Nurturing Belonging and Celebrating Community with Children Impacted by HIV/AIDS with Patty Hillkirk

Intro: Welcome to Start Local, where we talk with business owners, leaders of nonprofits, and other members of our community focused on doing business in and around Chester County, Pennsylvania. Each episode will provide insight into the local business scene and tell you about opportunities to connect with and support businesses and nonprofits in your local area.

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Liam Dempsey: Hey, hey. I am Liam Dempsey, and I am in the podcast studio Solo Today. The Gods of All Things Calendar invites have conspired against our scheduling efforts. So alas, no Erik Gudmundson, no Joe Casabona here today. Me solo. I hope that’s okay with you folks out there in listener land. I said listener land because Erik and Joe weren’t here. 

Before I get to welcome today’s guest, I want to remind you that we’re gathering at Stolen Sun in Exton, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, September 24th, from 5 to 7 PM. You can get all the details over on our website, startlocal.co. As always, our networking event is free to attend, but registration is required. So, head on over to startlocal.co to learn more and to sign up. 

Turning our attention to today’s guest, I am absolutely thrilled to welcome Patty Hillkirk, the Founder and Executive Director of Camp Dreamcatcher. Camp Dreamcatcher provides safe, therapeutic, and educational programs to HIV/AIDS impacted youth and their families. 

And for regular listeners to the show, they will know that Patti and, more importantly, Camp Dreamcatcher have been recommended a number of times as local organizations that more folks should know about. So with that, Patti, welcome. I am thrilled that you’re here today.

Patty Hillkirk: Thank you so much. I’m happy to be here.

Liam Dempsey: Oh, it’s such a delight. It’s such a delight. Let me start with just going back to what I just shared. Camp Dreamcatcher provides safe, therapeutic, and educational programs to HIV/AIDS impacted youth and their families. Tell us about the children who attend your camp. Who are they and where do they come from?

Patty Hillkirk: Well, the children who attend the camp are HIV/AIDS infected themselves, have someone in their family who’s infected, or someone who’s died of aids. And for many of the kids, it’s numerous family members who are infected or who’ve died of AIDS. So they’re ages 5 through 17. And I really say ages 5 through 35 because so many of our kids come back and become counselors at camp. They come from about 85% Philadelphia and the surrounding region, and also Baltimore, Wilmington, and some from New York and New Jersey.

Liam Dempsey: So we can see over on your website that the camp week, the activities, it’s all sorts of camping activities, a little bit of everything, really, and I do mean everything. I feel like we could talk for an hour on all the different activities, but maybe just select a few to give us a sense of what the campers get to experience when they arrive.

Patty Hillkirk: Yeah, I just added it all up, so I can tell you that we offered 150 therapeutic programs during the week. 75 educational and 150 recreational. So of those, I would mention our yoga, massage, and mindfulness programs. We have all the fun stuff at camp like go-kart racing, a carnival, fishing, a talent show, and a dance. And then we have educational programs, of course, on HIV and AIDS and on substance use disorder. We have a whole career and college education track. And, you know, every year the kids, because they come back every year, their programs become richer and more therapeutic and more educational.

Liam Dempsey: Yeah,.I was so interested. For folks listening, I volunteered to help with the registration on the day of welcoming campers and their families to Camp Dreamcatcher. And as part of that process, I had a chance to meet some of the campers and walk them to their cabins and help they make it. And I was surprised that when I asked what they are most looking forward to activity-wise, the number one answer was the talent show. And these were folks of both boys, both girls, and both youngsters and young adults. So that talent show must be amazing.

Patty Hillkirk: It is amazing. It’s on Friday night and it’s really one of the highlights of the week. And our leaders in training, who are 16 and 17 years old, they practice every day drumming. So we have one of our volunteers bring in drum sets from a school in New Jersey. They practice every day, and then they open the talent show. And it’s just a remarkable evening of music and dance and singing and artwork, all kinds of talent.

Liam Dempsey: So, you talked about your junior counselors in training, your leaders in training, I think is the phrase I heard you say. And it’s clear from your website and from the conversations you and I have had before we hit the recording button that you really place a great emphasis on leadership for those young people, mentoring and providing opportunities to be both junior counselors and ultimately counselors. I don’t think you call them counselors. That might be my phrase, not yours. But perhaps you can clarify in your answer. But the question really is this, Patty, why do you place such emphasis on leadership for those youngsters rolling through your program, and as they grow?

