By Caroline Roosevelt
Contributing Writer

If you see some superheroes rappelling eight stories down the Franklin Center Building on East State Street in Kennett Square on Sept. 27, you aren’t seeing things.

Camp Dreamcatcher will be hosting its “Over The Edge” fundraiser to support programming for its next camp - the only therapeutic camp to children impacted by HIV/AIDS on the East Coast. All rappelers commit to fundraising a minimum of $1,000 and they share the spotlight in scaling down eight stories with the Philadelphia Avengers. I recently sat down with Camp Dreamcatcher Founder and Executive Director Patty Hillkirk to learn more about this unique fundraiser, as well as the continuing mission of the agency.

Caroline Roosevelt: Tell me a little bit about the new mission of Camp Dreamcatcher.

Patty Hillkirk: What we started in 1996 was a program specifically to serve HIV/AIDs impacted youth, which it still is. However, we’re getting more youth who have experienced trauma and have mental health challenges, so we’ve expanded to serving youth impacted by HIV/AIDS, trauma, and mental health challenges. We serve the East Coast, and I think we’re now the only one (therapeutic camp) in the United States.

In April of 2024, Camp Dreamcatcher launched its’ mentor program for youth aged 15-17. 

What inspired the start of this initiative?

We noticed that kids who wanted to go to school did not follow through, so there was this missing gap, and we saw it over and over again. We decided to create a year-round organized program. There was always a natural, kind of loose, mentoring program because youth matched up with the counselor just naturally, but this was a more formalized program. Youth involved in our year-round Mentoring Program have been accepted into Temple University, Drexel University, Thadeus Stevens College of Technology, Delaware County Community College, and other local community colleges.

For many at Camp Dreamcatcher, the track is not college. The track is getting a job. The track is going to technical school. The track is basically being able to survive and help your family. When you come to this age of thinking about going to college or thinking about leaving home, there can be pressure to not do that because you are the breadwinner of the house and may feel responsible for your family.

You have been a Gestalt therapist since 1987. Talk about this form of therapy.

Gestalt therapy is really focused on feelings, so if you’re talking about your mom or your dad, instead of talking about them cognitively, we’ll pull a chair up in front of the person and say, ‘Put them in the chair and talk to them.’ Gestalt therapy connects people to feelings much deeper than other kinds of therapy. 

Camp Dreamcatcher boasts many success stories in its tenured operation. Many alumni have taken the path of entrepreneurship. This past year, Camp Dreamcatcher partnered with PayPal to provide career and college readiness programs. The program focused on entrepreneurship, so Paypal invited four entrepreneurs who talked to the campers about the journey to starting your own business.

How are event preparations for this year’s “Over the Edge” going?

We currently have 32 people registered to rappel in the event and hope to reach 40 rappelers by September 27th. We are once again partnering with the Philadelphia Avengers professional Superheroes group, and seven Superheroes will be joining us at the event this year. Over $52,000 has been raised thus far and we hope to surpass the total raised in 2024, which was $75,000. There is still time to sign up to rappel, volunteer, or sponsor the event.

Sponsors for this year’s event include Genesis Healthcare, Anchor Life + Fitness, Nancy Hobbs, LGB Properties, The Market at Liberty Place, Taylor Oil & Propane, Tri-M Group, CCRES, George Lock, Jack Schwartz & Maggie O’Connor, Kennett Square Lions Club, Region 2 of Lambda Sigma Upsilon Latino Fraternity, Aardvark Pest Control Services, AM Skier Agency, Northbrook Press, Constellation, and Citadel Credit Union.

The “Over the Edge” event presents a beautiful metaphor.

In 2023, which was the first year for the event, one of the most common reasons I heard from people for participating at “Over the Edge” was that they wanted to overcome their fear of heights. I am terrified of heights, and I heard that, and I thought that if they can do it, I think I can. After my rappel last year, I felt ‘Wow, I can do anything!’ As scared as I was, there’s that moment where you have to let go, because you’re holding on, you’re looking at the building and everyone around you says, ‘Let go!’”

The “Over The Edge” event will be held on Sept. 27 beginning at 12:00 p.m. at the Franklin Center at 128 East State Street in Kennett Square. Every dollar raised from the event will support the 30th year of Camp Dreamcatcher that will include 130 children; 200 counselors, medical personnel, professionals, and community members, who will provide 150 therapeutic sessions, 75 educational programs, 200 restorative circles, and 150 educational programs to campers. To learn more and donate, visit https://give.classy.org/CatchingDreams2025.