Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

Childhood Cancer Lantern
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Joshua's Camp Foundation

Joshua's Camp Family Retreat · About this organization

What you get

A Thursday-through-Sunday whole-family retreat with resort lodging, meals, waterpark and activity-center access, and family recreation.

How to start

Fill in the web form with your household, treatment, guest and emergency-contact details. Describe what you hope for from the retreat, then sign and send it.

Good to know

  • Wait for the camp team to accept your request before making travel plans. They may ask for more information.
  • Email camp director Wendy Carey to confirm the October check-in day before arranging travel.

The details, as published

B-ALL is in scope Open

Your whole family can take a free, all-inclusive Thursday-through-Sunday retreat during your child’s cancer treatment or recovery. At Metropolis Resort in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, your stay includes lodging, meals, waterpark and activity-center access, recreation and time with other families. The fall retreat page gives October 8–11, 2026, but the calendar starts it October 7, so confirm check-in with the camp director.

Go to the official program ↗

What help you may get

Camps And Retreats

All-inclusive family retreat

A Thursday-through-Sunday whole-family retreat with resort lodging, meals, waterpark and activity-center access, and family recreation.

Noncash help · Per Event

4 retreat days per award

Can cover

  • resort lodging
  • meals
  • waterpark access
  • activity-center access
  • family activities
  • No cost to qualifying registered families.
  • Offered in spring and fall.
  • Thursday through Sunday.

Peer And Emotional Support

Family peer community

Your family can rest together and spend time with other households facing childhood cancer during the retreat.

Noncash help · Per Event

Can cover

  • family connection
  • shared childhood-cancer community

Why this may help

Peer And Emotional Support: The retreat brings you together with others in the childhood-cancer community.

Check the main eligibility rules

Diagnosis

B-ALL is in scope. B-ALL is a childhood cancer within the published retreat scope.

Age

The program does not publish an age limit.

  • The public application asks the child's date of birth but does not publish an age cutoff.

Treatment status

Active Treatment, Maintenance Treatment, Post Treatment, Survivorship

  • The program is described for treatment and recovery; the public site does not publish a maximum time since treatment.
  • The application is for the whole family and asks for every attending family member.
  • No cost to qualifying registered families.

Where you live and where your child is treated

Where your family lives

Residence coverage is not published clearly; confirm with the program.

  • Site publishes no residence rule; the retreat is held in person at Metropolis Resort in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and the application only asks for your "Family's Residential City, State, Zip".

Where your child is treated

Treatment-location rules are not published clearly; confirm with the program.

  • The application asks for the primary medical treatment facility, but the site does not publish a facility restriction.
Where the service, camp, stay, or experience happens
  • Metropolis Resort Waterpark & Action City — Retreat destination only; it does not establish residence eligibility. — Eau Claire, Wisconsin retreat venue.

How to get started

Get ready to apply

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, Community Referrer, Social Worker, Healthcare Team

  1. Prepare family, diagnosis, treatment, medical-contact, accommodation, attendee, and emergency-contact information.
  2. Draft the family's expectations and optional child-and-family journey narrative.
  3. Complete the truth-and-completeness attestation, sign, and submit the public web form.
  4. Request any additional information needed to confirm safety, fit, and retreat needs.

Ways to apply or ask

Documents to prepare

The program does not publish a document checklist. Ask before gathering paperwork.

  • Program staff may request additional information before confirming the family's retreat experience.

Availability and timing

ProgramActive
ApplicationsOpen
Funding or spaceLimited
Application windowEvent Specific
Last checkedSep 26, 2026
  • Rechecked 2026-09-26: the retreat page lists "Fall: October 8-11, 2026" with an "Apply" link to the live application form; no deadline or closed notice is printed. The calendar lists the fall retreat as "2026-Oct-7 to 2026-Oct-11".
  • The public form is live for spring or fall retreats; no deadline is published. The next listed session is October 8–11, 2026.

Limitations and things to confirm

  • Ask camp director Wendy Carey whether your family can attend before making travel plans.
  • The retreat page gives October 8–11, 2026, but the calendar starts October 7, so confirm your arrival day.
  • The camp team may ask for more information before accepting your family, and sending the form does not reserve a place.
  • Ask Wendy Carey about repeat attendance if your family has already joined a retreat.
  • Does the family retreat limit residence or treatment location, and what age cutoff applies to the child with cancer?
  • GPT Pro run59 (2026-09-25): Is October 8 or October 7 the correct arrival day for the 2026 fall retreat?
  • GPT Pro run59 (2026-09-25): What repeat-attendance rule applies to a family that has already joined a retreat?

Official sources

Program details were last verified Sep 26, 2026. Availability can change, so check the official program before applying.

Official program