PRINCETON, W. Va. -Substance Use Disorder is a big problem in West Virginia, with the Mountain State leading the nation in highest number of overdose deaths by capita according to the CDC. However, you don’t have to be the one abusing substances to be affected by them; kids in their care of substance abusers suffer as well.
That’s why Camp Mariposa has made it their mission to help these kids.
“So, Camp Mariposa is a year-round program for the youth that have been affected by Substance Use Disorder, so typically a parent, guardian, another close family member have struggled with addiction, and, of course, addiction affects, not only, you know, the person with the substance use disorder, but it also has an effect on the family as a whole,” says Eden Scruggs, director of Camp Mariposa.
Through Camp Mariposa, kids learn about substance abuse prevention, how to remain calm in situations they can’t control, and ways that they can release their feelings through emotional support.
However, the camp also lets kids be kids, providing fun activities, such as field trips, with one planned for this summer.
Although the camp uses grant funding, grants can only cover so much. To fundraise for the trip, they turned to a local candle shop, ‘CSC’s Candle Bakery’ who used their experience making hyper-realistic candles to create Camp Mariposa-themed candles for them to sell.
“I was really excited. I love the s’mores scent and just the design itself. We had never done… a campfire-type of s’mores design before, so I was really excited to be able to… handcraft that for them,” says Courtney Orlicki, co-owner of CSC’s Candle Bakery:
Scruggs says the money raised through this fundraiser will be important to help fund an experience that the kids may not otherwise get to have.
“…Our kiddos come from a variety of different backgrounds, so they might not get a chance at a fun family vacation through the summer like other kiddos might, so we want to be able to provide them with as much normalcy, as much fun as we can…” says Scruggs.
Scruggs encourages people to buy one of these candles for themselves, saying they, not only look beautiful and smell amazing, but support the great cause of helping kids.
The candles are $26 each, with $10 of each sale going to the fundraiser. You can buy one of these candles for yourself by contacting a camp mentor near you or by calling or emailing Scruggs directly at [email protected] and 276-245-9298.
Camp Mariposa will also be having a kids art show fundraiser at the Dream Bean on May 17th.
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