A Wonderful Place Called The Cabin

Carter, aka Mr. Curious, loves to see what’s going on in The Cabin. Whenever he’s at SickKids, for clinic or a check-up, he always comes by for a visit.

The Cabin is Campfire Circle’s dedicated space at SickKids where kids of all ages can gather for themed group programming.

Carter’s favourite things are making slime and coming in to see his friends.

“I still have slime that we have taken home from the hospital,” says Gianina, Carter’s mom. “All he wants to do is put it on the walls!”

At five years old, Carter was diagnosed with leukemia, and met Campfire Circle at the hospital within the first weeks of treatment. “Carter fell in love with camp in the hospital,” says Gianina. “It felt overwhelming. I’m a nurse, I’ve even worked in paediatric oncology before. But I never realized how much Campfire Circle is a lifeline for families—like having a family outside of our own.”

Donations Expand our Circle of Care

In addition to The Cabin, Campfire Circle creates hospital programming for haemotology/oncology patients on the 8th floor and for outpatients in the clinic. For kids like Carter, these play-based programs bring a sense of normalcy, foster social connectedness, and promote overall well-being.

And now that Carter is back in school, he looks forward to his visits as an outpatient. “Carter knows he is different, with his chemo port and still wearing a mask. But with Campfire Circle, Carter feels like he belongs,” says Gianina.

With the generous support of donors, this year, the Campfire Circle team expanded programming to the 6th floor, to include children with serious illnesses such as multi-organ transplants and medical specialties.

As a trusted mental well-being and play partner, Campfire Circle is asked to host a camp-wide week for all patients at least twice a year. At the summer camp week, which was centred around a canoe trip, each day staff visited a new whimsical place, delivering crafts and activities to 530 campers across the hospital.

From One Cabin to Another

For many families like Carter’s, camp at Rainbow Lake in Waterford is where Campfire Circle continues to support a family’s medical journey.

“We had the opportunity to go to family camp just a few months after Carter’s diagnosis. It was amazing to explore and have adventures together, and we never had any fear of ‘Can he do this? Is this safe?’ It was a community that offers us a place of relief, peace, and shared experiences,” says Gianina. “It was so helpful for us as a family to process things, and we felt safe emotionally and physically with nurses and volunteers.”

Support Through Holiday Gifts of Magic

Supporting families like Carter’s through the Holiday Gifts of Magic campaign makes healing through happiness happen across four paediatric hospitals, including Toronto, Hamilton, London, and Ottawa.

Donations made until the end of the year will be matched by the Longo Family Foundation, delivering two times the joy and laughter to kids in hospital right now and this holiday season.

Thank you, donors, for joining us around the campfire!