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Free Family Time
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| Research has proven what most of us know from experience: “All work and no play” simply isn’t healthy. We are wired to crave rest and relaxation once in a while. Kim Riemland reports on a United Methodist program that makes a vacation possible for those who probably need it the most. | |||
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On a warm, breezy day on the Oregon coast …
Andrea Justice (natsound): “Oh, lots of sand.”
… Andrea Justice is doing something she hasn’t been able to do since becoming a mom: taking a vacation.
Andrea Justice: “To be able to play with them, and that’s all we have to do is play—we don’t have to work or anything else—it’s good. It’s nice to spend time with them.”
She and her two boys are on what’s called a “Creation Vacation”—a free, four-day camp away from the inner city for families who couldn’t otherwise afford it.
Andrea Justice: “I’m paying my bills every month with my check, and at the end of the month I’m broke. So when it comes around to vacation time, there’s no way to go on vacation unless I don’t pay something.”
Rochelle Killett: “Families who live in poverty struggle every day, just to make ends meet.”
Rochelle Killett helps organize this camp, which is a ministry of United Methodists in Oregon and Idaho.
Rochelle Killett: “Families are falling apart in this country. And this is a way for our church to strengthen them.”
Oregon has the highest rate of unemployment and hunger in the country. These camps are deliberately held at the end of the month, when food stamps and money often run low. Here, there is nutritious food, and plenty of it. The goal is to take away the daily stress of living in poverty and replace it with time spent with nature.
Andrea Justice (natsound): “Look at the chipmunk! Look! Do you see the chipmunk?”
And time spent with each other.
Andrea Justice (natsound): “That’s a tree and roots …”
At Rockaway Beach, Ore., I’m Kim Riemland reporting.
Free Family Time – Tag:
Each Creation Vacation family is paired with a “family friend” – a volunteer whose job is to help the vacation go smoothly. They assist with orientation, scheduling of activities or even babysitting, so parents get some quiet time.