“Hi my is Sonia and my testimonial is that this camp is amazing under the circumstances we met Dorthy about 10 year’s ago when we lost our son Tommy due to a homicide. Our 2 youngest kids at the time were 10, and 9 they attended the camp for a long time until they couldn’t go anymore.

It helped them so much understand that they were not alone that there were other kid’s like them. Our kid’s tell this day ask if they could go back to help out other kid’s like them it gives a lot of support to deal with what ever they are going threw.

They have counselors that take a group of them and they play, laugh, cry, sing and play games. That is what I was told my Aaron and Audriana aka Yaya at first Aaron didn’t want yo go because it was so close to our son’s death but once he got to the camp I guess he opened up and said it’s ok to cry and laugh and be yourself they go to camp once a year and they loved it.

The staff is so friendly and amazing you actually gain a family I personally meet some amazing women from this camp and we still keep in touch once in a while.

I could go on Camp Good Grief I wish they had for young adults and for the parents. We were blessed to have met Dorthy and all of the staff from Loma Linda University Mental and health they are blessing to my kid’s which Aaron is going to be 21 and Yaya is going to be 20 Aaron was a youth counselor I believe for a couple of year’s.

I just wanted to thank everybody from the bottom of my heart for the love and support you have given us during that time. Thank you so much.”

“I met Dorothy about 4 years ago when she gave a presentation on Camp Good Grief at my work. Throughout the presentation, I could sense how passionate Dorothy is about providing opportunities for youth/teens who have experienced grief, a place to heal. As the presentation concluded, I knew I had to be apart of Dorothy’s camp team. And I have been participating in camp ever since.

Dorothy is an inspiration for the grieving campers each camp. On more than one occasion, campers have taken the initiative to give a speech on how Dorothy and camp have positively affected their life. From the opportunity to attend camps, Grief Sessions, fun activities throughout, and resources to take home. These moments often bring the majority of the room to tears.

Dorothy has also inspired us volunteers. More often than not, I see the same volunteers at each camp. Time after time, year after year, a consistent group of volunteers give their time for camp. Most volunteers have witnessed campers attend their first camp and their last when they have aged out. That, to me, is the definition of dedication.

I am thankful for all that Dorothy has done for Camp Good Grief and for me personally. Without her presentation, I would not have been able to witness life changing experiences that take place at camp. I will forever remember the bright smiles on the faces of youth/teens who have experienced the darkest of situations. They have been influenced by their experiences at Camp Good Grief and I truly believe for the better. Thank you.”

“Dorothy is a masterful leader, collaborator, and exhibits an entrepreneurial spirit in all she does. I served as a volunteer under Dorothy’s leadership of two Camp Good Grief weekends. One was for children who experienced the loss of a family member or friend from a non-violent cause and the other was with children who lost their family member, or friend to a violent cause. Several of these children witnessed murder, or suicide.

Dorothy facilitated a secure environment where each child was given ample and safe space to process their grief. Often this involved equipping them with language, tools, and permission to release internal pain, trauma, and guilt that often were at the root of current challenges at home, school, and with their relationships. She trained and positioned each of us as volunteers with varying backgrounds and expertise to contribute to the healing of these hurting children.”

“Dorothy is an inspirational and visionary leader who is dedicated to the mission of serving children and their families who have experienced grief. I have had the privilege of volunteering as a camp counselor and medical provider at several of the grief camps.

It was evident from the first encounter I had with Dorothy that she truly cared for everyone around her. She goes above and beyond to make sure each camper during a grief camp is individually cared for. As a volunteer, we were trained, supported, and encouraged to connect with the campers.

Dorothy, through her leadership, made sure that the environments at camp promoted an environment that was both fun and therapeutic. It was truly incredible to see the complete transformation of a child from the beginning of camp until the weekend ended. It’s a life changing event for both the campers and counselors.

Throughout my time volunteering at Camp Good Grief, it seems like Dorothy’s passion, love, and dedication to what she does continually increases.”

“Dorothy is an amazing person. I’ve been going to Camp Good Grief for 8 years. I’ve been there as a camper, as peer leader, as an assistant counselor and hopefully when all is over to officially go back as a counselor.

Throughout those years I’ve looked up to our camp coordinator Dorothy as she does such a wonderful job of getting people together despite all the stressful planning. She shows compassion, love, and dedication to her work and it shows. She has helped me as a person grow out of my own shell.

Truly words cannot describe how wonderful she is as a person and how she dedicated her time to help those in need. Camp Good Grief is one of those camps where truly one can go and learn and cope about their loss of a loved one and I love how Dorothy has done that.

I’m truly blessed to have her in my life.”

