🍋 Thank You for Making Lemonade with Us in 2025
📅 Posted: July 25, 2025
A Look Back at Our Second Annual Grief Camp + What’s Ahead
This summer, something extraordinary happened.
We wrapped our second annual Lemons to Lemonade grief camp — and it was more joyful, moving, and meaningful than we ever imagined. A full week created just for kids who’ve lost a loved one — filled with comfort, connection, creativity, and a whole lot of lemonade.
And it was possible because of you.
🎥 Watch our 2025 Thank You + Camp Recap Video
👉 Click here to watch on YouTube
💛 Camp Highlights – A Week of Hope & Healing
We built each day around resilience, memory, friendship, and joy — the heart of what grieving kids need most.
🖌️ Monday
Campers kicked off the week by decorating journals and picture frames, visiting with therapy dogs from OC Animal Allies, and creating expressive art through Hoag Hospital’s Art4Healing program. They also made custom friendship bracelets with Bracelets by Evie, who generously donated all materials and stayed the entire week bringing smiles, sparkle, and style.
🐶 Tuesday
Campers shared memories with our “Lemon Tree” activity, did Pilates with Becky Lomaka of O’Connor Mortuary, created mindful jars and keychains, and learned calming “lemon breaths.”
🧸 Wednesday
Our most emotional day. Campers created Build-A-Bears in memory of their person, painted memory rocks, filled memory boxes, and had time to reflect and play outside.
🌳 Thursday
We took camp offsite to a nearby park — and it was magical. Yoga, sound bowl meditations, nature-based crafts, dream catchers, sunglasses decorating, and a peaceful balloon release filled the fresh air with hope and healing.
🎉 Friday
A joyful sendoff! We wrapped up the week with a scavenger hunt, face painting, slime-making, snow cones, and a full-blown carnival. Laughter echoed all around.
🍋 Why We Do This
Grief can isolate. But connection builds resilience.
Our camp isn’t “griefy.” It’s light-hearted, full of laughter, and rooted in peer support — a space where kids can be kids again and feel seen for all they carry.
We created this camp because we needed it once too. And now, we get to give it back.
🙏 Thank You to Our Sponsors, Volunteers & Partners
This camp was completely free for every family thanks to generous support from:
- Toyota of Orange – $15,000
- Edwards Lifesciences – $5,000
- Taylor Machine Works – $5,000
- The Nowell Family Foundation – $5,000
We are also deeply grateful to our 27 youth and adult volunteers who gave their hearts to this mission.
A special thank you to Hoag Hospital, who generously donated 16 licensed therapists to serve as grief counselors and cabin leaders.
And to Colleen Cherry of Playwell and Becky Lomaka of O’Connor Mortuary — trusted grief professionals who helped make every day calm, meaningful, and safe.
A huge thank you to Bracelets by Evie for bringing a burst of creativity and kindness all week long.
And lastly, thank you to St. Margaret’s Episcopal School for supporting us through the Venture to Serve Grant and for providing such a beautiful, secure space for our camp. It made all the difference.
🌱 What’s Next for Lemons to Lemonade
We’re just getting started.
In 2025, your support helped build something beautiful. In 2026, we’re growing that impact even further:
- Quarterly and monthly meetups to keep kids connected
- Community advocacy + education: We’re learning how we can work with schools, educators, and local leaders to make grief support a priority — and make change in our communities
- Camp 2026: Planning is already underway with new surprises, new campers, and even more lemonade
📣 Want to be part of what’s next? Click here to donate or get involved
📸 Relive the week: Watch the 2025 Camp + Sponsor Thank You Video
With gratitude and lemony love,
Sophia & Avery
