Our Camp Quality volunteer Companions and Camp Leaders are
integral to delivering our programs and services with
our unique mix of dedication, fun and optimism.
With this in mind, we undertook a new piece of research so
that we could ask them exactly what they thought about the value
Camp Quality provides and improvements we could make to support our
families and our volunteers.
These results build upon and complement the findings from
the Family Research Project. Here is what our
volunteer Companions and Camp Leaders had to say about
us.
Why do Companions volunteer for Camp
Quality?
- Agree with Camp Quality philosophy of fun therapy.
- Believe Camp Quality makes a difference to the lives of
children with cancer and their families.
What do Companions think about Camp
Quality camps?
Benefits
- Very positive - see camps as an
opportunity for recreation and fun.
- Camps help families meet others
in similar circumstances that provide
understanding.
- Impressed by how our camps are run.
Suggested
improvements
- Increase variety of activities - involve more
opportunities to learn new skills and more creative activities such
as drama, dance and music.
- Introduce social activities to
improve interaction and networking, for example a meet and greet at
beginning of camps.
- Look to increase activities for campers with special
needs and younger children aged 5-7 years.
- Hold camps across weekends and school holidays to better
accommodate other volunteer commitments.
What do Companions think about the
camper/sibling
matching process?
- Believe that the matching process improves the camp
experience for both the Companion and the child.
- Suggested that Companions with responsibility for more
than one child should have children who are matched to each other
in regard to their abilities, needs and interests.
- Matching should occur by taking into consideration the
-
- Skills and experience of the Companion
- Whether the Companion was comfortable supporting a child
with special needs
- Personalities, interest and abilities of the child and
Companion
- Where the Companion and child live
- Whether the volunteer has been a Companion
before
What do Companions and Camp Leaders
think about the
education, training and support provided for
volunteers?
- Most believed the level of training was 'about
right'.
- Experienced volunteers asked for training that better
reflected their level of experience and training needs.
- Believed Camp Quality training could benefit from a more
interactive approach.
This could include -
• Using guest speakers
• An increased use of real life examples and 'role play'
• More opportunities for peer interaction and support through team
building, role play and online support forums
- More information on campers with a disability,
emotional/behaviour problems or special needs is
required.
- Investigate opportunities for volunteers to conduct
debriefing sessions after camps.
What other ways could Camp Quality
support families?
Companions and Camp Leaders believe that
Camp Quality's commitment to fun therapy should continue to be the
underlying objective for any changes made to programs or
services. The following are some suggested
improvements -
- Provide more social and recreational activities for
families in-between camps.
- Improve support to families in regional and rural
locations.
- Provide more practical assistance for families,
particularly during the treatment phase.
- Increase awareness of Camp Quality programs and services
amongst the general public.
- Become more involved in supporting children with cancer
when returning to school.
- Provide opportunities for parents to talk about their
experiences - but only if offered by professional social
workers.
Link to next section of the Research Results:
» 7. How we conducted
the Family Research Project
« Back
to main research results page