The Story of Camp Lloyd
Camp Lloyd began as a dream of Dr. Illene Cupit, a professor of Human Development at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. After learning about grief camps at a conference of the Association for Death Education and Counseling, she wanted to develop such a camp, designed to help grieving children in the Northeastern Wisconsin area. Camp Lloyd was originally created in partnership with Unity Hospice of Green Bay and the University of Wisconsin Green Bay. Today, Camp Lloyd is solely under the auspices of UW-Green Bay. In this camp, the children would learn that grief is normal and that it is okay to still act like kids and have fun. This idea became a passion for Illene through the inspiration of Lloyd Noppe (a retired professor from UW-Green Bay). Dr. Lloyd Noppe lost his father at a very young age. Illene believes that had a camp like this existed for Lloyd he would have greatly benefitted from knowing that other children were dealing with similar situations and emotions.
The Mission of Camp Lloyd
Camp Lloyd is a day camp for children grieving the death of a loved one. It provides a safe environment where campers can explore their own experiences of grief, realize their feelings are normal and find support from each other. As part of University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Camp Lloyd provides an educational opportunity for undergraduate students to learn about grief in childhood through study and one-on-one mentoring and support to the Camp Lloyd campers.
The Staff of Camp Lloyd
Administrative Staff
My name is Illene Cupit. I grew up in the Bronx, New York, and received my PhD from the Educational Psychology Department of Temple University in 1979. I came to UW-Green Bay in January of 1984, where I teach a variety of courses about different aspects of the human life span. Early in my career, I tried a little experiment by offering a course on Dying, Death, and Loss, the first time such a course was taught at UW-Green Bay. Since then, this course has been offered at least one semester every year.
I have co-authored a Life Span Human Development textbook, have published and presented my research on infants’ attachments to their caregivers in childcare centers, adolescent bereavement, gender issues in death and dying, death in child care centers, adolescent responses to the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001 and college student grief. I am the current President of the Association for Death Education and Counseling (2012-2013) (www.adec.org), and founded (along with Outreach and Extension) the Institute of Dying, Death, and Bereavement. I am deeply indebted to my wonderful colleagues in Human Development, and my family, whose patient support have been the sources of my inspiration and achievement. In my minuscule spare time I enjoy biking swimming, being with my kids, playing the piano, reading, cooking, and eating!
Student/Interns (Buddies)
Camp Lloyd student interns, or buddies are mostly recruited from Human Development/Psychology, Social Work, and Educational programs at UW-Green Bay.These students are allowed to participate in the camp for a 3 credit internship after successfully completing a course in death and dying and training sessions the semester prior to camp. Students are not grief counselors but are selected on the basis of their motivation, maturity and sensitivity to children who are in difficult circumstances. Most interns or buddies have aspirations to go on in the counseling field. Additional staff are returning buddies from previous Camp Lloyd years.It is the goal of Camp Lloyd to "buddy up" one intern for 1-2 campers. Many activities will take place on a group basis, but the special attention and devotion of buddies to their special camper is an important feature of our camp.Grief Therapists
Camp Lloyd is fortunate to have two very qualified professionals who run the "Healing Circiles" and provide additional emotional support during the Camp Lloyd day. Dr. Deirdre Radosevich is an Assistant Professor of Human Development, with a background in child clinical psychology. Ms. Gail Trimberger is an Assistant Professor in the Social Work Program at UW-Green Bay and is currently working on her doctorate at Marian University. In addition several camp Lloyd buddies who have graduated UW-Green Bay and completed Masters Degree in Counseling have returned to facilitate "Healing Circles".
Camp Lloyd Activities
Camp Lloyd will have many exciting summer activities. Each day there will be a grief related activity (our "Healing Circles"). Other activities will include:
- Music
- Arts and Crafts
- Gym Games
- Hiking
- Swimming at the Phoenix Sports Center pool
- Teen Camp
Camp Lloyd Location
Camp will take place at the Mauthe / Ecumenical Center located on the UW-Green Bay campus. This roomy facility will be our “home base.” In addition, the university campus, with its six miles of arboretum trails, proximity to the bay, and athletic fields will provide outside space where campers can play gym games and run around!
