups.

The following groups will meet virtually via Zoom for Healthcare:

• Loss of Life Partner/Spouse Virtual Group is a free group for individuals grieving the death of a spouse or life partner. It will meet from 10:30 a.m. to noon Tuesdays, June 10, July 8, Aug. 12 and Sept. 9, via Zoom.

• SoulCollage Virtual Support Group for Loss and Transition is a free group with participants creating collages to commemorate lost loved ones and visually journal the grief process. The group will meet from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 8, via Zoom.

Except for drop-in groups, registration is required and can be completed by calling 888-501-7077 or emailing griefinfo@chesapeakelifecenter.org. Visit www.hospicechesapeake.org/events for a complete listing of in-person and virtual groups and workshops for adults and children.

Chesapeake Life Center, a program service of Hospice of the Chesapeake, serves hospice family members and the community with bereavement services and activities aimed at enhancing the quality of life for those grieving the loss of a loved one. For details, visit www.chesapeakelifecenter.org.

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