Camp Erin

MLB veteran pitcher, Jamie Moyer, age 44, has started the Moyer Foundation, through which he's helped start a project called Camp Erin. Named for a family friend who died before the age of 18, the camp is designed to help children cope with the loss of a parent. As a relatively young man, I lost both grandparents, and I was devastated. It's hard enough for adult children who lose parents, so I can't imagine the grief kids must feel when a parent dies before they are mature enough and sufficiently equipped emotionally to deal with it. The camp's website is here if you are moved to make a donation, and the link to the ESPN.com story (written by author/columnist: LZ Granderson) detailing the camp and the story behind its founding is here. It's a heartwarming story, and I really wish more athletes would do good things like this.

"The worst moment parents can ever experience is having to bury their own child. As the father of a 10-year-old boy, I have a difficult time even hearing a news report about the untimely death of a young person without getting misty-eyed. But last week I was introduced to a statistic that I found to be far more heartbreaking -- one in 20 children in this country will experience the death of a parent by the time they graduate from high school. That's 14 million children thrust into a situation most adults aren't prepared to handle.

Moyer's still an effective as a major-league starter, but he's even more effective off the field. With only 75 bereavement camps in existence, there are a lot of young people out there without adequate professional support to help them navigate through such a difficult time. But Phillies pitcher Jamie Moyer and his wife Karen are working to change that. "You know when you see the pain in the kids' eyes when they arrive it just tears you up," Karen says. "But to see them smile and laugh again afterwards … that's all the motivation you need to keep working hard to help them and others." ...

And the Moyers' generosity is contagious. Tristana Leist was only 6 years old when she lost her mother, Victoria, in the summer of 2003 to cancer. The Camp Erin in her area was booked that year, but she and her brother Matthew were able to participate the following summer. Now 10, Tristana and Matthew are big Camp Erin advocates and have spoken at fundraisers about their experience.

"It has definitely changed my life and my view of things," Tristana says. "Now, I don't hate the world. I accept the world and I know my mom died for a reason. I know this because we've done a lot of volunteer work to try to help other kids who also lost a loved one. We call it giving back."

Tristana's father, Karl, says the camp helped him, as well. "I was devastated, and it was a struggle sometimes for me to get my two brokenhearted children dressed and ready for school," he said. "But after the camp the kids started laughing again and we were able to have fun again, and that really helped me deal with my own heart.

"Before, they felt like the only kids on the planet going through that kind of pain. But they met 40 other kids, and they cried together and did karaoke together and talked, and they realized God just didn't pick them out but that sometimes bad things happen to good people."