Mother of late teen, Jesse Dostaler, spent last week volunteering at Camp fYrefly in honour of her son.
“My son, Jesse, was a passionate supporter of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans or Questioning (LGBTQ) rights and so I continue to advocate for those rights today,” said Dawn Dostaler.
“He was always ready to stand up for what he believed in, it is part of what we loved about him (and) volunteering for the camp helps me honour and remember.”
Jesse died in a tragic accident in Cochrane last year on July 16, when he was struck and killed by a train. Jesse had attended Camp fYrefly, an education, social and personal learning retreat for sexual and gendered minority (LGBTQ) and allied youth, two years ago and planned to go back as a youth leader after turning 18 years old, but never got the chance.
To honour the late teen, Jesse’s mother and sister, Drew, decided to volunteer for the camp this year and spent “almost every day” helping with meal prep, while also getting unexpected support from the campers.
“I signed up for meal support because I wanted to give back to the camp that had turned my child’s life around two years ago, (and) after being present for a few meals I noticed why this program was making such a difference in the lives of kids,” Dawn explained.
“There was no judgment, pure acceptance, love, and true caring for each individual that was present. Over and over again I had kids coming up to me, shy, quiet, beautiful kids thanking me for helping them with the food. These are kids who struggle in the world, and yet I could see their smiles and comfort level grow as time passed in camp. It made my heart so happy.”
Drew, 17, also volunteered at the camp with Dawn and told her mother that she thought the camp was the friendliest place on earth.
“She said that it was important for us to volunteer because of our connection to so many LGBTQ individuals. It helps honour them and the friendship they had with Jesse,” Dawn said.
While the family said it was “hard” to be at the camp, they are glad they went. Dawn explained that each camper has a “happy box” for every youth at camp where other campers wrote notes with nice sayings or shared moments to put in each box.
“Our family will be receiving a ‘happy box’… I couldn’t bring myself to bring it home but one of the organizers will be dropping it off later this week,” Dawn said.
“Volunteering this weekend will resonate with me for a very long time.”
Camp fYrefly (fostering, Youth, resilience, energy, fun, leadership, yeah!) began 12 years ago as an educational, social, and personal learning retreat for sexual and gendered minority (LGBTQ) and allied youth. According to the website’s mission statement, the camp focuses on building and nurturing their leadership potential and personal resiliency in an effort to help them learn how to make significant contributions to their own lives and communities. The camps currently run in three provinces across Canada and are planning to expand in the following years.
When Jesse died last year, the family had asked that donations be made to Camp fYrefly in lieu of flowers and Dawn said she plans to continue volunteering with future fYrefly camps.
The camp runs annually in Cochrane in July. For more information go to www.fyrefly.ualberta.ca
