November 17-18, 2018

Parents’ Getaway 2018 was a huge success!  Hosted at the Historic George Washington Hotel in Winchester, Virginia, Parents’ Getaway Weekend is dedicated to parents who have a child with cancer or are bereaved and is organized by parents whose children have also participated in Special Love’s camps and fully understand where each family is in the treatment process.

This year’s weekend welcomed 66 parents, including both couples and singles, 10 of whom were new to Special Love. Attendees joined us from 9 of our local hospitals in the Virginia, DC, and Maryland areas.

The weekend, themed “Strong at the Broken Places,” kicked off Saturday morning with breaking pottery and putting the pieces back together. This was a great bonding experience for couples as well as an interactive activity with other couples. The afternoon offered parents the chance to enjoy makeovers, massages and Reiki, as well as yoga and scrapbooking, provided by volunteers who pampered our parents and helped them relax.

Saturday night, parents got their groove on with a Disco-themed dinner dance.  Everyone put on their best platform shoes, bell bottom-jeans, and afros and showed off their best disco moves, grooving to music provided by DJ Malcolm Jones, a former Special Love camper and now volunteer.

A special thank you to the planning committee, Shari Fisher, Marilyn Eichner, Maureen Lilly, Terri Tomoff and Sharon Johnsen for an awesome weekend!

For more information, contact Angela Ashman, Program Director, at aashman@specialove.org.