Every Kid Deserves Camp: How Camp Quality USA Shows Up for Children Facing Cancer
When Michael DeGeeter stepped into his new role as Director of Marketing and Communications at Camp Quality USA, he wasn’t starting from scratch – he was coming home. After 16 years of personal involvement with the organization, Michael knows firsthand what Camp Quality means to children facing cancer and the families who love them.
Camp Quality’s mission is simple and powerful: a cancer diagnosis should not prevent a child from experiencing the joys of childhood. And their commitment doesn’t end when camp does. From summer camps to family retreats to year-round programs, Camp Quality shows up for kids and families long after the last day of camp.
We sat down with Michael to talk about what makes Camp Quality so transformative, what families need to know about applying this summer, and why this work matters more than ever.
You’ve been personally involved with Camp Quality for 16 years before stepping into this director role. What kept bringing you back – and what do you see now from the inside that you couldn’t fully see before?
It started because a high school friend needed a favor. Camp Quality Illinois runs a one-to-one model, meaning every camper is paired with their own companion for the entire week. They were running short on male companions and didn’t want to turn away male campers just because they couldn’t get them matched. So my friend called me, I said yes, and I showed up at 18 years old not really knowing what I was walking into.
And then camp happened. And I just kept coming back.
Over the years I grew from companion to COC member on the Illinois board, helped run year-round events and fundraisers, and eventually directed our Teen Weekend. Each role added a new layer to how I understood the mission. But stepping into the Director of Marketing role has been a different kind of shift. You see the full picture now. The national scope, the stories coming in from all 13 territories, the families we haven’t reached yet. As a volunteer you feel the impact in a very personal, immediate way. Now I feel the weight of the responsibility to make sure MORE people find this. That part is new. And honestly it makes me want to work harder than I ever have for these kids.
For a parent who’s never heard of Camp Quality, describe what a week at camp actually looks like for a child facing cancer. What makes it feel different from anything else available to these families?
So these kids, who for the last however many months, have been defined by their diagnosis. Every appointment, every conversation, every worried look from an adult in the room has been about cancer. And then they arrive at camp and none of that is the first thing anyone asks about.
They get a companion who is there for them and only them for the whole week. They swim, they compete in cabin challenges, they stay up way too late being kids. One of my favorite memories ever at camp was our cabin spending the entire week choreographing a lip sync performance to Build Me Up Buttercup for the talent show. We are talking serious rehearsals, disagreements about choreography, the whole thing. We won. But more than winning, what I remember is watching everyone in that cabin find each other over the course of the week. Different backgrounds, different ages, different everything, and by Friday they were a unit.
That is what camp does. It is not a program. It is a week of life where the illness takes a backseat and the kid gets to be the main character again.
Camp Quality’s commitment doesn’t end when camp does. Can you walk us through the year-round support – family retreats, sibling programs, ongoing community – and why that continuity matters so much for these kids and families?
Yeah this is something I really want people to understand because I think when people hear “summer camp” they mentally file us in a very specific box and move on. But camp is just the beginning of the relationship.
We run family retreats, teen weekends, sibling camps, virtual events, holiday parties, reunion events. The whole idea is that the community you build at camp doesn’t just evaporate when you drive home on Saturday. These kids and families are navigating something that most of their friends and neighbors genuinely cannot relate to. So the connections they make inside the Camp Quality world, with other campers, other families, other volunteers, those connections carry real weight.
One tradition that means more to me than almost anything we do is our Wednesday night memorial bonfire. Every year, mid-week at camp, we gather and we share memories about campers we have lost in the years before. It is heavy and it is beautiful at the same time. It reminds everyone why we are there. It brings us together as a Camp Quality family in a way that nothing else does. You leave that fire knowing what this community means and knowing you are not doing any of this alone.
That is the year-round mission. Keeping that feeling alive.
Camp Quality is completely free for every family it serves – no exceptions. How does the organization make that possible, and what does it mean for the scale of families you’re able to reach?
We are a 100% community funded and mostly volunteer driven besides our national staff team. No family ever receives a bill, not for camp, not for meals, not for their companion who is by their side every moment of the week. That is a promise we take seriously.
The way it stays true is because of donors, fundraisers, corporate partners, and honestly people like the Camp Champs in our peer-to-peer campaign who go out and ask their networks to invest in these kids. It takes a genuine community effort to make free possible at the scale we operate.