Patty Hillkirk: We really believe that our mission will be sustained through the youth involved in our programs. So when they start at age 5, about 70% come back every year. So they move through when they’re 15. That’s really their last year of being campers at camp. So that starts their ability to attend our weekend leadership retreats, which are held at Camp North Bay on the Chesapeake Bay. 

And then when they’re 16 and 17, they’re leaders in training. And then when they’re 18, they can become counselors. They can also be mentees or mentors in our year-round mentoring program. So we really want to provide opportunities for them to lead the camp and to become involved in program planning, getting their feedback, and adapting our programs to meet their needs. 

And that’s one of the most remarkable things about camp. When I look around and I see kids who I’ve known since they were five or six, who are now, some are 35 and still serving as counselors, and often they’re serving with the counselors they had when they were five. So it’s really a full circle moment.

Liam Dempsey: You are a gestalt therapist. Tell us briefly about the Gestalt approach to therapy. And can you comment on whether or not that shapes your work at Camp Dreamcatcher?

Patty Hillkirk: It certainly did. So I’m a Gestalt therapist, which means that after undergraduate and graduate school at Penn State, I did three years of Gestalt training at the Pennsylvania Gestalt Center. And the director and founder of the program, Mariah Gladys, was a good friend of mine, and she really is the person who pushed me into creating camp. One of the people. 

You know, I had this moment, which I think all of us have in our lives, where an interest, a dream is sparked, and then the question is, are you going to feed that flame? And I was lucky enough to have Mariah in my life and other people who heard that spark of a dream and then said, you have to do this. So that was in 1995, ‘96 we started the program. And Gestalt therapy, at least from where I sit, it really focuses on feelings. So it gets to the heart of the matter quicker than therapy that may be cognitive-based.

One of the techniques that we use is the open chair. So if you’re talking about your mother or your father, instead of talking about, you would put them in the chair and talk to them. There’s also sometimes some psychodrama that we use to really, again, focus on feelings. And for kids, it really works because their feelings are so close to the surface, and it provides an opportunity to really get into and express all of those feelings.

Liam Dempsey: You’re also a restorative practices trainer. Take a minute, if you will, to explain restorative practices in general. He says with some difficulty. And while I just want to chuck in a second question here and is that I saw on the website that restorative practice training is also a part of Camp Tree Catcher’s offering beyond the summer camp. So, talk us through how your organization provides that service. So what are restorative practices in general? And then how do you and your colleagues deliver that as training, as a service to businesses and organizations?

Patty Hillkirk: So restorative practices really are tools to help people resolve conflict in a peaceful way. And we are a trauma-informed program. And for us, it was a really easy shift to learn those practices. We were already doing them, and then being trained in them really brought us to the next level. And it involves different questions that you ask when a conflict occurs. 

So at camp, the campers, myself, counselors, whoever is involved in a conflict or disagreement, sit in a circle and have the opportunity to answer questions. And the questions are, what happened? What were you thinking at the time? What are you thinking now about what happened? Who has been impacted by this? What was the hardest part about all of this for you? And then the last question is, what needs to happen to repair this harm? 

So instead of me going in as the director or anyone else in a different role and resolving a conflict or using a punishment, which we don’t use, the campers are involved in repairing the harm and resolving a conflict. 

And it’s really shifted our culture to everybody being on the same level playing field. And it’s important, you know, we are offering trainings now to other nonprofits in the area and other groups, which has been great. And one of the first questions that we ask someone who wants to be trained is, are they ready to really shift the culture of their organization? Because that’s what happens with these practices. So those are the restorative circles. 

Then we also have community-building circles. We call them cabin circles. So in each cabin, we ask campers and counselors to hold, you know, questions. What was the best thing at camp today for you? The rose and the thorn. Would you rather questions, those that really help campers connect, especially new campers, you know, they’re coming in, they’re living in a cabin for the first time? Sure.

Liam Dempsey: Yeah.

Patty Hillkirk: Yeah. So those are the two kinds of circles that we use.

Liam Dempsey: So I’m curious, Patty, you’ve talked about how this restorative practice implementation, this way of doing things, changes culture. When did the camp implement it, and how did that come about? I’m curious. We haven’t talked about this question in advance, so I’ve got you a little bit on the spot, but I’d be curious to hear your answer.

Patty Hillkirk: o one of the things that we feel really strongly about at camp is that if we are going to use any kind of words, that we are trained in them. So what we noticed back really around when Covid hit, you know, we had a lot of time on our hands. So we did a whole deep dive into diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging at camp, and really assessed our programming and whether the campers felt they belonged and looked at barriers to that. Around that time, we saw some other camps using terms like restorative practices. And so I started asking, Where did you get your training? And they didn’t have any. 

