SERIOUS FUN℠ SUMMER Camp
We provide children living with serious illnesses with a spectacular camp experience and high-quality medical care, all in the safest and most supportive environment.
FOR AGES 8 – 17 | DURATION 6 DAYS
Where kids are not defined by their illnesses
For children with serious health challenges, life is often impacted by missed opportunities to participate in the everyday activities enjoyed by their friends and peers. This can result in isolation, poor self-esteem and low confidence, which can become a barrier to future growth and development.
Outward Bound’s Serious Fun℠ are designed to bring about transformational change to tackle these issues. We aim for every camper to return home empowered with a new sense of ambition, self-confidence and a better understanding of their abilities.
Our camps take place in a medically safe environment – our team of volunteers, which includes doctors, paramedics, and nurses, means that campers are fully supported with medical assistance on hand.
THE SERIOUS FUN℠ EXPERIENCE
The Outward Bound Netherlands, Serious Fun℠ programme, focuses on helping young people who experience health challenges to become aware of and apply their incredible abilities and talents; our model is a 4-step programme based on Challenge, Success, Reflection and Discovery.

CHALLENGE


SUCCESS


REFLECTION


DISCOVERY

Serious Fun® Camp 2023
5-night residential activity camps
For Summer 2023, we invite applications from children aged 8 to 17 years living in the Netherlands who are currently receiving treatment or experiencing health challenges. Before attending our Serious Fun® camps, each camper’s parental application and healthcare professional form completed by their doctor or nurse is reviewed by one of our Nursing Team. This is to ensure that the camper meets our eligibility criteria and that our team at camp can meet their needs.
Our camps are 100% fun and 100% FREE for everyone, all of the time.
This is Serious Fun℠
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
ABOUT CAMP
Nothing – Our Serious Fun® camps are totally free of charge for every child and family. Outward Bound Netherlands fundraises to cover the costs of all the camps.
There is always a varied menu with plenty of choice and dietary requirements can be catered for as long as we know in advance. We do not allow any child or family to bring their own food to camp (unless by prior arrangement for special dietary requirements).
APPLYING FOR CAMP
We invite applications from children aged 8 to 17 years, living in The Netherlands, who are currently receiving treatment or experiencing health challenges.
This includes, but is not limited to:
- Blood disorders (eg Sickle Cell Disease, Haemophilia)
- Gastrointestinal disorders (eg Inflammatory bowel disease, TPN-dependent)
- Cancer and Leukaemia
- Rheumatological conditions (eg Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus)
- Immunological disorders (eg HIV, primary immune deficiency)
- Respiratory disorders (eg Severe Asthma)
- Skin conditions (eg Severe Eczema)
- Severe Allergies
- Heart conditions (eg Congenital Heart Disease)
- Kidney disease (eg Polycystic Kidney Disease, Renal Failure)
- Liver diseases
- Neurological disorders (eg Epilepsy, Spina Bifida)
- Neuromuscular disorders (eg Friedreich’s ataxia)
- Organ Transplant
- Endocrine disorders
To ensure the child is able to benefit fully from all our camp programmes, they must:
- have the physical ability to participate in an action-packed activity programme with a range of high and low energy activities
- have the social and emotional ability to participate in a group setting and team activities with children of their own age
- be able to communicate their needs independently
- be able to transfer from chair to floor and floor to chair without assistance if they use a wheelchair
Unfortunately, we are unable to accept children who:
- have learning, behavioural or social communication needs that would prevent them from participating in age-appropriate group activities
- are more than 2-3 years off treatment, if they do not have any ongoing health challenges
- need overnight care/intervention/monitoring, or health care needs that require constant one-to-one support
- have Cystic Fibrosis or Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (due to the risk of cross-infection and infection to immunocompromised campers)
- are on the ketogenic diet
Before attending camp, each camper’s parent application and a medical form completed by their own doctor or nurse is reviewed by one of our Nursing Team. This is to ensure that the camper meets our eligibility criteria and that their needs can be met by the team at camp. Any required care plans can be formulated ahead of time. We will consider the child’s ability to participate in the programme, their psychosocial wellbeing, and what other opportunities are available to them. Each application is considered on its own merits, however as places are limited, we will give priority to those children who have not attended camp before.
Any medical information that we request from you should be received by us as soon as possible. Applicants to our camps must fill out our Healthcare Professional Form which should be completed by the child’s nurse or consultant at the hospital. We will send this request to you on receipt of your application. We cannot assess an application for camp without the supporting medical information requested.
If you are a new applicant and meet our criteria, then you have a very good chance of getting a place on a camp. If you have been to our camps before, then you may initially be placed on a reserve list as we will prioritise those who have not attended a camp before.
We assess every application on an individual basis, both for the child’s safety and to ensure we can deliver for their individual needs. All applications are assessed by our clinical team who are all registered nurses. We prioritise children and families who have not been to one of our camps before. All applications need to meet our criteria to ensure our campers safety and ensure the medical team can work to the best of their ability.
Yes, but we do prioritise children who are first-time applicants to our camps, so you may initially be placed on our reserve list to see where we have availability when applications have closed.
Once we’ve received your application and any supporting information the nursing and wellbeing teams will assess your application. The team may contact you if they have further questions regarding your child and their health condition – please do respond to these quickly to avoid delaying your application. We cannot progress your application until we have received all medical / supporting information so please provide this as soon as possible.
WHILE AT CAMP
We consider each child’s needs on an individual basis, but some of the most common aspects our team deal with are:
- Give medication
- Oral chemotherapy
- PEG, NG and NJ feeds
- TPN
- Central lines and portacaths
- Dressings
- Non-invasive ventilation
- Subcutaneous injections and infusions
- IV factor
- Stoma and catheter care
- Bowel washouts
At a Serious Fun® camp we provide a team of volunteer qualified doctors, paramedics and nurses. They provide all necessary care, giving medication, feeds, changing dressings, personal care, as well as monitoring their health over the duration of the camp. A doctor, paramedic or nurse is on call for overnight emergencies. The team is led by a nursing coordinator who is a member of staff.
Outward Bound Netherlands provides a variety of activities and each activity is targeted to the age group at camp. Examples of activities include climbing wall, zip wire, arts and crafts, kayaking, archery, board games and music – to name a few. Activities change depending on the venue.