From 1998-2017 I ran the Sligo Creek Hedge School Irish music and culture summer camps for youth ages 6-20. From the little "Sprouts" (ages 6-8) to the Teen Celtic Band weeks, and of course Musician and Intro weeks for the pure drop Irish experience, I had the honor of 19 years of working with the next generation. Some of my campers are married with children now!
Last year I donated some of my supplies to our local Irish camp- CCE MAD Week's newly formed Children's Program. But still I held on to the bulk of years of acquired craft supplies. Yesterday I donated 63 packets of folders with poetry, crafts, crayons, stickers, and paper, to a local agency that services homeless and low-income families in our area.
It was bittersweet. My intense heart-centered work in hospitals as a therapeutic musician led me to finally end my kids' camps. So it might seem strange to get rid of my supplies during the Covid quarantine, since I can't be in the hospitals for several months. However, I will be back to work when they let non-essential staff back in. And what better time to give away craft supplies to children in need than during this crazy summer?
Life has been very generous to me.