The ‘power’ of Campfire Circle

Tucked away in Norfolk County is the only campground in Canada where a kid actively being treated for cancer can get on-site chemotherapy, blood transfusions and premium care by oncology doctors and nurses.

The 40-year-old facility – the merged Camp Ooch and Camp Trillium now under the name Campfire Circle – offers all the typical camp pursuits of swimming, fishing, arts and crafts and archery, but also provides a safe and free place for health- compromised kids and their families to get away and de-stress.

“I’ve never seen a camp even close to this and I’ve been to a lot of camps,” said 12-year-old Edward Bill, who was part of an open house at the camp that drew former and potential campers, sponsors, and volunteers last Saturday.

Edward and his brother Ethan first attended the camp in 2019 after Ethan, now almost 10, was diagnosed and treated for a slow growing, non-malignant but inoperable brain tumor.

“It’s the only camp I can go to and not have to worry about my medical needs,” said Ethan.

And it’s one of the few places their parents, Ian Bill and Stacey Bourbonnais, found they could relax their intense supervision of the kids.

“When we first got here, we followed them around for the first couple of hours and then watched them from the bell tower,” said Ian.

“It finally clicked that they didn’t need us. It was so weird that the kids got to be kids and was the first time Stacey and I had any downtime.”

Together, the Bills have been dubbed the “Fundraising Warriors” as they’ve helped raise thousands for the camp, children’s hospitals and other charities.

This year, they held a kids gala event in Milton that featured games, exotic animals, a Lego booth and a magician. It attracted about 100 people and, combined with two auctions, raised $16,000 which was the right amount to install a chair lift at the Campfire Circle swimming pool in Waterford.

“It was really great to be here today and see the pool lift,” said Bourbonnais.

“The boys worked really hard on the fundraising and got to see something concrete and to know they did that.”

That’s part of what Campfire Circle CEO Alex Robertson calls “the power of camp”.

In the case of Campfire Circle, it starts in hospitals across the province where ‘camp counselors’ engage with kids, often on the very day they get their diagnosis.

“Every year, about 3,000 patients and families are served through our hospital programs, community camps and overnight camps,” said Robertson.

It’s a great place for young kids to come and de-stress and for parents to connect to people who know what they’re going through.”

Saturday was show-and-tell day at the camp, with visitors invited to lunch and to try some camp-style fun like fishing, disc golf, tours, a singalong and some s’mores.

Tours of the facility included visits to the ‘Body Shop’ where a rotation of oncology doctors and nurses ensure camper’s treatments and emerging needs are cared for, visits to the large multi-family cabins that can sleep about a dozen people, and lunch in the dining hall where everyone engaged in competitive table thumping.

Campfire Circle runs programming year-round with camp weekends in the fall, winter and spring as well as the traditional camp weeks through the summer.

It also hosts events for campers only, siblings of those diagnosed only and a bereavement camp.

One camper told a counselor: “I know the medicine cured my cancer but coming to camp saved my life.”

[email protected]

@EXPSGamble