How we help

At Hospital

Our Child Life Therapists transform the terrifying experience of treatment by empowering children growing up with cancer in hospital. They remain by a child’s side, providing practical support to kids and their families, throughout their treatment, forming bonds and sharing skills that strengthen the wellbeing of the entire family. We currently fund Child Life Therapists in NSW and VIC.

Our puppets - Kylie, Melissa and Dean - visit children at their hospital bedside to ease anxiety and make them laugh. For some kids the shock of treatment makes them shut down emotionally, even to their parents. The puppets have a way of connecting and letting those kids be kids. When a child is in isolation, the puppets perform at the window - often the only way of interacting with the children during this time.

Our Family Liaison Coordinators visit children’s hospitals around the country every week with a friendly face, introducing families to our services and encouraging access to the programs that meet their needs (both Camp Quality programs and other service providers).

At School

Our Primary School Education Program includes our touring puppet show for primary schools, which answers difficult questions kids have about cancer. Often the effects of cancer can be confronting for young kids - when children return to school they often look very different as a result of the side effects from their treatment. This needs to be explained to their peers so they know what the child has been through and why it’s important to support them. Importantly the puppets teach students that cancer is not contagious. The show encourages kids to be supportive of their classmate who has a mum, dad, brother or sister impacted by cancer - or who has cancer themselves, and reduces the likelihood of bullying, exclusion, confusion or anxiety.

At Home

Our Kids’ Guide to Cancer App is a world first, award-winning app that supports kids who have a parent, sibling, friend, or loved one with cancer. It’s a free, interactive educational program that answers the most common questions children have about cancer.

Our Financial Support Program provides financial aid for bereaved families in extreme financial difficulty. In some cases we will help with funeral costs for their child.

Family Experiences are tickets to events or shows provided to Camp Quality to share with our families.

Away from it all

Our Camps provide kids and their families impacted by cancer with a vital break to strengthen their wellbeing and boost their support networks. Medical volunteers are on hand to ensure children’s health needs are always met.

Family Camps are an opportunity for families to reconnect with each other and make new connections with families in a similar situation.

Fun Days are Camp Quality planned events where families get together and enjoy something they may not otherwise have had the opportunity to do, or the time to organise themselves.

Family Experiences are tickets to events or shows provided to Camp Quality to share with our families.

Our Retreats offer families a safe space to retreat together at Salamander Bay (NSW) and Warrnambool (VIC) and West Beach Caravan Park (SA). It is a chance to relax, unwind and spend quality time away during treatment, in remission, and in the case of bereavement.