Camp Kindle Celebrates Groundbreaking on $8.9 Million Expansion

Construction is underway on an $8.9 million expansion of Camp Kindle, which will add playgrounds and improve access to the facility that serves thousands of children with health issues each year.

The project will create an accessible treehouse village and outdoor drumming playground at the camp, located near Water Valley, Alta. The project is part of Kids Cancer Care’s mission to give children with cancer the best start in life by reconnecting them with their childhood.

“At Camp Kindle, we operate 52 weeks a year,” said Tracey Martin, CEO of the Kids Cancer Care Foundation of Alberta.

“We have a lot of different organizations that come in with kids with health issues that they struggle with, so we can accommodate them in different time groups and organizations that just want to try the challenges of camp and get out in nature and explore.”

The province launched a capital-raising campaign in the spring, allocating $500,000 for that purpose.

Jason Nixon, Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services, said the Kids Cancer Care Foundation of Alberta does incredible work to help young people affected by cancer and their families when they need it most.

“I think together we can continue to make sure that Camp Kindle not only cares for the children it currently cares for,” he said, “but also more so in the future and continues to be an important part of Alberta Mountain View County for generations to come.”

Amenities include accessible and flexible play spaces, a multi-purpose building with an arts and crafts studio, a kitchen dedicated to learning and teaching, and a variety of collaboration spaces, as well as adaptable staff housing.

“It’s really about how do we continue to develop the skills, confidence and resilience of these kids,” Martin said. “So they can really shine and show the world their inner spark and their potential.”

The organization says 100 percent of children who survive cancer face at least one chronic or life-threatening illness for the rest of their lives.

These conditions worsen with age and do not follow a clear period of stagnation.

The goal of Kids Cancer Care is to support families throughout their cancer journey by providing a supportive community and programs to help families cope with the immediate and long-term side effects of cancer and its treatment.

Christine McIver founded the camp 30 years ago and says Camp Kindle will continue to grow and evolve to meet the needs of children and their families for years to come.

“It needs to be a place where kids come to do new and different things that they would never do in the city, they would never do on their family farm or wherever they come from,” she said.

“They get to try new things and, most importantly, meet kids who are going through the same things they are going through.”

To date, the campaign has raised nearly 80 percent of its funds. Kids Cancer Care is a registered Canadian charity that has been supporting Alberta families battling childhood cancer for 30 years.

The charity has invested more than $34 million in programs that help more than 30,000 children and families rebuild their lives following a cancer diagnosis.

More information about the organization can be found on its website.