Putting the ‘fun’ in fundraiser

Monday 15th April 2019

Putting the ‘fun’ in fundraiser for children living with cancer

Camp Quality launches its Camp 4 Camp Quality fundraiser in May to support children living with cancer to have some fun and feel empowered to overcome the challenges cancer brings.

Camp Quality New Zealand, a not for profit organisation that takes children living with cancer on fun-filled camps, launches its second annual Camp 4 Camp Quality fundraiser today to help support the life giving work they do.

Camp 4 Camp Quality Event Manager Jo Sherwood says, “This year’s fundraiser is all about celebrating what makes camp days so special and we’re encouraging people to show their support by running a fundraiser, sharing the message and/or donating throughout the month of May.”

Camp Quality supports children like Jess, who at nine years old was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called aplastic anaemia, a disorder where the bone marrow and the hematopoietic stem cells that reside there are damaged.

The first signs occurred around Christmas 2015 as Jess started to show unusual bruising, fatigue and a loss of interest in her pony - a passion of hers. Within days she became worse, and on New Year’s Eve her parents Rebecca and John took her to an afterhours clinic – it also happened to be Rebecca’s birthday.

“The doctor sent us to A&E to have tests done and I remember she was admitted straight away as her blood levels were extremely low,” says Rebecca. “After two weeks we were discharged, but that night she suffered a brain bleed so we were rushed to Starship Hospital intensive care, then neurology, heart ward and eventually oncology wards while teams of specialists tested her to find the cause.”

Rebecca says it was about as serious as it gets, “Jess was in intensive care and at times it was minute-by-minute. The unknown was so scary, the whole experience was a very intense blur."

The diagnosis came after many long weeks of tests and waiting and Jess spent much of 2016 in Starship Hospital, including her 10th birthday which was spent unconscious. Jess underwent a bone marrow transplant and had to have chemo therapy treatment, losing her hair in the process.

Fortunately the treatments were a success, and as Jess began to transition into recovery her hospital visits decreased from every day, to now only having to go in for check-ups once every six months.

In 2017, the Beere family moved to Manawatu for John's job, and through a friend who had gone through a similar experience with a child with the same condition, they first heard about Camp Quality.

Jess (12), has been on two week-long summer camps and she absolutely loves them. “Jess just slotted in at camp immediately, because everyone there had a story - so in that place, she was just a normal kid there to have fun,” says Rebecca.

“It was a great reassurance for us - knowing we could trust the Camp Quality team with Jess. We’ve found it hard to get babysitters or help in the past as she has specific care needs, but the volunteers and professional medical team at Camp Quality are the best - they know exactly how to care for Jess. And not only to provide care, but the fun and laughter and adventure she especially needs."

Every year, it costs Camp Quality $2,700 for each child to experience the magic of these camps and activities. Camp Quality’s goal is to raise more than $100,000 during its Camp 4 Camp Quality campaign to enable more children living with cancer to attend.

“For us, going to camp is about fun, hope and happiness,” says Jo. “So whether people want to fundraise by camping out for a night, challenging themselves to a sky dive, or hold an office morning tea – that’s completely up to them.”

For more information and to link through to the fundraiser page through everydayhero, visit camp4campquality.org.nz.

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