Giving kids facing cancer the chance to be kids again.

Camp Quality is proud to have brought positivity, fun and laughter to the lives of kids and families in Canberra and the ACT for 41 years.

Camp Quality is a children’s cancer charity that supports two important cohorts: children diagnosed with cancer under the age of 15 years, along with their siblings and families, and children of the same age whose parents or carers are undergoing treatment for cancer (Kids Impacted by a Carers Cancer or KICC). Currently, Camp Quality has around 258 registered families facing cancer living across the wider ACT region.

Camp Quality provides a full range of free programs for ACT families facing cancer, including hospital support services for children undergoing treatment at Canberra Hospital as well as those in need of palliative care in hospital and at home.

We also provide families post hospital treatment with a five-day break from cancer at our Family Getaways in the region, as well as Camps and Fun Days in the ACT throughout the year. All costs including accommodation, food and transport are covered by us, as all of our programs are provide free of charge.

Over the past five years, Camp Quality has provided a total of 64 camps and recreation programs within the Canberra/ACT area to support around 10,000 local children, carers and parents, in addition to providing access to further Family Camps and programs within the ACT and surrounding areas. The Camp Quality Puppets deliver the Cancer Education Program to local Canberra Primary Schools and Early Learning Centres to support children returning to school after cancer treatment as well as those facing a relative’s cancer, helping children to know how to support someone undergoing the challenges of cancer. This program also helps to reduce incidents of bullying, absenteeism and reliance on mental health professionals for families dealing with cancer.

The Puppets also regularly attend the Canberra Hospital by being there for the Hospital Support Programs where children requiring checkups and day treatments are on the ward as part of their follow-up treatment. Camp Quality is there to help build optimism and resilience as well as a supportive community with other families experiencing similar challenges. Our services and programs are there to support kids from the first point of diagnosis through to remission, and also in the tragic case of bereavement – through Child Life Therapy in hospital, respite at Family Getaways post treatment, and providing a break from cancer at our Camps and Family Fun Days. We also offer credible information through our digital services such as The Kids Guide to Cancer app and website in five different languages. As part of our continuous commitment to becoming the most valuable support network for kids and families impacted by cancer, Camp Quality is funding a full time Child Life Therapist position at Canberra Hospital to provide procedural support to children from the ACT undergoing cancer treatment. We rely almost entirely on the generosity of everyday Australians, with community fundraisers, regular donors, partners, grants and foundations, to help us support families during their darkest days as they deal with the trauma of a cancer diagnosis.