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Ann-Marie and Krysty were campers at Becky’s Mindful Kitchen who made every room brighter and every person better simply by being in it.
Their lives left a forever impact on my own. They are forever part of BMK. Their stories live here. Their light lives here.
Ann-Marie is honored through a mermaid and rainbow memorial bench, designed and painted by campers during the art camp she was meant to attend. I will never forget returning from her funeral to find that, with the guidance of Hope, the artist who leads the art camp each year, they had spent the final day of camp painting her bench. That act embodied the care and compassion that sit at the heart of BMK.
Krysty’s name lives on through the ziplines. Her encounter with the seat of one of them has become a cautionary tale shared with hundreds of kids over the past four years, told with humor, honesty, and care. Her story is part of nearly every talk I give around the country, reminding people to pause, keep perspective, and remember that we get to choose how we respond. She got to see the ziplines named in her honor and gave her approval for her story to be included in my book. I like to believe she would have given her approval of this scholarship as well.
It is easy to tell parents that their children matter to me when they drop them off for camp. After more than ten years, I hope that for many families, they now know those words are not symbolic. They are lived.
The woods here hold the laughter of countless kids. And while the sound of that laughter may fade, I choose to believe its memory remains, held like rings in a tree. Ann-Marie’s and Krysty’s laughter and light are part of what makes this place what it is, no matter how many years pass.
This scholarship exists to honor them, not as a memory alone, but through the continued impact their stories have on the lives of all who hear them.
A heartfelt thank you to their parents for allowing me to continue honoring their daughters in this way.
Applications for the scholarship are available on the Summer Camp page of the website through March 1st, 2026 and the recipient will be informed by March 15th. This scholarship covers the cost of one BMK summer camp in 2026.
I would like this scholarship to help someone attend who otherwise would not be able to due to financial hardship, but I do not require you to share or prove that is the case.
Ann-Marie and Krysty were campers at Becky’s Mindful Kitchen who made every room brighter and every person better simply by being in it.
Their lives left a forever impact on my own. They are forever part of BMK. Their stories live here. Their light lives here.
Ann-Marie is honored through a mermaid and rainbow memorial bench, designed and painted by campers during the art camp she was meant to attend. I will never forget returning from her funeral to find that, with the guidance of Hope, the artist who leads the art camp each year, they had spent the final day of camp painting her bench. That act embodied the care and compassion that sit at the heart of BMK.
Krysty’s name lives on through the ziplines. Her encounter with the seat of one of them has become a cautionary tale shared with hundreds of kids over the past four years, told with humor, honesty, and care. Her story is part of nearly every talk I give around the country, reminding people to pause, keep perspective, and remember that we get to choose how we respond. She got to see the ziplines named in her honor and gave her approval for her story to be included in my book. I like to believe she would have given her approval of this scholarship as well.
It is easy to tell parents that their children matter to me when they drop them off for camp. After more than ten years, I hope that for many families, they now know those words are not symbolic. They are lived.
The woods here hold the laughter of countless kids. And while the sound of that laughter may fade, I choose to believe its memory remains, held like rings in a tree. Ann-Marie’s and Krysty’s laughter and light are part of what makes this place what it is, no matter how many years pass.
This scholarship exists to honor them, not as a memory alone, but through the continued impact their stories have on the lives of all who hear them.
A heartfelt thank you to their parents for allowing me to continue honoring their daughters in this way.
Applications for the scholarship are available on the Summer Camp page of the website through March 1st, 2026 and the recipient will be informed by March 15th. This scholarship covers the cost of one BMK summer camp in 2026.
I would like this scholarship to help someone attend who otherwise would not be able to due to financial hardship, but I do not require you to share or prove that is the case.