So that led us on a journey of finding someone to train us. So in 2022, we started working with the Center for Relational Practices, which is in San Francisco. And we were trained, our leadership team, for about 10 hours of training. 

Then we trained our counselors so that all of us have on our lanyards at camp, they have a laminated card with those questions. And then the next year, 10 of us went through an additional 20 hours of training to become certified trainers.

Liam Dempsey: Yeah, that’s a lot. Thank you. Thank you. As I shared earlier in our conversation, I had the pleasure of volunteering at the registration day at the desk itself, welcoming campers from different communities. And that was a lot of fun. 

And one of the points that parts that really stood out for me was how many local groups and companies were volunteering. I wasn’t surprised that you had a number of individuals, but I was surprised that groups like Rotary International had a chapter or two there. PayPal had more than a handful of people there.

And beyond that, those organizations were attending. The people from those groups had come back two, three, four, five, six years. And so my question is, how do you attract one so many volunteers? And how do? What keeps them coming back? What’s in it for them? What’s the appeal of what they’re doing?

Patty Hillkirk: So this year we had over 200 volunteers. And the person who organized and coordinated the registration volunteers, she was one of our first campers. So she started almost 30 years ago, and she’s still involved. 

Liam Dempsey: She’s amazing, by the way, her leadership and her friendliness and her get-it-done, but all the while smiling and making us. She was amazing. I walked away like I don’t know who she is really well, but I would love to go and work for that woman. She’s amazing.

Patty Hillkirk: She is. She’s a superstar. And I was so happy when she stepped forward and said, I’ll take this on because it’s a lot of volunteers, like you said, from different places that come together for that. Really, it can be intense. You know, the kids getting off the bus, getting their luggage, getting those all labeled. 

And our relationship, especially with the Longwood Rotary goes back well beyond 20 years. And those are folks who volunteer at registration and also come to our office where I’m at right now and take all of our supplies from here and, and I’m talking about like Carlos and stuff out to camp. And then they go to our camp shed and they move all of our supplies at camp, all around camp.

And they are a well-oiled machine. I mean, you just kind of stand back and let them do their job. So we have a long history. 

And then the PayPal folks, years ago, when my son was five, I started coaching at the Kennett Y basketball with another guy who worked at PayPal. And my son’s almost 23, so he encouraged his PayPal people to get involved. And now they’re at registration. They run our camp carnival, they run our financial literacy program, our career readiness program, and fishing at camp.

Liam Dempsey: That’s awesome. That’s awesome. So during camp week, we here at the show have been on Facebook, really enjoying the wonderful photos of these happy little children, happy young people enjoying all sorts of camp activities. And we talked about that already. But I wanted to get into the balance of fun camp activities with the therapeutic work that you’ve talked about. How do you strike the balance between, Come, let off steam, get some exercise, enjoy the sunshine, enjoy the outdoors with, let’s spend some time addressing, inevitably the challenges that the camp is focused on challenge, supporting, and addressing.

Patty Hillkirk: So we are very thoughtful with that because we want the kids to have that balance. So with the younger campers or 5 to 9 year olds, we generally have, all the kids have HIV/AIDS education. I still do the ones with the younger kids. I facilitated 14 groups during the week of camp. And then they have yoga and massage and maybe one other therapy group our younger kids. 

Then our older kids have more therapeutic programs and more educational. We start puberty education at age 11 at camp, and then we do the substance use disorder education.  And then when they’re teenagers, they get a little bit more education. We had a body image group and eating disorders this year. 

So again, we try to balance it with the fun stuff and not do too much on the therapeutic side. Our leaders in training, they have a very heavy program, and often they don’t like it. So I hear complaints. Like I was reading the evaluations that I saw. We don’t have any fun. So…

Liam Dempsey: So it’s too much like school. It’s too much responsiveness.

Patty Hillkirk: Yeah,  it’s too much like school. And it also leads, it gives an opportunity every year for a restorative process within that program. So the leaders in training are able to say to their counselors, We want this. It’s usually, we want more freedom or we want more fun. And then they come up with a way to compromise and decline that. Yeah. So it is very thoughtful and intentional.

And then beyond the therapeutic programs, the group ones, we have the individual. So we had eight therapists at camp, one psychiatrist, and then a variety of other people. We also had, I didn’t mention this to you before, but our board President, her name’s Reinetta Adams, Ray-Ray. And she’s…

Liam Dempsey: Oh, I met her. 

Patty Hillkirk: Have you met her? Is she great?

Liam Dempsey: She’s… Yeah. Just, wow.

