by lisa perkins
LAKE ANN -- Camp Quality Michigan will have a new home this summer, but their goal has not changed -- letting kids with cancer enjoy being kids again.
After 23 years of providing a week-long camp experience to children ages four through 18 in varying stages of their treatment or remission, Camp Quality Michigan North Camp will be able to serve even more children when they take up residence at Lake Ann Camp and Retreat Center this summer.
"Last summer we had a record 71 campers, pushing us to our limit," said Eleanor West, general manager of the program that has been held at Camp Daggett in Petoskey since 1994.
The move to Lake Ann will allow for as many as 100 campers, as well as camp staffers, medical personnel and the volunteer companions who work one-on-one, around the clock, with each camper.
"We could accommodate more than that, but for now we don't want to lose the homey feeling that our campers get," said West, noting that the physical aspects of the Lake Ann facility will also provide more paved walkways so that accessibility will not be a problem for campers who may have mobility issues.
Campers can also look forward to an 18-hole disc golf course, carpet ball, paddle boats, a 150-foot water slide and water trampoline in addition to the fishing, kayaking, rocket building and just plain having fun they have enjoyed in previous years.
"The campers are free to do what they want, but if they want to do ceramics all day long, that is perfectly fine," said Nancy Ferguson, herself a cancer survivor, who has been a Camp Quality volunteer since 1996.
Ferguson, known affectionately as the "horse lady" by campers who enjoy her horseback riding outings, coordinates the teen winter adventure camp. Other support programs include a family snow weekend, family heritage weekend and teen Beaver Island camp all at no cost to the families served.
"It is a wonderful thing for parents to have a place where they know their child will be taken care of without putting further strain on their resources," Ferguson said.
Financial support for Camp Quality Michigan North Camp, along with the 14 other Camp Quality locations throughout the United States, comes wholly from community donations.
"Kids who have lost their balance, by missing school and being sick, get back to feeling like a kid again at Camp Quality. Special things happen there," she said.
For more information on Camp Quality Michigan, visit www.campqualitymi.org or call (231) 582-2471.
