about
Founded in 1987 by Lisa Tanzman & Elaine Mermelstein, principals of Creative Concepts Unlimited (ccumerch.com), CAMP ERUTAN is a 501(c)(3) non profit tax exempt organization dedicated to helping kids at risk.
mission
To enhance the lives of children in foster care by exposing them to nature and expressive arts and, whenever possible, to reunite siblings who have been split up in the foster care system.
To provide resources that can be used by children in foster care and those transitioning out of foster care as they establish independent lives of their own.
To educate and inspire foster youth and former foster children to the possibilities available to them.
philosophy
Awareness, Balance and Choice
To be AWARE of the BALANCE that exists in life and know that what you do with your life is your CHOICE.
Awareness: of your physical surroundings, of your inner emotions, of your ability to create your own future. Pay attention, honor your intuition, first thought best thought.
Balance: from the laws of nature to playing on a teeter-totter, for each action there is a reaction, for every problem there is a solution. When you do good things, good things happen, and when you do bad things, bad things happen.
Choice: in every situation it is ones' choice how to react. Education, experience and instinct will help you make positive choices. Creative and reactive have the same letters.
vision
To give children in foster care a chance to be a kid. While at CAMP ERUTAN children are provided with an opportunity to strengthen bonds using the benefits of therapeutic play, education and the philosophy of CAMP ERUTAN.
outreach
To establish ERUTAN Communities (EC) as a meaningful and sustainable long-term alternative to foster care. EC is envisioned as a residential, educational community dedicated to reuniting families separated by the foster care system while creating a supportive domestic and educational setting that measurably improves life outcomes for these young people. more info