Monday afternoon and more

Oh nap time- it really is needed here. After going all morning and night a little rest during the day is just what everyone needs. After horizontal time we headed straight to the pool and lake- 

Everyone truly had a good time. We had a few hours to swim, hang out and listen to the DJ at the pool. The pool and the lake are a favorite and the schedule has us in the water a lot this week and we are all excited for that. 

We are getting ready for the rest of the night which is James pack too. Dinner is next then a little more time outside with some games and maybe some sand volleyball then "Cirque-a-Rama" which is a big surprise! Then to end the night we have the big fireworks show- lets do this

Monday Morning- Rio!

We ended last night with a campfire and a few songs to end our first day. We went  back to the dorms and everyone has pretty exhausted from the first day and was out like a light.

Monday is Rio day in our theme for the week. We had breakfast and some of our campers and companions showed up in their Brazil gear-

We are in the midst of morning activities which include zip lining, arts and crafts and a life size portable video game player.

We're waiting on the snack cart to make its first appearance of the morning and then make our way to lunch around noon and then one of my personal favorites- nap time 😉

We have a pool party before dinner and then a concert and then fireworks! Busy busy day at camp but we love every minute of it! 

Sunday afternoon and evening

We arrived and settled in quickly. After we dropped the bags off at the dorms we headed to the water activities at the pool and the lake. We stayed cool until we took a big group picture that will go in the log book for this year. 

A huge shout out to one of our sponsors HOPPS (Helping out pediatric patients smile) for the awesome green camp games shirt! 

They are a great support system for kids in Louisville at Kosair. They can help provide assistance and even gas cards and grocery cards to families in need through the hospital- look them up 😊

We had dinner which was provided by another one of our sponsors, Cowboys for kids and it was delicious. I think everyone in the dining hall went up for seconds. 

Then we headed outside to honor and remember those in our camp family who are no longer with us. We miss and love you Nicholas and Meghan! 

We rode motorcycles thanks to the blue knight who come to see us and give rides every year and who are also a sponsor of ours!

We decorated lanterns to go along with opening ceremony at the Olympics-

We have campfire tonight which I will post about in the morning but over all we are having an amazing first day at country lake!

I say this every year and I truly mean it, the staff here at CLCR is fabulous. They know us by name and we know them by name as well and we are in such good hands here!!!!

Monday is our first big day and I can't wait! 

Neither can out programs team! 

Send off 2016- the Summer Games!

Welcome back camp quality! I can't believe it's here and we are on our way to Henryville for another week of camp. We had check in and send off this morning and were greeted by some of our donors and favorite character friends! 

The theme this year is the Summer Games and will tie into the Olympics in Rio! We checked in, had some food, saw old friends, met some new friends and relaxed a little before we loaded the buses. 

A huge thank you to all our donors for making this week possible! We saw our friends from the poker run and epic insurance and many more. 

Follow along with is this year and follow us on facebook for more updates and pictures! 

We are off and on the way to a pool and bracket party to kick off camp 2016! 

Too much excitement- Enrollment open!

I think I may just be a little too excited about today. Enrollment for campers and companions is now open and you can apply online and get this process started! If you have enrolled in the past, it is the same website we used last year www.campdoc.com
It should allow you to log on with your same email and password from last year and update and submit your application! Camp is continuing to grow each year and I love when the enrollment starts because it means the start of a new camp year, with new friends and people joining our family!

If you know of anyone who would be interested in becoming a camper you can message us on Facebook, go to the website and use the contact information or talk to a fellow camper you may know!
We are also always looking for new companions- male companions the most!
I feel like singing I'm just so excited!

2016 CQKY is here!

Can you believe it? 2016 is here and in full swing and we are less than a month away from registration for camp this summer! Its already starting to feel like Spring around here and camp is only 4 months away!
Just to pick things up a little, I wanted to let everyone know what we have coming up in the next few months in preparation for camp in June!

March
-Registration for CAMPERS and COMPANIONS starts Tuesday, March 1st. If you have any questions you can visit our website, Facebook page or reach out to a COC member for help!

April
-Our 3rd annual Preview event will be on April 10th and will be held at Kosair Shriners on Bardstown Rd (where we had send off this past year for camp.) For those who have not heard of the event or have never attended, I encourage you all to drop by! The preview event is to inform, and showcase all the information about Camp Quality, answer any questions, introduce new families to returning families and campers and just have a sneak peek of camp 2016. There will be lunch and crafts for the kiddos and information meetings for the parents and families wanting to learn more about what we do at Camp Quality!
Companions are welcome as well! We are in need of additional Male companions for camp this year, and our director, Charlie mentioned at the reunion that those male companions who attend preview and attend camp this year will receive a Camp Quality KY hoodie! Spread the word!

-April 14th will be a special event with help from Hope from Harper- Karting for Kids at Bluegrass Indoor Karting! More information will come in the next few weeks- but for now just mark your calendars!

June
June 4th will be a busy day! We will have our required companion training which will be at the Lyndon Elks Club this year. More details are to come but all NEW companions are required to attend this date. We typically start around 8:30am! Returning companions who are unable to attend this training sate will be notified of a later date closer to send off.
We also have one of our biggest fundraising events of the year on the 4th- our 5th annual Poker Run benefit!
Camp dates are June 19- June 24

This information can also be found on our website  http://www.campqualityusa.org/ki/ and be sure to follow us on Facebook for all updates and announcements!

This is just a little preview and heads up about what to expect from CQKY over the next few months!  I almost forgot the most important part- the theme of camp this Summer! If you missed our reunion and haven't heard yet our theme this summer is......
THE OLYMPICS!


I can't wait!!!


I have gotten such good feedback from these blog posts and  I love writing about Camp! We are starting camp season so more to come!

September is Golden

For those of you who don't know, September is childhood awareness month. If you ask me it should be every month, but this is the month where we have the biggest platform to get our point across. The point that 16,000 children will be diagnosed with cancer in the U.S in the year 2015- thats 43 kids every day. It breaks my heart that the average age of kids diagnosed is 6 years old.
When I was six years old my biggest worry in life was which friend to ride home on the bus with. It is so unfair that this monster we call cancer affects not only adults we love but young children who don't even know what it is.

Working with Camp Quality over the past 8 years has been nothing short of life changing. These kids put your life into perspective so quick- how can it not change you? I have had the privilege to get to know hundreds of kids who's life has been affected by cancer and I will forever be in love with each and every one them.

Research has come such a long way in 20 years. The 5 year survival rate is over 83% and kids post treatment are evolving into healthy cancer free adults. 83% may seem like a pretty good grade on a math test but it is still not where it needs to be.

1 out of every 8 children who are diagnosed will not survive cancer. That fact alone should make you want to punch a wall. Children aren't supposed to take on adult responsibilities- if they were they would grow 5x faster and we would all be fully grown by age 8. Kids are supposed to throw temper tantrums over cookies before dinner and get grounded for arguing with their parents- they are NOT supposed to have cancer.

I challenge you to spread the word about childhood cancer this month. Get informed and find out what you can do to help.
Volunteer at Camp Quality, Walk a 5k for cancer research, volunteer at Kosair, give a donation or do any number of things to help in your own way!