Patty Hillkirk: She’s great. So she’s limited this year. She’s in a wheelchair. But she still wanted to give and be at camp. So I saw a program about Friendship Bench, which is, it started in Africa, and it was training grandmothers on how to provide mental health support to people in their village. And Ray Ray went through the training, the Friendship Bench training. And so we had that bench in the health center for her, and people could sign up, and they could go see Ray Ray. So, it was… I think it was great. She loved it. The kids loved it. And for those that might not want to talk to a therapist, they sure did want to speak to Ray Ray because they know her and love her.

Liam Dempsey: Yeah. She’s such a wonderfully welcoming and warm person. And I’m glad you explained the Friendship Bench, because I heard of it, she mentioned it, and was very enthusiastic about it. And I just thought it was a Friendship bench. You, like, see a friend come and sit next to someone doesn’t have to sit alone, but it’s more involved. Now that I get to know more about your program, Patty, it’s not surprising at all that it’s not just a friendship bench. And I love that approach, meeting people where they can be. I need help, but I’m not going to therapy. I’m just going to go talk to this wonderful grandma-like woman who is kind, thoughtful and generous. I love it. I love it. I love it.

I do want to ask another question about the schedule. Right. So you’ve got over 100 campers coming out and you’ve got things like go-kart racing, sports, drums, and stuff. And you have to do these therapies. Who actually puts together the schedule for all the different age groups to coordinate all the different, not just where do the campers need to be, but where do the counselors need to be, where do the volunteers need to be, and where the professionals come? Who has to do that? Oh, my gosh.

Patty Hillkirk: Why you’re looking at her? It’s my…

Liam Dempsey: And for folks out there in podcast land with no video, I’m looking directly at Patty.

Patty Hillkirk: Yeah. So it’s myself and usually two other people. And it’s really like a giant puzzle because we have seven different programs at camp and we have, in the morning, the kids have two sessions, then they have lunch and rest time, two more sessions, and then in the evening, program and 18 different cabins. So you can imagine all of that, and putting all of that together, it’s a stressful day. It’s also fun because we get excited preparing for camp, and we know the kids so well, especially when they get to be olders and our 15 year olds get to go on a wilderness therapy program, which, you know, it’s just a lot of fun. That’s the part about camp. 

People often say to me, isn’t it stressful and sad? It can be. And it’s also so much fun. It’s that feeling of a family reunion. You see your friends, you see, you know, I remember, I don’t know if you saw, but at registration, like four moms showed up.

Liam Dempsey: Yeah.

Patty Hillkirk: And those moms used to be campers, and here they are with their kids. It’s really neat.

Liam Dempsey: Yeah, that was neat to see in that. That happy and sad was interesting because in the research I was doing about Camp Dreamcatcher beforehand, I spent some time on your website and watched a number of the videos that are on your site. And I certainly recommend folks to get over to the Camp Dreamcatcher website and see those videos, and we’ll link to that over on the show notes at startlocal.co. 

But some of the young, there were some young girls, young adults, 15, 13, maybe they were young counselors, 17, talking about the Wishlog ceremony. And it’s what they loved and feared the most about it or it made them the most joyful and the most sad. And I don’t want to take away from the thunder of that video. So I’ll just invite our audience to go over and check that video out. But I totally get the joy and the emotional challenges of being there.

Patty Hillkirk: Yeah. So the Wishlog is a ceremony. It’s really a grieving ceremony. It’s a time. It’s always, well, this year, we shifted from Wednesday to Thursday night because we thought a storm was coming in. But it’s held outside by the lake. And there are teepees that were presented to our kids years ago in 1998, from an indigenous community. And the kids were told, you know, what clan they were born under, and that they were given paint. So there’s the bear clan, there’s their tepee, and the Red Hawk. And so we still have those up by the lake. And a lot of our children who passed their handprints are on those teepees. 

So, it’s a time where we have a fire. I have a microphone, and the campers find a stick 2 inches long or 9ft long, and they paint on wishes, and they carry those, or they drag them up to the fire, and they put them on the fire in silence, or they state them with the microphone.

Liam Dempsey: Thank you. Before we hit the record button, you and I were chatting about the collaboration between Camp Dreamcatcher and a number of local nonprofits, and how over the years, and it’s been 30 years now, Camp Dreamcatcher, so congratulations on that. But name some of the organizations that you’re working with, and how do they support ultimately the mission and the work that you’re doing at the camp?

