Camp Winston Update, June 16, 2010

Sister Carolyn Heil and Camp Winston team up with Volunteer Builders to create a wellness center

Direct from Sister Carolyn
This story, published June 16, 2010, tells of one of the exciting events that happened at Camp Winston the first weekend in June. We hope to be able to occupy the office and health center by the end of the month and the other part of the building will be finished by fall. Both sections will be winterized. The respect, excitement and care of the volunteers was heart warming and befitting the positive energy we strive to create all the time. CottageCountryNow.ca reporter Allyson Snelling wrote Camp Winston's story.

Sister Carolyn’s ‘loving presence’ nurtures Camp Winston kids

by Roselyn Heil, FSPA
With surprise and delight my twin and Camp Winston staff member Sister Carolyn Heil answered a knock on her cabin door this past June to find her mother and me outside. It was the surprise at the end of a secret plan devised for us to attend a celebration held in part to honor her 18-year ministry at the camp. In addition, the event commemorated a newly remodeled lodge, Sister Carolyn’s 60th birthday and the planting of 60 trees (donated in tribute to her mission there) throughout the camp’s grounds. Our presence made the day complete; my sister’s celebration was unfolding as it had in her dreams.

The party was an all around accolade to Camp Winston and, with the help of Sister Carolyn, its success stories. It is a place for kids that she most aptly describes as children with “loose neurology,” like autism, Asperger syndrome, Tourette syndrome, debilitating ADHD, social phobia, fetal alcohol syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder and learning disabilities.

Tree planting powerfully symbolizes what Sister Carolyn is to the Camp Winston community. She guides the children as they make a connection with Earth and our brother and sister creatures. Blindfolded so that they put their other senses on high alert (with a partner for safety), campers listen to the invitation of a tree that wishes to befriend them. Approaching the tree, the kids smell, feel and bond with it. They’ve made a new-found friend—a friend that stands rooted in safety, strength and courage.

Like trees, Sister Carolyn is a quiet and calm strength for the camp’s children and staff. In her nature hut, campers earn certificates as they learn to identify plants like clover, dandelion and grasses. They grow step by step in understanding, feeding, caring for and holding 35 different animals there. From lovebirds and cockatiels that have laid eggs that hatched to snakes, rats, rabbits and a bearded dragon, the animals provide the kids opportunities to build relationships with them. As the children bring gifts of food to the animals, they learn the power of giving and receiving. The plants and animals allow the children to focus outside themselves.

The animals stay for the whole summer with Sister Carolyn at Camp Winston, while the kids of different ages and challenges come for two-week periods. During their time there, staff members and children alike see her modeling a grounded, stable presence, much like the trees. “These kids are very kind, loving and caring people who time and again get short circuited and require teaching, love, support and flexibility to keep them going,” says Sister Carolyn. “Often this communication is without words; providing a loving presence is paramount.” This is a gift she received from our father. “As a child, when I was upset or hurting, I’d go to Dad,” she says. “In his presence was the sacred space that enfolded me in love and acceptance.”

The power of her ministry and the camp itself was openly vocalized during the celebration. “Camp Winston allowed me to meet other people with diagnoses similar to my own, helped me to know I was not crazy and that others suffer from the same things I do,” says former camper and current staff member, 22-year-old college graduate Lorena.

A young camper born with fetal alcohol syndrome was scared of people and usually hid behind others. She tentatively revealed that if Sister Carolyn sat beside her she would join the group at the table. Side by side, the pair calmly joined the group for every meal.

“Camp Winston has saved my life,” says one caregiver, reflecting the much-needed relief that camp provides all those (including siblings) living with campers. These families, often stretched beyond their means (both physical and psychological) to manage what can be overwhelming issues they face with their kids on a daily basis, have received vital support through the camp and its staff.

Another former camper, Rachel, says “I found there are other people as bizarre as me and it’s OK. Camp has changed my life in every way. I came to this celebration ‘cuz I love Sister Carolyn–as simple as that.”
Sister Carolyn’s ministry has grown these 18 years with each planting, with each child. If you come across someone standing straight and tall under the shade of tree, maybe you are witnessing two friends, connecting their energy in a bond of friendship, thanks to her and the staff at Camp Winston.

Sister Carolyn Heil sponsors an FSPA ministry grant awarded to the Camp Winston Family Support program for 2010. Through the donation, Camp Winston staff, including Sister Carolyn, will be able to provide more opportunities and resources for children with complex neurological disorders and their families. Specifically, FSPA’s donation will help support girls’ weekend events designed to provide “specialized support to learn the social skills to build and maintain friendships” at the camp located on Sparrow Lake in Toronto, Ontario.