Why Emma Alberici is Walking Big for Little Kids

“I only have one kidney”, a remark that Emma will never forget.

Emma’s first Camp Quality Kid’s Camp was 21 years ago. A lot of time has passed but she was left with many lasting memories of being a volunteer.

On a bus trip to Stanwell Tops, Emma recalls a conversation with a young boy recently diagnosed with Leukemia. He turned in the seat in front of her and said, “I only have one kidney”. Emma sat on it for a moment before letting him know “…you only need one kidney, the other is a spare!”.

Surrounded by 30 children who had spent half their life in a hospital bed, some of them as young as 4, Emma says she was amazed their parents had entrusted them to the care of volunteers for a whole five days. Sitting beside the boy was his twin brother, who Emma could tell had largely taken a back seat, in the attention stakes, or maybe it was the face of hidden distress as his twin was put through a battery of tests and treatment to save his life.

It was a reminder of what Emma loved the most about Camp Quality, care is provided for the entire family as they face a diagnosis together.

As a regular runner, Emma is calming the pace this September, she wants to slow it down, take stock and remember all of the kids she has met on camps over the past 20 years by participating in the Big Walk for Little Kids.

In times when COVID is on everyone’s mind, Emma wants to support families who are enduring cancer treatment in the shadows of a global pandemic.

Although some of this year’s camps were online, Emma says they are just as fun as she recalls them 20 years ago. Emma hosted the very first Virtual Camp alongside Camp Quality Volunteer Jo, who was volunteering alongside Emma on camps those 20 years ago. Emma says,

“The Virtual Camps were still as much fun and as high energy as I remember them 20 years ago! I’m talking about all stops pulled out with the best possible entertainers sourced far and wide. That magician’s tricks from 20 years ago still confound me! The musicians always left the adults with ‘pinch me now’ moments. This year’s ‘scientist’ with her whacky experiments was typically awesome too.”

Emma is helping provide the many children attending Camp Quality Kid’s Camps with positive memories that can change their cancer story, and you can too.