Parents Advocate for Camp Safety After Daughter's Death in Texas Floods

Remembering Mary Grace Baker

• 💖 Mary Grace Baker, an 8-year-old girl, is remembered by her parents as a child who radiated kindness and joy, was creative, and loved to dance.
• 🌟 She was known for her generous hugs and a desire to help others feel better.
• 😢 Her parents describe her as meticulous and state that there will never be another Mary Grace.

The Tragedy at Camp Mystic

• 💔 The Baker family lost their daughter, Mary Grace, along with 25 other children and two counselors, in a flash flood at Camp Mystic.
• ⚠️ Mary Grace's mother states her daughter's death was 100% preventable, attributing it to complacency.
• 😥 The incident is described as an atrocity that has ripped hearts into bits.

Advocating for Change: Heaven's 27 Fund

• 🎗️ The parents have launched the Heaven's 27 Fund to honor Mary Grace and the 26 other victims, memorializing them and supporting affected families.
• 🗣️ They are reaching out to lawmakers to push for mandatory, common-sense, state-regulated safety protocols for camps.
• 🎯 The goal is to raise the minimum standard, ensuring camps do more than the bare minimum to protect children.

Proposed Safety Protocols

• 🏕️ Prevention: Children should not be sleeping in cabins located within dangerous floodplains or hazardous areas.
• 📡 Detection: Camps need the ability and technology to monitor weather alerts and other potential hazards like forest fires.
• 🧑‍🏫 Training: Counselors should receive proper training, and there must be a clear understanding of safety plans.
• 🚑 Response: Camps need to establish communication with local emergency management teams to align camp plans with emergency responder plans.