In 2022, with Ukraine at war with Russia, Shade for Children continued to provide camp experiences for orphaned and vulnerable children and local churches, including internally displaced (refugee) children. Shade for Children provided one residential camp (securing a location was a challenge because virtually every retreat center in the region was inundated with refugee families). We also provided two day camps and provided leadership for two other week-long day camps provided by another ministry.

 

We partnered with local churches, a sister-city philanthropic organization, and most importantly, we partnered with OpSafe to use their trauma-informed curriculum during all of our camps. In fact, we sponsored one of our volunteers to go to Poland to receive OpSafe training and she trained our other volunteers as well as volunteers from other ministries that conducted camps in our region.

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We're still here. We're still serving orphaned and vulnerable children and their families. We're still advocating for family preservation and reunification, we're still advocating for adoption and foster care (yes, in our region, domestic adoptions are still happening), and we're still providing social and relational safety nets for orphaned and vulnerable children. 

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In 2023 we will continue to provide camps for children. Taking advantage of end-of-the-year giving allows Shade for Children to enter the new year with a secure foundation. Last year our residential camp cost approximately $4000/week and day camps costs approximately $1000. Our goal for end-of-the-year giving is $6,000 to provide multiple camp experiences in 2023.