Patty Hillkirk: Yes, we partner with local universities this year, Lincoln University. They came out to camp, and their volleyball team actually came out and facilitated programs with the kids. And then our leaders in training went for a tour at Lincoln during the week of camp. We also started a partnership with the EMTs in West Grove, and they facilitated CPR training and certification with the LIT’s leaders in training.

We also partner with some massage and yoga people who are local. The Philadelphia School of Massage we partner with AHA, which is Arts Holding Hands and Hearts. They helped out with the training during the week of camp and also with the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania. One of their chiefs, Chief Blue Jay, is at camp throughout the week. And Avangrove High School, their soccer team came out to camp. And, you know, the Rotary Club, the Lions Club, I’m a member of the Kennett Lions Club. You know, those kinds of organizations are really woven into the fabric of Camp Dreamcatcher.

Liam Dempsey: I’m curious. As the camp has evolved over three decades, you’re identifying new needs. What kind of research? What does your process look like for other nonprofits that might be in a similar situation? We have a new need that’s not our specialty. We need to partner, we need to collaborate. What does your research process look like in kind of a nutshell?

Patty Hillkirk: So our goal is to identify from the youth that we serve what their needs are. So, really all of our programs have organically grown from them. We started, you know, I’m a psychotherapist. I had a full private practice. I was inspired to have one week of camp, and I thought that would be it. And then the kids said we need more. So we just kept expanding our programs and now we have year-round programs. 

We partner with other organizations to fulfill our mission. We also are the only program like ours on the East Coast. And I think now maybe the only one in the United States. Many programs like ours have closed due to funding or just a lack of really funding. It comes down to.

Liam Dempsey: So that leads us on to my next question. It’s really around funding. Certainly, in recent months, federal funding is disappearing at lightning pace. And I wonder, how is Camp Dreamcatcher funding? How do you run the programs that you run every year?

Patty Hillkirk: Sure. So I did some little statistics on this, and I can tell you that.

Liam Dempsey: Thank you.

Patty Hillkirk: Sure. Individuals are about 8% of our funding. Foundations are 53%, events are 23%, corporate is 12%, and the government is about 5%.

Liam Dempsey: Thank you. So I want to switch gears a little bit and talk about the HIV/AIDS education and outreach that Cantrea Camp Dreamcatcher provides. I was reading on your website that over the course of your, every year, I’m sorry, that Camptree culture does outreach and education for 50 groups and up to 10,000 people. And yet, and yet myths and misunderstandings about the disease persist even today. What are three myths or untruths about HIV/AIDS that you can dispel right now?

Patty Hillkirk: Well, one of my pet peeves, a myth is when people use the word AIDS virus instead of HIV virus because they’re two different things. Right. HIV is a virus that can lead to an AIDS diagnosis, which needs to come from a healthcare professional. So that’s really important.

The other one I hear a lot is around, you know, people say HIV, you know, is that still a thing? Why are you guys still around? And they don’t understand that there’s, it’s increasing in certain communities now. And the reason is that people are not tested, and they’re not treated. So if you’re not tested, you don’t know you’re positive, then you could transmit the virus if you’re not treated. So we’re seeing really an increase in HIV.

And then the last one is still, unfortunately, the stigma. I mean, the stigma associated with the disease is still there. We have… most of the kids, camp is the only place they can talk about this, the only place they feel safe and comfortable, because in their real world, it’s not safe. And, you know, we have campers who’ve been outed on social media or their family member has, and that leads to bullying. That leads to feeling unsafe in your own community.

Liam Dempsey: Yeah. Thank you for sharing those. And we’ll be sure to include some links to accurate and up to date, and relevant HIV and AIDS information over at startlocal.co.

Patti, you shared earlier in this conversation that a lot of your campers, you even said campus for age 5 to 35, because so many come back as leaders in training and ultimately counselors. And moreover, some of your counselors have been around for decades. A camp has been on for around 30 years, which is impressive. But I met a couple of your camp counselors who one’s around for 29 years, the other one’s for 22 years. 

And so the question is, what do you do to attribute? What do you attribute your camp’s ability to recruit and retain not only so many campers to counselors, but counselors who keep coming year in and year out and decade in and decade out? What are you doing that makes people say, This has to be a part of my life?

Patty Hillkirk: Well, I think it’s the magic of camp, and it’s the magic that you can’t even capture it in words. And it’s beyond the campers. So it’s a community. We call it our circle of love. It’s the community that was built, and people come back for the feeling of that community. It offers a place where they feel they belong. We have counselors who, I learned this, you know, last week was camp, and I learned some people didn’t take a job because it impacted their ability to be at camp.

