Lodi community groups band together to comfort children

The Lodi Rag Quilters, Community Hospice and Lodi Community Outreach are working together to support local youths as they share their grief with one another through Camp Erin of the Central Valley.

The three community organizations bring healing and comfort to the community in a variety of ways. Lodi Community Outreach, a program of Lodi Funeral Home, is sponsoring this special project through the Lodi Rag Quilters, who create and distribute quilts to local organizations throughout the year.

Community Hospice, with help of local community, has hosted Camp Erin in the Central Valley free of charge to children and teens ages 6 to 17 who have experienced the loss of someone in their life. The four-day program, which takes place during the month of June, mixes fun camp activities with emotional support and grief education for children and teens.

Camp Erin is a program of the Moyer Foundation, a nonprofit organization with a mission to “provide comfort, hope and healing to children and families affected by grief.”

The Lodi Rag Quilters, led by Ellen Ashbaugh, has provided 150 quilts for Camp Erin as one of several projects sponsored by Lodi Community Outreach. For the youths, their unique quilt serves as a reminder of the healing they experience at Camp Erin and a warm memory of their loved ones.