I’m going to take some time out from my usual geek driven posts and put up some information about an Organization that Katy is quite involved with and which I am just getting into.
This last weekend I’ve been hard at work: acting, singing, playing Frisbee, brainstorming, but most importantly I’ve been learning. For two years before she came over to the UK Katy was a regular volunteer with a charity called Camp Quality a truly stoic organization committed to bringing fun back into the lives of children with cancer and the families affected by this. For one week in the summer they run a summer camp that allows the Kids to socialize with other children, allows them to experience fun an exhilaration they wouldn’t otherwise be able to find, and allows their parents and siblings some time to themselves without worrying about a life impacting disease.
The weekend was all about introducing me to the concept of what a being a companion will mean, the camp runs a one on one buddying scheme with volunteers so that the kids are looked after but more importantly so that they get to have someone who will be a friend and help them really enjoy the weekend. I got to meet a huge number of other volunteers (there are likely to be 70+ campers so that means 70+ companions plus staff are needed for the Southern North Island region alone)
So I’ll be giving regular updates about how my training goes and what I get out of it, obviously there are privacy concerns so I won’t be sharing any details of any sensitive matters (unless think it important and have sought out the blessing of those involved).
But my main reason for posting is that as always these organizations are reliant on donations, and in the grand scheme of things Camp Quality finds it very hard to get it’s name out there. Please visit their web site, spread the word, donate (time/money or anything you can) to helping out this valiant cause.
I’d also like to give a shout to the awesome people at project boost another volunteer organization trying their hardest to make the most out of a bad situation for these families. Check them out too.
