Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

Obama Appointee Honored At Camp Good Grief Lunch

Honored with the Good Heart Award at the 15th Annual “Power of Your Heart” Valentine Salon Luncheon, which benefits Westhampton’s East End Hospice’s Camp Good Grief, was Life Camp founder Erica Ford, recognized by President Obama, who appointed her to the President’s Task Force on gun violence in the wake of the Sandy Hook Massacre.

Addressing the 204 elegant women at 583 Park Avenue who braved a cold Manhattan day Ford said: “A Lot of people don’t have the tools that some of us have. They become victims of the tragedy by taking their lives, getting addicted to drugs, causing pain and anger to someone else. So Camp Good Grief is valuable to our future. Some of the parents could not make it because they were scared of the challenge to change. But when you are stuck on your fear and pain—you don’t see tomorrow…. We have the ability to let people see they can live past their pain…we can live past our tragedies.”

Erica Ford and Debra Halpert. // Photo by Karen Leon.

“I love what I do at ‘Hamptons Magazine,’” said its publisher, Valentine Salon honoree Debra Halpert. Accepting the award from event co-founder Jacalyn Weinstein. Halpert stated: “Nelson Mandela said ‘You should do things with passion and compassion.’ My for-profit life supports my non-profit life.” Echoeing EEH Board Member Ellen Lowey’s observations, she amplified: “This is a world-renowned bereavement program” and described the children served by the camp as “silent mourners“ who can share their grief “in a safe and comforting environment.” This year’s group of 150 campers encompassed 79 who experienced the death of a mother or father and included women who lost children to street violence.

Priscilla Ruffin, president and CEO of East End Hospice stressed: “They’re sad. They’re mad. They are scared and they come away [from camp] with the ability to self-soothe during troubled times, a greater understanding of who you are and a catalyst for change… I listen to parents talk about what we mean to them.” A wrenching example was a father, left with three little children — his wife died in childbirth. “Each night I give my children one kiss on one cheek for me and the other for their mom.” He left the camp empowered. His story left some in the room teary-eyed.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.