Helping children and youth to make sense of their grief, through healing camp experiences
Why Camp Firefly?
Come join us for a weekend and discover the transformative power of “grief camps”. It is free to attend for all grief campers.
Camp Firefly mixes summer camp adventures with grief-therapy activities. We create a safe and engaging space for children and youth who are grieving. This allows them to: grieve the deaths and losses of their loved ones, connect with other kids experiencing the same painful feelings as they are, and begin learning how to process those feelings in healthy ways. Our camp is creative, young at heart, and a lot of fun too. The fun is a big part of what makes the emotional growth possible.
* Please watch our video below for a visual introduction to Camp Firefly *
The Last Camp Firefly
Camp Firefly 2025 was a special experience. Held at Camp Manitou once again, we supported 45 grieving youth from all different cultures, communities, and upbringings. It was our first time running this camp as an overnight experience, which the kids really seemed to thrive on. In addition to the grief activities we offered, this year we also had: a professional facepainter on site, a 60 foot Slip N’ Slide, and a giant glow-in-the-dark Wackydoodle Dance Party (to celebrate the bravery of our grief campers). We also had a sweet and cuddly therapy dog named Lenny with us all weekend.
We are still gathering pictures and videos and stories from camp this year. And once we do, we will put together a video to share with all of you (which will help you feel closer to it).
Until then, thank you to all the lovely volunteers who made Camp Firefly possible this year. And most of all: thank you to the brave and powerful grief campers who came out and showed us what “healthy grief” really looks like. They are an inspiration to us all.
The Next Camp Firefly
This year’s Camp Firefly will take place on August 15th to 16th, 2026. And it will be held at Camp Manitou once again.
We are still closing up everything from Camp Firefly 2025, so applications won’t be open for the 2026 camp for a while. But once they are, we will update this website and make that available to those who are interested.
If you have any questions before then, or if you just want to reach out about grief camps in general: please email griefcampfirefly@gmail.com.
Thank you for your love and support, and thank you for prioritizing the needs of your grieving children and youth. ❤️
Donate to Camp Firefly
Your donation could help send a child to grief camp.
Camp Firefly is now proudly registered as a not-for-profit charitable organization with the CRA. This means that when you make a donation to Camp Firefly, you can claim some of that money back when you file your taxes each year. And to keep it simple and seamless, we will email you a tax receipt immediately after you donate.
Your donation will help change the lives of grieving youth in Winnipeg, and we are infinitely grateful for your support. Thank you.