And what free actually means for families is that cost is never a reason a child doesn’t get to come. A cancer diagnosis is already one of the most financially devastating things a family can go through. We are not adding to that. We are offering something that asks nothing in return except showing up. That matters enormously for the families we serve and it shapes everything about who we are able to reach.
Camp is one week – but for a child facing cancer, the need for community and connection doesn’t stop when they go home. What are the most meaningful ways people can support these families in between?
Volunteer. Donate. Tell people we exist.
Truly, one of the most meaningful things someone can do is just make sure the families in their lives who need this know that it is here. A pediatric oncology nurse who mentions Camp Quality to a family in a waiting room. A teacher who passes the information to a parent. Word of mouth is still how a lot of families find us, and every single person in this network is a potential bridge to a family we haven’t reached yet.
Beyond that, our year-round events and programs are always looking for volunteers and sponsors. You don’t have to wait for summer to be part of this. And I will say this because I hear it from potential volunteers all the time: people look at what we do and think it sounds sad. Like it might be a heavy, emotional experience they are not sure they can handle. And I get it, I really do. But it is the opposite of what you are imagining. It is pure joy. It is a week away from the noise and the worry of regular life. There is a peace at camp that is genuinely hard to explain until you have felt it.
Our founder said it best: “We can do nothing about the quantity of one’s life, but we can do something about the quality.” That is it. That is the whole thing.
Summer camp applications are open right now and close April 30. Who should apply, what does the process look like, and what would you say to a parent who’s on the fence about whether their child is ready for something like this?
Any child between 5 and 17 who has been diagnosed with cancer, whether they are currently in treatment or in remission, is welcome to apply. Siblings are welcome at several of our programs too. The application process is straightforward and our team is here to help if anyone has questions along the way.
To the parent who is on the fence: I hear you. Sending your child anywhere when they are going through something this hard is an act of trust. What I can tell you is that every camp has trained medical staff on site, a dedicated companion by your child’s side every moment, and a team that has been doing this for 40 years. You are not sending them somewhere unfamiliar. You are sending them somewhere they are going to feel completely understood, probably for the first time in a long time.
And for Texas families specifically: Texas Summer Camp is at Camp For All in Burton, May 31st through June 5th. Apply before April 30th at campqualityusa.org. That deadline is also the deadline to register as a volunteer if you want to be part of the summer.
What does Camp Quality’s partnership with Recess mean for getting this resource in front of Texas families – and how can parents, providers, and community members show up for this mission right now?
It means everything right now, genuinely. Texas is a territory we are actively growing and building. Getting in front of Texas families through a platform like Recess, one that parents and providers already trust, is exactly the kind of partnership that changes whether a family finds us or doesn’t. That gap, the families who would benefit from Camp Quality but just haven’t heard of it yet, closing that gap is my whole job.
So if you are a parent in Texas, apply. Deadline is April 30th, camp is May 31st through June 5th at Camp For All in Burton. If you are a provider, a pediatric oncologist, a nurse, a social worker, please share this with the families you work with. That referral from someone they trust means more than any ad we could ever run.
And if you feel that pull to volunteer but you are not sure, I genuinely want to talk to you. Even if you are only halfway curious. You can make your interest known at timecounts.app/camp-quality-usa and we will take it from there. No pressure. Just a conversation. Some of the best companions we have ever had started exactly the same way I did: a friend called and they said yes.
Camp Quality USA proves that when we show up for kids facing cancer, we don’t just give them a week of camp – we give them a community, a place to belong, and the chance to be the main character in their own story again.
Michael’s 16-year journey from volunteer companion to Director of Marketing shows what happens when people believe in a mission and keep showing up. And right now, Camp Quality needs more people to do exactly that – apply, volunteer, donate, and most importantly, tell families this resource exists.
How You Can Help:
Apply for summer camp: If you know a child ages 5–17 who has been diagnosed with cancer, applications are open now through April 30. Texas Summer Camp runs May 31–June 5 at Camp For All in Burton. Apply at campqualityusa.org.
Volunteer: Interested in becoming a companion or supporting year-round programs? Register at timecounts.app/camp-quality-usa.
Donate: Camp Quality is 100% community funded. Every dollar helps make camp free for families who need it most. Donate at campqualityusa.org.
Share: If you’re a pediatric oncologist, nurse, social worker, teacher, or community member, share this resource with families who could benefit. Word of mouth is still one of the most powerful ways families find Camp Quality.
At Recess, we believe every kid deserves to go to camp. We’re proud to partner with Camp Quality USA and help make sure Texas families know this resource exists.
