CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — Two Clarksburg natives are heading to FedEx field Tuesday for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see Taylor Swift in concert, courtesy of West Virginia Caring.
Charlee Scheuvront, 10, attended the organization’s Camp Caring in June, and while at camp, she formed a close friendship with fellow Clarksburg native Riley Baldwin, 11. Both girls have lost their fathers within the past year, said Malene Davis, president and CEO of West Virginia Caring.
Scheuvront and Baldwin will be attending Swift’s July 10th “Reputation” tour stop in Landover, Maryland, along with Scheuvront’s mother, Tiffany Griffith.
“I could not be more excited. We could not be more happy for them, just to bring a moment of light into what has probably been a really tough year for them,” Davis said.
Scheuvront and Baldwin are two of 17 children and their guardians who will be attending the pop star’s concert thanks to West Virginia Caring and its donors.
“We have these camps all over. We have one in West Virginia, but they are also being held in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., and they are all very excited,” Davis said.
The unforgettable experience includes not only the concert tickets but an all-expenses-paid evening, including transportation, food, souvenirs and a private suite at FedEx Field for the concert.
“And they’ll spend the night over there because it’s probably going to be kind of a late night,” Davis said. “Tomorrow, they’re going to meet up with Sen. (Joe) Manchin at his office and do a tour of the Capitol building. It’s going to be a full D.C. experience for them.”
West Virginia Caring, based out of Preston County, is a non-profit organization that serves individuals and their families through palliative and hospice care. While the organization has served the 12 counties of North Central West Virginia since 1983, it wasn’t until the mid-1990s that bereavement, too, became a part of its services.
Now, West Virginia Caring holds bereavement programs in numerous communities throughout the state for children and teens who have lost a loved one. Through workshops and camps, they provide coping skills and a healthy means to express their grief.
The one-day camps are free of charge and are open to any child between the ages of 6 and 14 in West Virginia who have lost a loved one, regardless if that individual was a patient of West Virginia Caring.
“We send out flyers and information to all the schools so that teachers can identify kids who have experienced loss in the last year,” Davis said. “The loss could be from many different reasons, it’s not just terminal illness. It could be from tragedy or an accident. It could be siblings, it could be a parent, it could be a grandparent, it could be someone significant in their life.”
Most recently, West Virginia Caring added workshops for adults to learn coping skills as well, Davis said.
“In the past year we’ve been adding, for the adults who support these kids to come as well, so that they can learn what the kids have been doing through their workshop, and we use all kinds of things to build up their coping skills,” she said. “We use art therapy, large group and small group activities, things that empower each kid to really express their grief and successfully cope with their feelings.”
Davis said they also talk with the parent or guardian about how to identify a child’s unresolved grief, what signs to look for and when it may be time to go get further help.
To learn more about West Virginia Caring, visit www.wvcaring.org