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Why Support CQ?

Over 1,000 children and youth in Canada are diagnosed with cancer each year.  With advances in research, over 84% of children are surviving. This is creating a growing population of childhood cancer survivors facing the long-term effects of their diagnosis and treatment.

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Children diagnosed with cancer are at risk of:

  • Long-term cognitive and physical side effects

  • Feelings of loneliness and social isolation

  • Depression and anxiety

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Childhood cancer impacts the whole family. Families are usually reduced to a single income so that one parent/caregiver can focus on caring for the child. The family participates less in their community as they work their life around the child’s treatment and care. And siblings of the child with cancer often feel isolated as life begins to revolve around the sick child. A childhood cancer diagnosis puts a significant amount of stress on the family. 

This is where the magic of camp comes in.

Our free programs prepare children affected by cancer to thrive into their futures by addressing the psychosocial impacts of cancer. Our fun and meaningful social and recreational programs help campers foster a sense of autonomy, develop mastery and create opportunities for connectedness. Camp Quality creates a space where campers are no longer defined by illness, and instead have the freedom to participate in new activities, make friends and create memories that will last a lifetime. 

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CQ is committed to supporting each family as they face their own unique experience with childhood cancer. Our goal is to provide the families in our community with the opportunity to meet other families living with childhood cancer, strengthen family bonds and have Fun. Participating in activities as a family gives them the opportunity to create memories together outside of the cancer experience. Connecting with other families with similar  provides families with emotional support needed throughout the cancer journey.

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Our Programs

We have six camp communities: one in Alberta, one in Manitoba and four in Ontario (Eastern, Southern, Northern and Northwestern). Each community hosts a one-week camp. 

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Each of our regional camp communities offers a variety of family programs like Family Fun Days, Camp Reunions and Family Camp. Family programs provide the families in our community with the opportunity to meet other families living with childhood cancer, strengthen family bonds and have fun.

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We also run New Heights, a teen leadership camp for campers ages 14-17, and a young adult community-building program for survivors of childhood cancer ages 18-25.

In 2023, we began to increase our capacity to serve more campers, caregivers and volunteers.

Our Reach

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Number of Campers, Caregivers & Volunteers (2023)
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*Campers are participants under the age of 17 in all CQ programs
**Parents and caregivers are participants over the age of 18 who care for a camper and attend a program
***Volunteers are over the age of 17 and support program delivery
Number of Participants* by Program
(2023)
*Participants are campers, siblings and parents/caregivers
Click here for a description of our programs
**In 2023, we delivered virtual Camp-at-Home in collaboration with Camp Quality USA
***In 2023, we increased the number of family programs that we offered
 

"We have our own safe place here at camp, where we get to be ourselves, to be a little bit goofy, have fun, we get to break out of our shell" - 6th year camper

Camp Week Registration (Year-over-Year Growth) 

Stay tuned for 2024 registration numbers

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In 2024, our goal is to continue to ramp back up to our pre-pandemic capacity and serve more families of children affected by cancer. We aim to serve 425 campers and caregivers, with the support of 225 volunteers.

Measuring Success

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Camp provides kids with improved social skills, improved self-esteem, independence and overall positive changes. These outcomes are measured qualitatively through conversations with campers and quantitatively through surveys that parents complete after camp. All of these psychosocial impacts prepare kids affected by cancer to be engaged and active members of the community.

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We want to give as many kids as possible the camp experience to help them overcome the psychosocial impacts of cancer, and prepare them to participate in the community. By offering more kids the opportunity to attend camp, we can build a bigger and stronger community in which kids affected by cancer have a good quality of life and are set up to succeed in their futures. The impact that we have on the community is directly related to the number of community that we can send to camp, and we measure this impact by our registration numbers.

To learn more about our successes in 2023, click here.

"“My first time at Camp Quality was magical...I met some friends that I know will be a part of my life forever now! My camp experience couldn't [have] gone better in my opinion.” - Volunteer

Training & Support

Our volunteers are responsible for creating a safe environment for our campers, where they can try new things, make new friends, learn about themselves all while having fun!  We are continually updating our training to best meet the needs of our volunteers and to better serve our campers. After returning to in-person programs in 2022,  it was evident that after the pandemic, our incoming volunteers needed more support and training than in years past. 

 

In developing our training and resource materials for this year, our focus has been being brilliant at the basics. Being Brilliant at the Basics means balancing the complexity of running a medical speciality camp with the everyday basic skills required to be a positive role model for children affected by cancer. Our goal is to equip our volunteers with the fundamental skills of being a great camp leader, which include camper management, programming, problem-solving, communication and empathy.  By learning the fundamentals of being a great volunteer and focusing on consistency, we are setting our campers, volunteers and staff up for a safe and equitable summer.

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Future Directions

​Based on what we heard and learned in 2023, we are:

  • Developing a comprehensive volunteer recruitment, training and recognition program to attract and retain a robust volunteer base so we can increase our capacity to serve more children affected by childhood cancer

  • Continuing to offer more Family Programs to create an opportunity for families to meet and spend time in the Camp Quality community

  • Expanding our program offerings to young adult survivors of childhood cancer

 

We began meeting with Camp Quality's globally (USA, Australia and New Zealand) along with a research team at the University of Sydney to evaluate the effectiveness of our programs and to begin to understand the Camp Quality community further. These collaborative research studies will be ongoing throughout 2024 with a goal of sharing results in 2025. 

We are operationalizing our new Strategic Plan this fall. If you would like more information please contact fiona@campquality.org

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