Camp CARE
Summer Camp and Camp CARE Connections · About this organization
What you get
A free week of camp, worth more than $500 per child, with round-the-clock medical care for your child, plus year-round outings. You and your child can meet others who understand cancer.
How to start
Fill in Camp CARE's self-referral form with your camper's details, parent or guardian contact information, and the clinic where your child is treated.
Good to know
- Your family can join year-round activities even when your child has never attended summer camp.
The details, as published
Your child with cancer and their siblings ages 6–16 can attend a free weeklong summer camp with medical supervision. Your family can also join free year-round activities in the Charlotte area through the two named partner pediatric oncology clinics.
What help you may get
Camps And Retreats
Free weeklong summer camp
A free weeklong summer camp for children with cancer and siblings ages 6–16, with traditional recreation and continuous medical-professional staffing.
Amount not published · Per Event
1 weeks per award
Can cover
- Camp admission
- Camp activities
- Continuous on-site medical supervision
- The camp is free to families.
- In-kind value, not cash: "All activities, including summer camp, are free of charge to all families. Camp expenses are more than $500 per child"
- Summer camp is described as an annual weeklong experience; repeat-attendance limits are not published.
- The official page describes a weeklong summer session but does not publish current dates.
Wishes And Family Experiences
Camp CARE Connections activities
Free year-round child and family activities that may include a corn maze, ice skating, a circus, and an annual December holiday party.
Noncash help · Recurring
Can cover
- Activity or event participation
- Annual holiday party
- All activities are free to families.
- Activities occur throughout the year and vary annually.
Peer And Emotional Support
Peer and family connection
Camp and Connections activities create opportunities for children and families to meet peers with similar cancer experiences.
Noncash help · Recurring
Can cover
- Peer recreation
- Family social connection
Does not cover
- Licensed mental-health therapy
- Peer connection is embedded in the free camp and activity programs.
- Connection occurs during summer camp and additional year-round events.
Why this may help
Wishes And Family Experiences: Connections offers year-round outings and a December party beyond the summer camp week.
Peer And Emotional Support: Camp and outings give you and your child opportunities to meet people with similar cancer experiences.
Check the main eligibility rules
Diagnosis
B-ALL is in scope. B-ALL is a childhood cancer and fits the published eligibility for children who have or have had cancer.
Age
Age 6 to age 16, measured at service date.
- The published 6–16 rule is for the weeklong summer camp; the site does not publish a separate age range for year-round family Connections activities.
Treatment status
Active Treatment, Maintenance Treatment, Relapse Or Recurrence, Post Treatment, Survivorship
- Activities serve children on or off treatment, in remission, or fighting relapse, including children with physical or mental challenges.
- No family charge or financial-need screen is published.
Where you live and where your child is treated
Where your family lives
You must live in: The official mission limits the program to children and families in the Charlotte area; exact surrounding counties are not published..
- Family must be in the Charlotte area; the site does not define the area's county or mileage boundary.
Where your child is treated
Treatment must be connected to: Atrium Health Levine Children's Hospital; St. Jude Affiliate Clinic at Novant Health Hemby Children's Hospital.
- The self-referral form's clinic field offers only Levine Pediatric Hematology Oncology and the St. Jude Affiliate Clinic at Novant Health Hemby Children's Hospital.
How to get started
Does a social worker or care team need to start it? No. A required care-team start is not published; the family can use the available route below.
Who can start: Parent Or Guardian
- Open the official self-referral form and enter camper, parent or guardian, contact, and treatment-clinic information.
- Add sibling information if a sibling is also interested in camp, and use the final text box for camper context or questions.
- Submit the form and wait for Camp CARE staff to contact the family with next steps.
Ways to apply or ask
- Web Form · Open form or page — Submit basic family and camper information; Camp CARE states that staff will follow up with more information.
- Phone · 704-606-2816 — Official information line, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
- Email · katy@campcare.org — Published Program Director and Camp CARE Connections contact.
Documents to prepare
The program does not publish a document checklist. Ask before gathering paperwork.
- Camp CARE contacts the family after the initial self-referral with information about camp and activities.
Availability and timing
| Program | Active |
|---|---|
| Applications | Call To Confirm |
| Funding or space | Not Published |
| Application window | Not Published |
| Last checked | Sep 26, 2026 |
- Rechecked 2026-09-26: the official site still publishes the self-referral form ("Join Us at Camp") and says staff will be in touch, but prints no 2027 summer-camp dates, registration window, deadline, or capacity; the Events page lists only fundraisers (5K October 3, 2026; Car Show October 25, 2026). Call or email to confirm camp registration timing.
- Camp CARE Connections run year-round and the About page says they are open to all children and families, even those who have not attended camp; the annual holiday party is each December.
- The official site publishes a self-referral form, but it does not publish a rolling policy, summer-camp deadline, dated registration window, or capacity rule.
Limitations and things to confirm
- Your child and siblings must be ages 6–16 for the weeklong summer camp.
- The program serves the Charlotte area, so ask the program director to check your address if you live farther away.
- The self-referral form accepts only the two named Charlotte pediatric oncology clinics.
- Ask the program director when the next camp accepts requests and what your child's medical team needs to complete afterward.
- Which counties or mileage boundary define the published Charlotte-area residence requirement?
- What are the next summer-camp dates, registration deadline, capacity status, and post-referral medical and consent requirements?
- GPT Pro run55 (2026-09-25): Which Charlotte-area counties or ZIP codes are included, and may children living across the South Carolina border attend through the two partner clinics?
- GPT Pro run55 (2026-09-25): What are the next camp dates and application deadline, and what medical forms follow self-referral?
Official sources
Program details were last verified Sep 26, 2026. Availability can change, so check the official program before applying.
- About the Camp · checked Sep 26, 2026
- Contact Us · checked Aug 27, 2026
- Donate · checked Aug 27, 2026
- Join Us at Camp · checked Aug 27, 2026