We have counselors who meet at camp and get married and have children, and their children come to camp while they volunteer. You know, it just, we come for the kids. Our focus is the kids. 

And it’s also a relationship. The relationship that we’ve built. You know, when you have a sibling and you can speak to them without words because you’re so connected, that’s what we have. And I know the two people you’re speaking of, and they’re part of our leadership team.

And our leadership team has been around most of them for 20 to 29 years, and they continue to come back. And, you know, I was looking at the camper evaluations, and one of the questions is about, do you feel accepted at camp? And 100% of the kids felt accepted, and 99% of the kids felt safe at camp. So really, that’s our goal. How can we, yeah, how can we provide a place where people feel they belong and they feel that in every part of their being?

Liam Dempsey: That’s wonderful. That’s really beautiful. And I just want to share, the campers, I’m sorry, the counselors that we’re talking about are not from Pennsylvania, or they don’t live in Pennsylvania. They do not live in Maryland, New Jersey, or Delaware. They’re coming from quite far away to be there. So that’s really impressive.

You’ve been around for 30 years with your camp, and the backstory to the foundation is a compelling one. And it’s one you’ve told in a number of different interviews that you’ve had. So I’m gonna again invite our listeners to go and find that on the Internet, and we’ll link to that over in the show notes. It’s a personal connection with a friend of yours. And I’ll leave that for another conversation, because I feel like we could have a whole conversation just about that. 

But 30 years is a long time, and I expect that you have reached an impressive number of milestones in those three decades. Can you tell us about some of your achievements? And maybe even if you’ve received any awards, either the camp or you personally, we’d love to hear about that.

Patty Hillkirk: I think our biggest achievement really is people coming back year after year and seeing the kids, as I mentioned, come back and become leaders at camp. We have a final circle at camp. We always start the week with a circle. That’s the Gestalt thing. And we end in a circle. And one of the volunteers who used to be a camper said he was crying at the end, and he said, this broke me. And it was that a boy said to him, can I have another hug? I don’t get them at home. So just that moment of connection.

And also that we really, I think that our success is because we dedicate ourselves to the lifetime of a child, of a youth. And so we are a consistent force in their lives. And we’re also a consistent force in the lives of the volunteers. You know, some volunteers started when they were 16, 17, and they’re in their 40s now, and they continue to come back. And I’ve watched their life, and I’ve seen the choices they’ve made, and, you know, it’s just really interesting to see the path that they’ve taken in life. So for me, that really stands out. I mean, as far as awards, I went to Penn State undergraduate and graduate school, and I got an Alumni of the year award. I was the first Westchester University Woman of the Year award. 

But really, my favorite awards are the talent show awards, right? So those are awards.

Liam Dempsey: Tell me about those. Tell me about those.

Patty Hillkirk: Well, Liam, it’s this moment. We have a meeting in my cabin that lasts for hours because we could never remember who won an award the year before. So we have to discuss that. And then, you know, then we find the historic awards that takes another hour.

And then, but the awards are. I’ll go through them.

We have two campers who received a courage and bravery award for facing the issue of HIV/AIDS with courage and bravery. We have Rainetta Adams, who you meant counselor of the year award. Two of those. We have a Camper Spirit award. We have an Evan Jones Catching Dreams award. Evan was one of our campers who died of aids, and he really embodied catching the dream that you have in your heart. We have an Ubuntu award, and sometimes it’s many. It’s for people who go beyond the individual to the community. So I am, because you are. And they step into that fully at camp. 

We threw in a keep calm award this year to a couple of people, and we had a new award that we presented to somebody who’s been volunteering for well over 20 years. He comes every year from out of state. He always does it without any, you know, he doesn’t want anything. He just wants to be at camp. So we gave him the under-the-radar award.

Liam Dempsey: Oh, I love it.

Patty Hillkirk: And he really appreciated it. And then we started one again through the Pennsylvania, the Lenape nation of Pennsylvania, what we call the Wawa word, which is the goose. And it’s about someone in our community who really leads our community. 

And then those people get to choose the next year’s award winners. So, you know, those are the ones that we give out. And every year, like I said, we add more.

Liam Dempsey: You’ve mentioned previously the fact that the teepees that you have at camp were donated by a local indigenous community. And you just shared in talking about the awards that the Lenape community is involved with the camp and close collaborators, and has a deep relationship with that. Can you talk about that? How did that come about, and what is your relationship like? How else is the local indigenous community involved and supportive of what you’re doing?

