Camp Quality - History

History

The first Camp Quality was established by founder Vera Entwistle in 1983 in Sydney, Australia. Entwistle was responsible for introducing Camp Quality to several countries, including the United States.

The first USA camp was held the summer of 1986 in Stewartsville, Missouri with 43 campers. Today, Camp Quality USA hosts 15 summer camp programs in 12 states.

Camp Quality Australia was established in 1983 to provide children living with cancer and their families with a support network. The first Camp was held in Vision Valley, NSW and was attended by 38 children and supported by 38 volunteers.

In 1988 Camp Quality recognised that the effects of childhood cancer were widespread and implemented an education program to support the wider community. The Camp Quality Puppets were introduced as a free educational program aimed at primary school children. The benefits to the community were instantly felt and in 1989 McDonald’s sponsored the program. The McDonald’s Camp Quality Puppets have now been running for 19 years and reach almost 250,000 primary school children each year.

In 2001 Camp Quality went through a re-branding process to represent the optimism and happiness that Camp Quality was providing for children and their families. The smiling face of Giggle and tag line "Laughter is the Best Medicine" have become well known throughout Australia as the symbol for fun, laughter and support for children living with cancer and their families.

Today Camp Quality supports over 5,000 families each year and has 13 offices, which cover every state and territory in Australia.