Camp Wakchazi: Sibling Bereavement Camp

Camp Wakchazi is a summer camp dedicated to addressing the needs of bereaved siblings. It is an initiative of Palliative Medicine and Supportive Care at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.

Campers, ages 7-18. are encouraged to make new friends and share their experiences while taking time to heal in a safe, supportive environment. Interested campers should contact Melanie Szigethy melanie.szigethy@upmc.edu or call 412-748-1596

Camp Wakchazi 2025

June 8-13, 2025, with in-person staff/volunteer training on Saturday, June 7, 2025.

Location: Sharpsburg, PA

(Video shot pre-COVID)

Volunteer Counselors Needed!

Volunteer counselors are needed for this year’s Camp Wakchazi.

This opportunity is open to college students in any field, but would be particularly valuable to students in:

Nursing
Pre-medicine
Social Work
Education
Therapeutic Recreation
Child Life
Occupational Therapy
Physical Therapy
Psychology

Volunteers gain hands-on experience working with children. Volunteers will:

Facilitate a variety of interventions independently for individual campers and small groups in a supervised environment.
Lead groups, social and emotional interventions, outdoor activities, and programming through a recreation lens.
Be directly supervised by an interdisciplinary team from UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh (social work, child life, music therapy, art therapy, & medical providers).

Interested volunteers should contact Melanie Szigethy at 412-748-1596 or melanie.szigethy@upmc.edu.