Patty Hillkirk: Yeah. So when we started camp, we wanted it to be non-denominational. And we also wanted traditions at camp. So we started partnering with a group called Morning Star, which was an indigenous community in Delaware. And they came out the first years of camp and really taught us and led some indigenous teachings and traditions. So they taught us about when we lost our first camper in 1999, how to create a bundle for that camper. 

So that means the way that we do it down at our arts and crafts area, we have a, it’s usually a big sheet, and it has photos of the person, and it says, we remember. And all the campers, volunteers, whoever wants to, go down and write messages. And then we fold it up.

And I still have from many years ago, some things that they gave me to put inside the bundle. Then we wrap it in red and we hand it over at the wish log to someone who was close to that person, or our therapeutic dog was one of the people who got a bundle. And then they hold onto it for a year, and they take care of it, and they come back the next year, and we burn it at the wish log. So that’s our tradition. We were taught. 

And then also the teepees, all of the traditions, again, were led by other people and taught by indigenous people. And that’s really important to us. And the teepees are important, and our wishlog ceremony. 

And we’re happy to have Blue Jay, who’s the chief of storytelling and culture with the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania. So she comes out and facilitates native storytelling, dancing, arts and crafts, and in doing so, teaches all of the children about her people. 

And last year, when she was at camp, she acknowledged in her wish log, you know, this is my land. This is the land of my people, which, of course it is where we hold land, where I’m at right now. So we acknowledge that at camp.

Liam Dempsey: How do you identify the campers to attend? How do you select who’s going to come this year?

Patty Hillkirk: So at the beginning, it was hard. You know, I had this idea that nobody knew who I was. And I’m like, I’m certain. I think I’m doing this. So I went to all the case managers in Philadelphia and the surrounding counties and really kind of begged for them to send kids.

And after that, it was hospitals. So, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, St. Christopher’s Hospital, Johns Hopkins. And then it’s really been word of mouth ever since. We still get, you know, new campers every year for sure. Many of them are referred by families at this point.

Liam Dempsey: So I want to change to something around back to funding, back to the organization, and fundraising. And we heard about this from Kathy Wilichek, an accountant with our own practice, our own firm in Kennett Square. And Kathy, who admitted that she does not like heights, was willing to rappel down Kennett Square’s tallest building to raise money for Camp Dreamcatcher. So I’d love to hear the story around. How did Camp Dreamcatcher think? You know, what if we had people jump off buildings attached to string that would help us raise money? And then the is, how can folks get involved in that? That sounds like such a fun fundraiser.

Patty Hillkirk: So it’s the Over the Edge fundraiser. And a friend of mine has one in Lancaster, so I heard about it through her. And we were on the waiting list for six years for this fundraising event because they only give a certain number of license for the event. So we, in 2023, I got a call, a license was available, and we said, well, let’s just do it. 

So, we were the only Chester county program that has ever had this event. And in Delaware county, there’s one in Wilmington, there’s one in Philadelphia. But they make sure the timing is not at the same time. And it’s through a company that all they do is urban rappelling. 

So we get a group of people, and I’m afraid of heights as well. So the first year, I said I was too busy. I kept saying, I’m too busy. I can’t repel. But last year, you know, I had to do it. So I was on the roof with our mayor of Kenneth Square, Matt Fetich, and the police chief, Bill Holdsworth. The three of us on the roof, the last ones to go. And it’s really scary. You know?

Liam Dempsey: I don’t like heights. So I could. Yes, I’m with you. Eight, nine floors up, something like that.

Patty Hillkirk: Yeah. So it’s eight stories, you know, and that first when you’re hanging off the roof and you’re looking at the building and you’re holding on, and then they say, let go. It’s one of those moments in life of just trust, just total, you know, I hope this works. And once you get through that moment, it’s pretty good, you know, it was scary after that moment. But I signed up again. I’m doing it again. 

Last year, we had 50 superheroes. And when I say superheroes, I want to add that we partner with the Philadelphia Avengers. So they’re a professional superhero group.

Last year, Spider Man. Yeah, Spider man went down the building. We had a camp. We had Captain America. We had a whole bunch of superheroes. And I hear they’re bringing 11 this year to the event. 

So what happened last year? Because we were on CBS3 many segments, like six segments in the morning. Parents with toddlers who were up early heard about it. So all of a sudden we had all of these toddlers around, and luckily we had masks and we had superhero coloring books and stuff. But it turned into this really remarkable, fun event beyond what we imagined it would be. And Spider man went down upside down. Little kids, you know, stood in line to meet their superhero…

Liam Dempsey: Oh, I love it. I love it.

Patty Hillkirk:  Yeah, we raised almost $76,000 with the events.

