Russian/​Eastern European/​Central Asian Heritage Camp

Russian/​Eastern European/​Central Asian Heritage Camp (REECA HC) is one of the few camps of its kind in the country specifically designed for families with children adopted from Russia, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia. REECA HC is one of 13 camps facilitated by the highly respected Heritage Camps for Adoptive Families (HCAF), a non-​profit organization that has conducted heritage camps for adoptive families for over 20 years.

Our acronym is a mouthful – REECA HC, but our campers come from a variety of countries; Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Poland, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia and more.

REECA HC is a camp for the entire family. Parents, adopted REECA children, non-​adopted siblings, siblings adopted from other cultures and extended family members are invited to come and learn about their adopted family heritage and culture. We work hard to accomodate children with special needs of any kind, and believe wholeheartedly that every adopted child should have this camp experience with their family.

We want to assure that everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend!

REECA Heritage Camp is a place to explore your child’s cultural identity while also learning from so many other families “just like yours.”

We realize that as your children grow, they may be dealing with issues faced by any adopted child, especially when they are born in another country and/​or culture that is different from their parents. For a few days at our camp, they are with a sea of families who are like theirs, and with children who came from the same part of the world as they did. Though we enthusiastically celebrate and strive to highlight the different birth countries of our campers, we also recognize adoption as a culture of its own. The similarities of being internationally adopted children from that same place in the world is what really bonds the children and their families so immediately at our camp.

A few years ago, we were honored to have at camp a delegation from the Ukraine State Department for Adoption and Protection of the Rights of the Child to speak with parents and observe camp activities. They were very impressed by what we are doing at camp, and by our adoptive families. The head of the delegation was moved to tears when she told us how much it meant to her that our children at camp were staying connected to their culture.

REECA is a culturally and educationally rich heritage camp for all members of the family to enjoy. Every year participants eat food from the region, learn traditional folk dances, and learn to speak common Russian phrases. Different parts of the vast REECA region are highlighted each year and workshops are offered for each age level, children (ages 3 and up), teens, and parents– based upon each group’s needs and interests.

REECA’s theme this year is “A Taste of REECA.” We plan to have cooking workshops for adults and children of all age groups, but we also want to incorporate the “flavor” of REECA countries in other ways, as well — through literature, dance, music, film, etc. We hope to represent the cultures of as many of our countries as possible, in all their beauty and uniqueness.