Camp in the Cloud 2021 - Scottish Families

Outcome

Disabled children and young people (aged 20 and under) will have more opportunities to have fun, develop friendships and do activities they enjoy.

Results

Our post camp evaluation found that taking part in Camp in the Cloud Family Camp activities had a positive impact on the children living with serious illness: Whilst only 46% said that they made new friends, 92% of families who completed our survey said that Camp in the Cloud help them to meet new people and gave them the opportunity to interact with other campers in a similar situation to them.
When asked what their child gained from the experience one parent said they had “grown in confidence and was more willing to try new things than before”.

Case study

When Max*, the youngest member of the Smith* family, was just two years old, he was diagnosed with haemophilia. Naturally, the risk of trauma-related bleeding episodes and brain damage hugely impacted Max’s childhood.
The Smith family were further affected by illness when Max’s brother Billy*, was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease as a teenager. During these years, Billy had to be fed via a gastric tube, which had a significant impact on his body, mind, and confidence.
“Lifelong illness had a huge effect on all of us”, said Max and Billy’s mum, Lisa. “At a time when Max should have had the freedom of childhood, he needed close supervision and monitoring. When Billy should have been making friends and becoming more independent, his confidence was lost, and he became more dependant”
When Lisa and the family discovered Over The Wall residential camps, they found a way that the boys could regain some of the independence and fun lost as a result of illness. “Over The Wall camp became their favourite holiday,” said Lisa- “They loved everything about it, the activities, meeting other children with illnesses, the staff and the support they offered. It made a huge change.”
“For Billy- as an older child, Camp in the Cloud gave him the opportunity to make contact and stay in touch with all the people he had met previously at Over The Wall’s physical camps. He now spends time online gaming and chatting with them and has really developed friendships.”
“Max has never really concentrated when creating artwork, But he did during Camp in the Cloud. He made a beautiful picture with watercolours, which he was really proud of. He had never done anything like that before. He never had the focus or inclination and hadn’t received the encouragement that Over The Wall gave him. It was wonderful that he tried these new things. He loved seeing images of other children’s work too. I have a picture of him doing Camp in the Cloud activities as my screensaver on my phone. You can see from his face that he was genuinely happy in that moment.”

Outcome

40 carers of sick children will have tried new fun activities and got to spend quality time with their family members.

Results

All the activities in this Camp in the Cloud session were designed to be done as a family so carers were given the opportunity to try new activities and to focus on relaxing together as a family unit. The feedback that we received post camp supported this outcome as 100% of families who filled in our survey said they were closer as a family, and all felt that Camp in the Cloud challenged them and provided an opportunity to try new things. 92% of the children felt that what they had learnt on Camp in the Cloud would help them at school, which is another brilliant outcome of this project.
When Families were asked what they gained from Camp in the Cloud these were some of the answers:
“We did something fun and positive because of Elodie's allergy not been excluded because of it.”
“Learning new craft idea's”
“Working as a team and enjoying it”
“To try some of the things that we tried at home and to be more creative and interact with parents more."

Case study

Billy and Max’s Mum, Lisa, said “Camp in the Cloud came at the best time for us. We were shielding so my husband wasn’t at work, the children weren’t at school- and no one was visiting. At a time when we couldn’t do anything, or go anywhere, we suddenly had this packed schedule of amazing things to do, all in complete safety, which was really lovely. We would look at the calendar, at the days ahead and say- ‘right, that day we are doing that together – and on this day we’ll do that’- and every moment we spent doing the activities together was special.”
As an online camp for the whole family, the activities were based around all the members’ involvement, which gave the Johnson’s a chance to spend some valuable time together.
“Camp in the Cloud gave us quality time to be a family.” said Lisa, “My husband and Max did a ‘Who done it?’ challenge together, which took them a long time- but they did it! It was fantastic for them to be working together like that.”
“The activities gave us the chance to have one to one time with the boys as we worked in pairs which was perfect- but we did do the family quiz all together. It’s not something we would have normally done, but we had a great time and a good laugh trying it. Everything was readily available in the box for us- so we never passed the time trying to find resources, look up how to do anything, or prepare in any way, it was all ready, and set for a scheduled time, which encourages you to do it.”
“Just thinking about all those moments, brings back some really happy memories - and if I’m honest, after a long time shielding, Camp in the Cloud was probably the best memory we have for that year.”

