World Series Champion Jamie Moyer and his wife, Karen, visited with 20 kids at Camp Mariposa this past weekend as part of The Moyer Foundation’s partnership with Bellevue-based Youth Eastside Services (YES) to serve kids affected by the drug or alcohol addiction of a family member. The kids got the chance to meet the Moyers Friday evening and then enjoyed a blend of traditional camp activities enhanced with therapeutic elements through Sunday.
Led by trained and experienced counselors from YES, Camp Mariposa teaches kids coping skills and about the impact substance abuse has on them and their family. It also increases their knowledge of available resources and educates them about their predisposition for substance abuse, therefore helping them to avoid repeating generational patterns.
The camp takes place on the grounds of Camp Waskowitz in North Bend and is offered free of charge to approved participants several times per year.
“Camp Mariposa has been serving kids in the Seattle area for three years,” said Karen Moyer, who co-founded The Moyer Foundation with her husband, Jamie. “We are ready for a national expansion now. This will be our model camp and we are most proud of its success. No child asks for their distress and those who live with addicts need tools and hope, so they can survive and hopefully end the cycle of addiction!”
YES executive director Patti Skelton-McGougan said the camp lets kids who live with a substance abuser feel less isolated and better prepared to face the difficult challenges they face.
“There is no other program like this anywhere in Puget Sound,” she said.
The Moyer Foundation created Camp Mariposa with YES and experts in the field in 2007, when Karen Moyer approached YES about offering a program to fill the need in the community. The Moyer Foundation has provided grants to YES for Camp Mariposa each year, most recently awarding YES a $50,000 grant for 2011, which will cover the cost of five camps for approximately 120 children.
For more information on registering a camper, visit YES online at www.YouthEastsideServices.org.
To make a donation in support of Camp Mariposa, visit The Moyer Foundation at www.MoyerFoundation.org.
