Embrace the Silliness

Like many volunteers, Imo’s first experience with Campfire Circle was as a camper.

“I was diagnosed with liver sarcoma, so my mom tried to help me back to normalcy by going to camp,” he recalls with a laugh. “I thought it was a really bad idea.”

At first, he resisted. After years of treatment, camp felt like a big adjustment. “I remember being weirded out by all the singing and dancing,” he says. “I thought, ‘Okay, I don’t really do this kind of thing.’” But by the end of the session, everything had changed. “I was singing, dancing, and running all over the place, having the best time.”

Even getting chemotherapy at camp that first summer didn’t slow him down.

“I went home and told my mom everything I did. I tried waterskiing and kayaking, I canoed, and I even learned how to swim,” he says. “I told her I needed to go every single year, no matter what.” And he did—returning every summer he could.

Last summer, Imo came back to camp in a new role: volunteer. He joined Campfire Circle’s week-long overnight session for more than 100 kids with heart disease and serious blood disorders, such as sickle cell disease.

“A lot of these kids experienced camp for the first time, so seeing their faces and watching them try everything for the first time was incredible.”

One of the coolest parts? Getting to be a co-counsellor alongside Campfire Circle’s CEO, Alex Robertson. “I had a lot of fun and learned so much from him,” says Imo.

Volunteering had always been on his bucket list. “Now I’m like, okay, I have to do this every year. That was awesome.” For Imo, volunteering was about more than just reliving camp memories—it was about paying it forward. “I loved still being connected to camp and giving back, because I feel like camp gave me so much,” he says. “Making sure these kids had the best experience, just like I did, was the best part.”

His favorite moment of the session was the closing campfire. His campers had been practicing dance moves all week, and Imo convinced them to perform for the whole camp—alongside him and Alex. “When we were done our performance and everyone gave us a round of applause, I could see the huge smiles on the kids’ faces. One of the campers turned to me and said, ‘Wow, I can’t believe we just did that.’”

“A lot of these kids experienced camp for the first time, so seeing their faces and watching them try everything for the first time was incredible.”

Imo has some advice for new volunteers: “Don’t worry too much. Don’t try to be perfect or try to be a certain type of counsellor,” he says.

He also encourages volunteers to embrace the silliness.

“Be open to new experiences. Don’t worry about looking silly—because everyone does! That’s the whole point. You’re going to have a great time. You’re going to learn a lot from these campers, and these campers are going to learn a lot from you.”