Outcome

Parents and siblings of children with serious illness from 20 families will feel less isolated, more supported and able to cope with the daily challenges they face.

Results

We had some very positive feedback this year from families about Camp in the Cloud decreasing isolation and increasing the level of support that families of sick children felt.
100% of the families surveyed said that as a result of taking part in Camp in the Cloud they felt less isolated and alone, and 85% of participants said that they are more confident in making new friends following the experience.
92% of families agreed that they felt refreshed after the camp day.

Case study

As a family camp, Camp in the Cloud also offered parent activities and adult interaction opportunities, which Billy and Max’s Mum Lisa also found useful.
“The sessions for adults were great! It was really fun to get involved in the adult quiz, but most importantly it was a unique opportunity for us grownups to offer peer support to each other. Speaking to parents with children who have health challenges makes you feel you aren’t alone.”
“It’s nice to do that as it gives you a feeling of hope- and you can also give people who are at different stages to you hope too. It’s a tool to both give and receive. I can’t think of anything apart from Camp in the Cloud that has done that for us.”

Outcome

20 families managing the serious illness of one of their members will feel happier and more confident as a result of taking part in this project. They will feel less worried about what the future holds and better able to cope with any challenges that come their way.

Results

The vast majority of families participating in our post camp evaluation gave very positive feedback about how Camp in the Cloud improved their wellbeing. In the post-camp survey 92% of families stated we are more confident, and 100% of families said we are happier. 92% of families said we feel more positive about the future, and 92% of families said we feel less worried as a result of taking part in family camp.

Case study

Family B’s Story
“Everyone will remember where they were on 23 March 2020, when the country went into the first lockdown.
But for my family, we had already been in isolation for ten days by that point. And we haven’t left isolation since. We have been cut off from the rest of the world. Our front gate is a frontier we can never cross.
My two sons, Reggie and Frankie, both have a condition affecting their immune system. It’s not genetic – in fact it’s very rare for two children in the same family to be impacted. It means that if they catch a cold, it can quickly turn into pneumonia. If they catch a bug, it can be life-threatening. With the coronavirus wreaking havoc across the country, we had no choice. To save our boys’ lives, we had to lockdown.
It’s not been easy. The hardest part is feeling that the two boys, and sister Maisie, are missing out on the magical experiences that make childhood memorable. No holidays. No trips to the beach. No sleepovers with friends or birthday parties with their classmates. No visits from big sister Lily. And while myself and Dad do our best to be parents, friends, teachers and entertainers, it really is just us.
That all changed when generous people like you helped our children enjoy the magic and mischief of childhood with Over the Wall’s virtual, at-home camp experience: Camp in the Cloud.
Coronavirus cancelled any holiday plans we might have made. So we decided to treat Camp in the Cloud as our holiday! When the box arrived through our door, it was like opening a box of sunshine. We put on our best going out clothes and left the real world behind. We may have been stuck behind the front gate. But our imaginations took off on all sorts of adventures.
We took part in the family camps, putting on face paint, getting stuck into arts and crafts, and unravelling the puzzles of the mystery box. Just doing something a bit different gave my children a new confidence that they could try new things.
For me and Dad, seeing our kids laugh and play and giggle and concentrate – to see them learning new skills and making new friends and having new experiences, that was the greatest gift.
It wasn’t just the kids. There were activities for grown-ups too. We took part in fun quizzes and spoke to other parents who had faced similar challenges throughout the lockdowns. After months of being just us, Camp in the Cloud helped us feel less alone.”