Document Actions
Uni Camp for Kids - A Circle of Fun
For as long as most people can remember, students at the University of Western Australia have focussed on fun; creating it, having it and sharing it. For 72 years, Uni Camp for Kids (UKFK) has organised picnics and camps so students can share their insatiable appetite for fun with disadvantaged children referred by child support agencies. These children, who may be socially, financially or emotionally underprivileged, are mentored by the students and encouraged to try fun activities in the company of other children.
While the camp offers some respite to parents and carers who struggle to provide these experiences for their children, its benefits go full circle as student President of UKFK’s Sorcha Stapleton, acknowledges:
"Being involved has really opened my eyes to the amount of families (and children) that are doing it tough in Perth. It is often so easy to forget that not everyone is as fortunate as we may be and camps can really be a humbling experience. I have also realised how much fun you can have in the company of kids! Children really do have a different take on the world that is so refreshing and ultimately such fun. Lastly over the years I have realised how much can be accomplished by a group of young volunteers who just want to have a positive impact on the society they live in."
The popularity of the camps has meant that the camps have been overwhelmed by requests from agencies wanting to refer children. While the 3 summer camps hosted annually can accommodate up to 250 children, UCFK found it necessary to run a winter camp for the first time last year so they could accommodate children who would otherwise have missed out! Sorcha Stapleton outlines their eagerness to respond to demand:
"Each year we try to make our organisation bigger and better. We hope to be able to organise a winter camp as a permanent part of the Uni Camp for Kids calendar"
While the optimism, enthusiasm and desire ‘to make a difference’ unleashes the fundraising efforts of several hundred 18-26 year old university students, the cost associated with running camps exceeds the income they are able to generate from quiz nights, cocktail parties and tin ratting in the city. UCFK has therefore become a regular recipient of Lotterywest grants which help to cover the cost of hiring the camp facilities.
Being a full-time student also has its demands, but these don’t get in the way of the 680 members that support UCFK by volunteering on camps, picnics, fundraising and committee. The advice of Sorcha Stapleton, also shouldering the full time load of a university degree, is:
"Just go for it! While running an organisation can be a full time committment the demand is definitely out there and the rewards are immeasurable. With organisations such as Lotterywest, it really does make it possible to finance such initiatives.
In addition to receiving Lotterywest’s support, UCFK also fosters relationships with other organisations that can provide financial support such as the Rotary Club of Matilda Bay, Variety, Freehills, Cottesloe Golf Club and Clayton Utz as well as past members and the parents of volunteers. The enduring nature of the fun filled experiences UCFK creates become evident across generations. Some of the children participants have themselves become students, or indeed the parents or grandparents of students who provide volunteer and financial support to the camps.
Maureen Faithful, a child participant at a camp organised by Uni Camp for Kids over 50 years ago was recently delighted to discover her own grand-daughter was now a student volunteer at one of the camps. Accompanying her financial contribution to support UCFK Maureen wrote:
"it was the first (and only) holiday I had as a child. It remains in my memory so vividly – although so many years ago – as it was such a wonderful and exciting experience. The organised activities, campfires and the kindness shown to us children, was something I have never forgotten".