What a Grief Camp Taught This Deadhead

You might have noticed I didn't send a Mother's Day email this year. That wasn't an accident.

I lost my mom a few years back, and Mother's Day is one of those days that hits different when the person you'd be celebrating is gone. I didn't want to show up in anyone's inbox with "15% off for Mom!" knowing that for a lot of people, that email would land like a punch.

Because I know this community. You're like me. You've been on the bus a long time. You've lost people.

Every summer, I volunteer at a camp for kids who've lost a parent or a sibling. I don't talk about it much. It's not something I do for attention. I do it because sitting with a kid who's trying to figure out how to carry that kind of loss is one of the most important things I know how to do. The Dead taught me that community is how you survive the hard stuff. That camp is community in its purest form.

I'll be honest with you. I went there thinking I had something to give. And I do give it everything I've got every single time. My daughter says I'm the only volunteer who comes home bleeding. But somewhere along the way I realized I get more out of that camp than I could ever put in.

So when Father's Day rolls around, I don't take it lightly either.

If your Dad is still here, call him. If he's gone, I hope you've got a good story about him wearing something ridiculous at a show.

I've been to hundreds of Dead shows. Partied on the lot from coast to coast. But some of the most meaningful moments of my life have happened at a grief camp for kids who've lost a parent or a sibling. It's called Comfort Zone Camp and I've been volunteering there for years.

1 in 11 kids in this country will lose a parent or sibling before they turn 18. I didn't know that until I started volunteering. I wish I didn't have to know it now.

It's nationwide, it's completely free, and if a family can't afford to get their kid there, the camp will cover travel too. If you know a family who could use it, please pass it along. And when you do, tell them Bear sent you. 👉 www.comfortzonecamp.org

If you want to volunteer like I do, you can learn more here: 👉 comfortzonecamp.org/get-involved

Peter Barry "Bear" Bickmore is the founder of eDeadShop.com, an officially licensed Grateful Dead apparel store. He has been a Deadhead for over 40 years and a Comfort Zone Camp volunteer for almost 20 years.