“The first step is always the hardest. After I found out about my Dad’s passing, time stopped like a stop watch. I didn’t know how to keep moving forward with my life without him there with me. I felt that I couldn’t do anything how I use to, whether it was eating, walking or talking. I felt that I couldn’t go back to doing it “normally” otherwise I would be acknowledging his death as something normal.

Dorothy Brooks, the camp counselors and other campers at Camp Good Greif helped me realize that I will always carry the memories of my Dad in my heart and he would want me to live and move forward with my life, that it was okay to grieve when I need to.

Camp Good Grief helped me take the first step into my new life and started time for me again. And because of my new foundation I was able build a family of my own with a beautiful, loving wife and a joyful, charismatic son. Thank you Dorothy.”

“I am writing this letter of reference of behalf of Dorothy Brooks and my experience working with her in Camp Good Grief (CGG) for the excellent service her leadership has provided to the staff and program participants. I have worked with Dorothy since 2005 and have seen many families benefit and thrive because of CGG.

Dorothy’s leadership, kindness, attention to detail, implementation of best practice standards, willingness to listen, and heart for the community has ensured well trained staff to implement CGG.

The program has served a diverse population: Latinos, African-American, Asian, Caucasians, and Native America from around Southern California.

The goals of the CGG are to provide prosocial coping skills for families grieving a death of a family due to chronic illness, accident, murder or suicide.

Dorothy’s creativity, compassion, and commitment to safety have helped make this program a success. Her ability to cultivate stakeholder partnerships between private and civic institutions has created a synergistic outcome for more effective program outreach and resources for families.

Dorothy has consistently provided high quality, personable, training/support, and has demonstrated the capacity to respond to the complex functions, mandates, responsibilities that make a CGG a healing oasis for families journeying through grief.

I recommend Dorothy’s effective leadership and excellent service for any agency eager to develop a strong, creative, collaborative approach to service delivery in your community. “

“I regret not having worked more with Dorothy Brooks. She is truly a gem of a person, and an incredible asset to her field and those who work with her.

I had the pleasure of working under her at two Camp Good Grief sessions. I saw how caring she is with each individual, both her colleagues and the campers and their families. She does not forget the details each one chooses to share with her. She earns their trust and is an excellent confidante. At the same time, she facilitates large scale programs like Camp Good Grief with ease and efficiency.

Dorothy fosters meaningful connections between her colleagues and constituents. As a Child Life Specialist, she is incredible in her craft. Her lengthy resume is truly manifested in the quality of her work and science. She believes in what she is doing and in whom she is working with. I’ve personally seen her reach out, beyond the requirements of her job description, to help campers in need.

Dorothy’s big heart is only matched by the depth of quality of service she creates in her programming. I am happy to recommend Dorothy Brooks to the next challenge she accepts to take on.”

“I had the great pleasure of meeting Dorothy Brooks while working for The Painted Turtle, a camp for children with chronic illnesses. Dorothy and I got chatting about camps and she told me about Camp Good Grief. I could tell from this conversation and her passion for helping children that this camp was special, and I asked to join her there next time she needed someone. Cut to four years later and I still have the distinct privilege of volunteering for Dorothy at Camp Good Grief.

Dorothy has created such an incredible program for grieving youth and for the adults who volunteer with her. Our campers learn healthy ways to grieve, how to create and depend on a support system around them, ways to honor their loved ones without being stuck in a place of guilt. They learn they are not alone in their grief and get to companion with other young people with similar losses. That alone is a crucial part of grief, finding people who understand.

It is Dorothy’s extensive knowledge of grief and loss as well as childhood and adolescent development that makes her such a huge asset to this program and to any child or family dealing with a loss. She is creative in her approach, understanding that each child is unique and will respond to different techniques. My favorite activity at camp is during the 3rd grief session where we learn about the dangers of bottling up our emotions. The campers use a 2 liter of diet coke and some Mentos mints as well as some beads (representing the emotions they don’t let out). After the beads are placed in the 2 liter, a camper drops the Mentos in and the group watches it explode, much like some of our campers do when they don’t talk to someone about their grief.

As a school counselor, I have recommended her program to many students as well as used resources from the program like books or readings she has shared with us. I have also used techniques I learned from her very well organized grief sessions in working with my own students.

On top of all of this, Dorothy is one of the kindest, most patient people you will ever meet. I believe this is what makes her so approachable and loved by every camper and adult in her program. She always makes the campers feel welcome and wanted and cherished. And the campers know they can depend on Dorothy. Listening to a camper speak of their gratitude to Dorothy for changing their lives in 3 short days of camps is the most powerful moment.

I believe in angels walking among us and Dorothy Brooks is one of those angels.”