Frequently asked questions

Your money will go wherever it’s needed most. See your donations at work to learn more about how your dollars may be spent.

If you’d like to see your dollars in action, call us (1-888-464-6624) to arrange a site tour!

You can honour a person or celebrate a special event or milestone. We’ve got a page dedicated to helping you create your own In Honour fundraiser so that you can get started right away.

Garage sales, bake sales, running a marathon, are all good ways to fundraise. You can create a DIY fundraiser if you want to fundraise online and get started right away.

If you want to host an event like a golf tournament or dinner, go to the host an event page for more information or complete the registration and agreement form. Our team will then be in touch to discuss your event.

We accept a wide variety of donations from glue for slime making to wood for the wood shop. We cannot accept used toys or materials based on our health and safety protocol (all donated items must be new).

Please review our wish list and contact Michelle Guignard or 1-888-464-6624 ext. 273 to arrange a time to make your donation.

Donations eligible according to CRA will receive a tax receipt.

The CRA and Campfire Circle have specific rules around tax receipting for gift in kind donations. In certain circumstances, Campfire Circle may provide a tax receipt for the fair market value of your gift at the time the donation was made.

The CRA doesn’t allow charities to issue tax receipts for donated services. We can provide you with a business acknowledgement letter that can be used to write-off your generous gift as a business expense.

The CRA doesn’t allow charities to issue tax receipts to Foundations. We will provide a business acknowledgement letter to recognize the contributions of Foundations.

The CRA doesn’t allow charities to issue tax receipts where the donor receives a benefit that exceeds the amount of the donations (ex. logo recognition, dinner, golf fees, etc.).

Donors who make a donation online receive an email with their tax receipt immediately after their donation is made.

Donors who make a donation via the phone or mail can expect to receive their tax receipt within 2-4 weeks of making your donation.

Please contact donations@campfirecircle.org or call 1-888-464-6624 ext. 400 to receive a copy of your tax receipt.

We strive to have a one-to-one counsellor to Camper ratio. Our counsellors are amazing people who are at least 19 years old and have experience and training working with kids at camp. Some have even been Campers!

We also have, at a minimum, three nurses and a Staff Oncologist onsite at all times at overnight camp. At a minimum, one paediatrics trained Registered Nurse attends community programs, and one Paediatric Oncology trained Registered Nurse attends day camp programs.

We include kids with all types of cancer and for kids at different stages of cancer treatment, and their families. Some Campers have just been diagnosed and are at the beginning of their treatment. Other Campers may be part way through or almost finished their treatment. There are some kids who are bald or losing their hair. Other kids may be in a wheelchair or wearing a special kind of brace on their arm or leg because they had surgery.

One way or another, all Campers know what it’s like to have cancer and they know that having cancer can do some strange things to a person’s body. The best part about Camp is that because everyone knows what it’s like to have cancer, nobody really cares how you look. All that matters is that Campers are there to have fun!

Overnight summer camp is 12 days long. For some younger Campers attending kids-only camp, that can seem like a really long time. Your child is welcome to try kids-only Camp out for one week, and if they like it, they can decide to stay for the second week. Family camp is offered for a week at a time.

Of course, we would love to have you visit before you decide to come for a full session. You can come to one of our Weekends at Camp (WACs) in the fall or winter, or you can visit us throughout the summer.

All you need to do is call us (1-888-464-6624) and book a tour.

We serve all children and families affected by childhood cancer until the child turns 19. Please complete and submit an inquiry form and someone from our medical team will be happy to follow up with you to discuss eligibility.

Camp is free! All Campfire Circle programs are offered at no cost to your family.

You can register your family by logging into your family account. Once logged in, click on the Enrollment tag to start selecting which programs your child or family would like to attend.

If you don’t have a family account, please fill out an inquiry form. Our medical team will review your application and contact you if they have questions about your eligibility.

The medical facilities (also known as the “Body Shop” or the “Med Shed”) are set up similar to an oncology clinic setting in a hospital and is equipped to treat and manage situations from routine first aid, and at Campfire Circle Muskoka, through to urgent oncology situations.

Lots of campers receive chemo or blood transfusions while at camp. The nurses and the doctor in the have lots of experience with taking care of kids with cancer. Our nurse help treatments at camp go by as fast as possible so that your kid can get back to doing fun camp activities!

Campers always have the option to be accompanied by a counsellor during treatment to help them feel more comfortable.

Volunteer applications are accepted every year starting in December. Interviews are held in January and February, and staffing decisions are made in late March. Upon offer, Volunteers must complete a police reference check with vulnerable sector screening, submit proof of immunizations, complete a two-step tuberculosis (TB) test and get a first aid or bronze cross certification.

Once those tests are complete, all volunteers must be available to attend our annual volunteer training weekend in the spring. Training topics include: Cancer 101, behaviour management, camp culture and traditions, accessible programming, and more.

Learn more about this role on our Camp Volunteer information page.

Campfire Circle on the 8th, our in-hospital volunteer program, takes place at SickKids in Toronto from October – June. This program is only available to returning camp volunteers.

We are not accepting volunteers for other hospital programs at this time.

Yes! Submit an inquiry form and we’ll contact you within one week to discuss your interests and availability. You may be asked to come in for an interview. Ideally, we look for office volunteers to commit at least 3-4 hours every two weeks.

Applications for medical staff & volunteers are accepted throughout the year. Complete the application and a member from our year-round medical team will be in touch with you shortly.

We have a variety of mandatory and optional training sessions for medical volunteers depending on the type of program you are supporting.

You can learn more about the roles and requirements on our medical staff & volunteers page.

Two overnight campsites are available for rent from September to June. Learn more about the spaces and accommodations for rent.

Our downtown Toronto facility is available for rent year-round. This centrally located unique facility at Bathurst and College offers a variety of meeting, dining and teambuilding/activity spaces for up to 140 people.

Learn more about the spaces for rent.