Liam Dempsey: Awesome. Awesome. So say again, where can people learn more about that? How can they get involved? How can they support that?

Patty Hillkirk: Sure, you can go to our website, campdreamcatcher.org it’s right there. You can register to rappel, which means that each person who rappels needs to raise at least $1,000 to go down the building. 

You can volunteer at the event or as a rope volunteer. And I want to really highlight, we need seven more rope volunteers to have the event, and you get to rappel for free if you do that. And then we need sponsors for the event. 

And something new this year that we’re doing. You know, we recognize, we notice that other nonprofits are struggling financially, so we invited four nonprofits to partner with us. And those nonprofits need to raise $2,000 the captain to rappel, and then any other team members need to raise 1,000. And then whatever they raise in their campaign, we split 50, 50 with them. 

So, that’s a new thing, and I think it’ll bring more people out. You know, we’re partnering with CAX and Kennett with AHHAH, with Family Promise, and also a great organization called Def Can. 

Liam Dempsey: Well we’ll include links to that over on our website again at startlocal.co. Patty, I know you work with a lot of local organizations. You’ve told us about a number of them already. But I want to ask you, what’s a local business or nonprofit that more folks should know about? More local folks should know about?

Patty Hillkirk: Well, I would mention AHHAH, which is A HH Art Holding Hands and Hearts. We’ve been lucky enough to. We were invited to partner with them providing restorative practice training and circles at the Chester County Youth Center. So we’re working with incarcerated youth, which has been great to be involved. That’s kind of where I started years and years ago and my therapeutic journey was working with adjudicated youth. So, you know, I love what they do. They’re one. 

The other would be family Promise here in Kennett. They’re a wonderful organization, and they’re doing great work. So I would say, you know, really both of those.

Liam Dempsey: Excellent. I understand that Camp Dreamcatcher as an organization is very small, but I wonder, are you hiring and if folks are interested in volunteering in any number of capacities, how can, how can they learn more about that?

Patty Hillkirk: We usually hire part time people. So if somebody’s interested they can check back like in May and usually through the end of September. We have people, our camp assistant, program director, during those times. 

We also, I forgot to mention, we work with a lot of colleges and universities within internships. So camp is a great place if you’re thinking about going into nursing or social work or psychology or public health, you know, all of those fields to do an interesting internship. As you mentioned, we’re very small, so I’m the only full-time person, and it really gives interns an action packed experience in all the pieces of a nonprofit. And then if they come to camp, obviously you know the richness of working with kids during the week of all different ages.

Liam Dempsey: How can the community support the work that you’re doing in Camp Dreamcatcher? You’re clearly supporting the HIV/AIDS community. How can the community support you?

Patty Hillkirk:  Well, we’re always in need of volunteers and you can certainly on our website you’ll see information on that. People can reach out to me directly if they want to learn how to volunteer. We have an adopt a family program which starts in the early October through mid December where all of our campers and their family members receive gifts. So it’s really easy. We have like Penn State, Great Valley always does it. So we have schools, we have groups, we have individuals, families. You go to our website, which we’ll have up in October, you choose a family, you purchase gifts for them. 

So that’s a really, you know, sometimes people don’t have the time to come out to camp, but they do want to give. And that connection to a family and knowing that I am giving, especially to Chester county families, if you live in this area, is something people are really interested in doing.

Liam Dempsey: Patty Hillkirk, Founder and Executive Director of Camp Dreamcatcher where can listeners connect with you and learn more about Camp Dreamcatcher?

Patty Hillkirk: They can go to campdreamcatcher.org that will lead you to the event website to volunteer opportunities and also to donate to Camp Dreamcatcher. One thing I didn’t mention, all of our programs are free, so we don’t charge for any of our programs.

Liam Dempsey: Yeah, that’s a really important point. None of the campers pays for that, and a lot of them are coming from economically disadvantaged and challenged homes anyway. 

So, thank you so much today, Patty, for your time and for all that you’ve shared. I’ve really appreciated it. Thanks for coming on the show.

Patty Hillkirk: You’re very welcome. Thank you.

Liam Dempsey: And thanks to you for listening. We value your time and attention to our conversation. We appreciate that you’re a part of our Start Local community. 

As a reminder, show notes and links to everything we talked about today will be over on our website at startlocal.co. We publish a new episode every fortnight and you can catch our show wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. Take a minute to head over to the to the website to subscribe to get our updates right to your email inbox and feel free to engage with us and connect with us over on LinkedIn. 

Thanks so much. We’ll catch you the next time. Bye for now.