People are encouraged to bring the entire family to Barrington Town Beach this Saturday, May 18, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for a day of family fun, all while raising money for a great cause.

Two Barrington Middle School eighth-graders, Maggie Searles and Georgia Gorfinkle, have teamed up to support children who have lost a parent. Maggie and Georgia will hold an event filled with fun games and activities.

When searching for an overnight camp to attend themselves last summer, the girls learned that the one they chose, Fleur de Lis, offers a free week of camp to girls who have lost a parent.  

Searles and Gorfinkle were moved hearing about this week of camp, called Circle Week. Offered to girls ages 8-15, Circle Week combines traditional sleep-away camp activities with grief work. Fleur de Lis brings in an experienced grief team to help guide campers in a safe and caring setting surrounded by understanding and supportive peers. 

Thinking about their own friends and classmates here in Barrington, Searles and Gorfinkle wanted to raise money to ensure more girls would have an opportunity to attend Circle Week and get the support they need after such a tragic loss.

The girls teamed up with Positive Tracks, an organization whose mission is to support youth ages 12 to 25 with the skills, knowledge, and resources needed to change the world through the power of physical activity.  Positive Tracks guided them in the type of fund-raiser they wanted to hold; supported them with the tools they needed to spread the word and collect donations; and even offered to match the first $200 they raise.