Russian/Eastern European/Central Asian
(REECA) Heritage Camp |
| July 23rd - 26th, 2009 at Snow Mountain Ranch, Fraser, CO |
| 2009 Directors: Pam Bassett, Barbara Everhart |
| “The most valuable thing about Russian Heritage Camp is the chance to see ourselves reflected back to us by so many other families from so many other states, backgrounds, values, etc. There was such a wealth of information and problem solving techniques made available to us. The generosity, patience, and availability of the heritage camp staff was amazing. Our kids really loved seeing how similar their orphanage background and experiences were to other Russian kids and enjoyed the opportunity to use their native tongue. It was an absolutely outstanding and invaluable opportunity for us all!” |
Russian/Eastern
European/Central Asian Camp (REECA) is one of the few camps of its kind in
the country, specifically designed for families with children adopted from
Russia, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia. Our acronym is a mouthful - REECA,
but our campers are coming from a variety of countries; Russia, Ukraine,
Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, and more and we want to acknowledge
that and assure you that everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend! This
inclusiveness has made for a very culturally rich heritage camp indeed. It
is amazing to eat Russian food, sing Ukrainian folk songs, learn dances from
Belarus, enter an entire room devoted to the Kazak culture, and much more,
all in one long weekend! REECA is one of ten camps facilitated by the highly
respected Colorado Heritage Camps, a non-profit organization, which has been
conducting heritage camps for adoptive families for 16 years.
This
year’s camp will again be held July 23th-26th in the beautiful Colorado
Rockies at the YMCA Snow Mountain facility near Winter Park, CO (www.ymcarockies.org)
a family vacation destination located not far from Rocky Mountain National
Park and other colorful Colorado sites.
Registration materials will be going out this Winter, so NOW is the time
to request registration
information and be placed on our mailing list.
Russian
(REECA) Heritage Camp is a family camp with programming for each member of
the family. Campers from age 3 to 18, plus their parents, grandparents, family
friends, etc. participate in classes and workshops taught by adoption professionals,
parents, and cultural community members.
Counselors from various backgrounds
serve as role models and mentors as they participate with the children
in cultural activities while adult family members attend cultural and adoption-related
workshops ranging from cooking and customs to the blessings and challenges
inherent in our adoptive families.
We will be celebrating our tenth year of REECA Heritage Camp! Ten years of enriching our kids’ lives through experiencing their culture and connecting with kids who have the same unique backgrounds! The 2009 theme will be “Come Join the Circus, REECA Style.” Circuses are an important part of the culture in REECA countries. Unlike circuses in the US, there are no animals in eastern European circuses. Some activities at camp will be circus related, such as juggling, clowns, aerial acts. As always at REECA Heritage Camp, we will be “recreating” the atmosphere of our children’s countries in the elementary workshops, while we incorporate our exciting and fun circus theme.
Middle and high school campers will once again take advantage of Snow Mountain Ranch’s recreational opportunities as well as have a strong cultural program that will strive to promote team building and bonding in that age group. We are hoping the high school students will get to create the Ukrainian eggs this year that the parents so enjoyed doing last year. Both groups will participate in “More Than Me” where the kids make contributions to less fortunate kids left behind in REECA countries.
Parent workshops will again include sessions on parenting and
adoption-related issues presented by well-known experts. This year we are fortunate
to have two nationally recognized keynote speakers, Heather Forbes and Juli
Alvarado (please see their bios below) Parents will also have the opportunity
to learn more about the REECA countries from our cultural experts and Russian/Eastern
European/Central Asian community volunteers. This could include a craft, cooking,
or a historical presentation.
Heather T. Forbes, LCSW, is the co-founder of the Beyond Consequences Institute, LLC. Ms. Forbes has been training in the field of trauma and attachment with nationally recognized, first-generation attachment therapists since 1999. Heather's research and interest in the area of adoptive mothers has been a powerful asset in the adoption field. Her passion is to help adoptive parents who are struggling with their children, to understand their situations and their family dynamics. Her most notable study, Issues Facing Adoptive Mothers of Children with Special Needs, was published in the Journal of Social Work and has been a valuable tool for adoptive families worldwide. Heather is a clinical therapist, nationally recognized speaker, and internationally published author, with her most recent book titled Beyond Consequences, Logic and Control: A Love-Based Approach for Helping Attachment-Challenged Children with Severe Behaviors.
Founder and lead clinical consultant for Coaching for Life, Juli Alvarado
began her career in 1981 in the public education system as a special education
teaching assistant while completing her bachelor degree in elementary education
at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Juli then obtained her master’s
degree training in child psychology with a double in consulting and human resource
management. During that period she also worked in an inpatient psychiatric
hospital caring for children and adolescents maintained on the locked units.
In the subsequent 15 years Juli has worked in, and consulted for private and
public sector mental health and child welfare agencies, public education and
special education programs, inpatient psychiatric hospital care as well as
residential care for youth and adults. She also maintains executive level positions
for nation wide foster care programs and training organizations. She is married,
has 4 children, and has provided treatment foster care in her home for more
than 30 children over the years.
Please join us for another fun-filled week-end celebrating our children and their rich heritage, in a breathtaking setting in the heart of the Rocky Mountains! It will be an experience your family will never forget!
Thinking about giving camp a try but want to know more?
Click here to read our Frequently Asked Questions and
"Four Days in the Life of Heritage Camp"
Click here to read about last year's camp.
To see a sample of the fun enjoyed by all at REECA Heritage Camp 2008, and more pictures of REECA Heritage Camp 2008 can be seen by clicking here
We are thrilled that our fabulous friends and supporters from the Russian/Eastern
European/Central Asian communities in Colorado will be joining us again to
teach us about their culture, entertain us, and participate in all of our camp
activities. They enable the children and families to truly see and appreciate
the rich heritage from which they come. We couldn’t do it without them!
We would love to hear from even more community
members and adoptive families from Central Asian or Eastern European countries.
Please contact us.if you have any questions about camp activities or suggestions
for introducing more of your child’s culture at camp!
Although we have built a strong network of community volunteers, we are always
looking for more volunteers to work with the kids, teach workshops, cook meals,
etc., and to be counselors at camp. Though we have built on this community
participation each year, we’d especially like to invite more members
of the Eastern European and central Asian communities to join us as volunteers
this year! Please consider joining us this year!
As a non-profit 501 C(3) organization, REECA Heritage
Camp is always seeking financial assistance to help keep camp costs reasonable
for families, and still provide an
outstanding program. If you'd
like to help, please go to the Donations section
of this web site, and thank you very much in advance.
We are also in need of donations of frequent
flier miles to help defray costs of out of state speakers. If
you have miles you can donate, please email us at info@heritagecamps.org
