BURBANK, Ohio — Tucked away in the Wayne County woods lies a place of tranquility and peace, where even those on the most difficult of journeys can find their light.
"Knowing they're in a space where they can be who they are and never have to explain anything, that everyone there understands what they've been through, what they're going to go through, and the challenges they face each and every day of it," said Sarah Givens, executive director of Camp Quality Ohio.
Campers at Camp Quality Ohio participate in daily activities that bring them joy. When we went for a visit last month, kids there were enjoying crafts, water slides, and performing arts.
When you see these sweet faces, it may come as a surprise about why they're at camp in the first place.
"So it's a camp that was created for children with cancer, so those diagnosed with pediatric oncology," Sarah said. "The beauty of Camp Quality Ohio is that we also offer all of our programming to siblings."
Because a cancer diagnosis affects the whole family.
Kaleia Lechner, 11, and her siblings, Braden Burns, 16, and Aelan, 9, have been coming here for years to support her.
"When I was 2-and-a-half I was diagnosed with leukemia," Kaleia said. "When I was 4 I went here and I loved it. And then the next year my siblings came and it was a lot of fun."
It's also a way for those touched by cancer to feel less alone and part of a special crew who understands how they feel.
"You have your counselor who you know, and that just like opens up whole world of possibilities because your counselor then has people that they know if they've been here before, and they are welcoming you into their group of friends," Braden said.
Counselors like 29-year-old Ryan Colegrove know what it's like to support a sibling coping with cancer.
"I was I 9 or 10 years old. I came as a sibling. My brother's a survivor, so we came as sort of a duo," Ryan said.
He's been coming here ever since, paying the kindness forward.
"Finding a community of people that shared sort of that lived experience was really powerful for us at a young age," Ryan said.
Morgan Loudon, 20, dealt with cancer as a young girl.
"So I had Extrarenal rhabdoid sarcoma, which is just a soft tissue cancer that was above my left kidney," Morgan said.
It was, at times, hard to adjust to her disease as a child.
"After going back to the school year and just, I was going back pretty much bald, and I really got the point of where, I'm very different from these kids, you know, they're not leaving in the middle of the day to go to the hospital," Morgan said.
But while she was at Camp Quality Ohio, it was a whole new world.
"I could come back here and I know like, it's okay. These kids are going through it too and it's just very comforting," Morgan said.
Especially, to know that despite the unknowns of their disease, for one week in the summertime, kids here can just be free. Free, in a world where both their medical needs and their hearts are cared for.
"You've really made a difference in my life, in my kids' lives. And it might seem small to you, but I promise it is not. It is huge. So thank you," Sharla Lechner said through tears.
To learn more about Camp Quality Ohio, or how to donate, click HERE.
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