Q - What is Camp Trillium? A - Camp Trillium is a camp for kids living with cancer, and their families. Established in 1984, Camp Trillium is a charitable organization that provides year-round camping programs. In our camping programs, children, siblings and parents facing childhood cancer are treated to a regular camping experience at no cost to themselves. It is an opportunity for kids facing a deadly disease to be kids, with the added benefit of having medical facilities and staff on hand should help be required. Q - Where is Camp Trillium located? A - We currently have two residential camps in Southern Ontario. Operating since 1989, our Garratt?s Island facility is located in West Lake, near Sandbanks Provincial Park in Picton and accommodates over a thousand children every year. With over 400 cases of childhood cancer being diagnosed each year, however, the facility at Garratt?s Island has become overloaded and Camp Trillium recently took on a fund raising campaign to open an additional residential camp. In 1997, a new year-round facility was under construction near the town of Waterford, approximately 50 minutes south-west of Hamilton and only two hours from Toronto. Rainbow Lake opened in June of 1998 and will be undergoing additional construction over the next two years. To reach as many children as possible across Ontario, Camp Trillium also holds day camps at locations across the province including Barrie, Hamilton, Kingston, Kitchener, London, Mississauga, North York, Oshawa, Ottawa, Sudbury and Windsor. Q - Who are our campers? A - Due to the ravages of cancer and the effect it has, not only on the child suffering from the disease, Camp Trillium opens its doors to entire families touched by cancer. This includes children suffering from the disease, those in remission, siblings, bereaved siblings, and parents of children with cancer. A supporting, positive environment embraces the entire family affected by cancer and campers often come back time and time again as there is no limit on the amount of times campers can visit with us. Q - How much does it cost to go to Camp Trillium? A - On average, it costs approximately $500 per week, to send a child to Camp Trillium but this cost is not passed on to the children who attend our camps or their families. All of our programs are paid for through financial gifts, donations, and funds raised by a very supportive network of service clubs, corporations, foundations, and members of the community. Q - How much of our funding comes from the provincial or federal government? A - Camp Trilliun receives no government funding at all. We do, however, receive an annual grant from the Canadian Cancer Society, Ontario Division, who are great supporters of Camp Trillium. Q - What do kids do at Camp Trillium? A - It?s the kids who are special at Camp Trillium... not the camp. Our residential campers participate in a variety of activities offered in other camps: swimming, kayaking, canoeing, hiking, arts and crafts, bonfires, SMORES, poison ivy. Well, hopefully not poison ivy! The point of Camp Trillium is not to focus on the fact that the children visiting us live with cancer daily, but to make them forget it. Our camp programs are packed with adventures that allow our kids to socialize and just be kids for a while. Q - When is Camp Trillium open? A - Camp Trillium offers a variety of programs, including both residential and day-long programs, year-round at a variety of locations. Q - Sounds like a great cause. How can I help? A - There are many ways you can help Camp Trillium. As mentioned above, the need for such camps is growing in Ontario and we are a non-profit organization. We welcome financial donations and gifts which will assist us in our pledge of not turning any interested campers away. Alternately, our camps are always looking for camping equipment, ranging from blankets and fishing rods to life jackets and canoes. Last but not least, we would not be able to run our camping programs without the incredible dedication and support of our volunteers. We are always looking for people to help out at our programs across the province as well as for people to champion our fundraising efforts. If you want to get involved, please contact: Camp Trillium at 1-888-999-CAMP or write to Camp Trillium at 200 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, L8P 4Y4. |
