Camp Widow

05/31/2026

This weekend - in fact, as we type this - Soaring Spirits Canada is delivering the Camp Widow program to hundreds of widowed people in Toronto 🍁

And in just two weeks, the same life-saving resources and life-changing community will be coming to the midwest for Camp Widow Chicago and Camp Widow Kids Chicago on June 13! 🌇

When we come to Camp Widow as widowed individuals we realize - we are NOT ALONE. Camp Widow Kids provides that sense safe space of validation, connection, and identification to the children of widowed people 🧡

No matter our age, or the type of loss we experience, getting to connect with other people who know how we feel is truly life-changing 🫂

🔗 Registration for Camp Widow Chicago: https://www.eventsquid.com/event.cfm?id=30318

🔗 Registration for Camp Widow Kids Chicago: https://www.eventsquid.com/event.cfm?id=30481

05/30/2026

In case you missed Julie Martella’a keynote this morning at Camp Widow Toronto, you can view it here!

Permission to Live reminds us that this wasn't the life we planned,...

05/29/2026

Day 1 of our Camp Widow Weekend in Toronto ✅

We hope today was filled with heart-warming hugs and meaningful moments of connection. It is such a gift to come together, although under circumstances none of expected or wanted, to share stories, inspiration, and HOPE.

See you tomorrow for Day 2! 🏕🧡

05/29/2026

✨ This weekend, we celebrated the resilience of the widowed community at our Annual Hope Takes Flight Gala!

❤️ Thank you all for a remarkable evening filled with powerful stories, laughter, music, dancing, and celebration! Your generosity and support make the mission of Soaring Spirits International a reality.

🫂 Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, attendees, and supporters, we raised $300,000 on Saturday night. Every single penny will go toward sustaining our life-affirming peer support programs like Camp Widow, Regional Social Groups, and the Newly Widowed Program.

🌠 Our dream is that every widowed person can have access to life-saving support, resources, and community - with your continued support, we know this future is possible!

Special thank you to our incredible Board of Directors, who give their hearts, countless hours, and an abundance of resources to Soaring Spirits International: Michele Neff Hernandez, Terry Marvin Jennifer Loudon, Michelle Dippel, Victor Buono, Michael Inabinet, Jeanine Gamez, Joseph Dafick, Nancy Boxwell, and Dr. Mike Rodriguez.

05/25/2026

"There are three needs of the griever: To find the words for the loss, to say the words aloud, and to know that the words have been heard."

- Victoria Alexander

05/23/2026

One of the things that is so powerful about Camp Widow is that it is a place where widowed people come together to exchange information. We share stories, experience, research, and practical tools for coping with grief.

Whether in a workshop given by a presenter, or in a one-on-one conversation with another camper, what is something you learned from Camp Widow? Share with us in the comments below ⬇💙

05/23/2026

"Your mind expands when you give, your heart expands when you share, and your soul expands when you are charitable."

- Matshona Dhliwayo 🧡

05/22/2026

to Camp Widow Chicago 2025💛

We can't wait to be back on June 13th at Moraine Valley Community College for Camp Widow Chicago this year!

We hope to see you there -- it's not too late to join us.

🔗 Registration for Camp Widow Chicago: https://www.eventsquid.com/event.cfm?id=30318

🔗 Registration for Camp Widow Kids Chicago: https://www.eventsquid.com/event.cfm?id=30481

05/21/2026

Coming to Camp Widow is HARD.

It forces us to confront a lot of things -- first and foremost, that our partner is really dead. That realization, which many of us experience over and over again as we adjust to this new reality, is too painful for words.

It is normal to experience fear, anxiety, or even absolute dread going into Camp Widow -- especially if it is your first time.

Like our friend, Kyle, shared at his first camp this past April in Seattle: "Getting started is the hardest part" . . .

But it is very likely that once at Camp Widow, you will find your shoulders relaxing just a little bit as you realize that you are surrounded by people who you do not need to explain yourself to.

On the other side of fear is life-changing connection 🧡

Join us at one of our 2026 events: https://campwidow.org/camps/

05/19/2026

"Friendship improves happiness and abates misery, by the doubling of our joy and the dividing of our grief."

❤️🧡💛