Camp Is Hannah’s Happy Place

When Hannah was 11 years old, she met the team from Campfire Circle while in the hospital undergoing chemotherapy for a tumour in her eye. Hannah has neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), a genetic condition that causes tumours to grow on nerve tissues throughout the body.

The Campfire Circle staff had a craft area on the 8th floor oncology ward at SickKids, and Hannah loved doing crafts. The team began talking to her mom about overnight camp in Muskoka, but Hannah, a self-described “homebody,” thought: no way. But her mom convinced her to try a weekend at camp (WAC) program.

“I cried all weekend. I was very, very homesick. But I loved it,” she says.

After that memorable weekend, Hannah told her mom she was definitely going back to camp. And she did. That summer changed her life. She was on active treatment so even though she had to have chemotherapy twice, it didn’t stop her from enjoying activities. She canoed for the first time and met campers she still considers some of her closest friends 15 years later. As a triplet, Hannah didn’t have a lot of things that were just for her. But camp quickly became one of those experiences.

Hannah went back every summer as a camper and completed the leader-in-training program before graduating at age 18. She worked as staff one summer and then volunteered for seven summers, even one year right after she underwent treatment for cancer in her leg. Last year, Hannah volunteered at Campfire Circle Muskoka for four weeks straight.

“When I was a camper, I thought my counsellors were the coolest people ever. I want to be that person for new campers because my counsellors meant so much to me. They made me feel like I could do anything, and I did! Now being a volunteer, I can make sure that every camper who comes into my life feels empowered to do anything they put their mind to.”

Hannah cites a few moments as her “why” when asked what motivates her to keep volunteering. The time she was chatting with another camper, who also had neurofibromatosis like Hannah, who had never met anyone else with the same diagnosis. Or the time when one of her youngest campers, who had never been waterskiing before and refused to try it, watched other kids experience so much joy and decided to give it a go.

What about people who are nervous about volunteering or who never attended summer camp as a kid?

“Camp is for everyone. If you think camp isn’t your thing or if you’re nervous, just try it. It doesn’t matter your age. Anyone can volunteer at camp. You will never know whose first time it is at camp, because they make you feel so welcome. Everyone just has the most fun at camp, and if you bring the energy, then they will bring the energy back.”

Hannah always laughs when someone asks her if going to a camp for kids who have cancer is upsetting. “My friends are always like, ‘Oh, it must be so sad to volunteer at a cancer camp.’ And I always say, it is the complete opposite. Yes, the word cancer is scary. But once you’re at camp, you’ll see it’s not a sad place. It’s probably happier than Disney. Actually, it’s better than Disneyland.”