November 9, 2021
SeriousFun Children’s Network (SeriousFun), a non-profit that provides exceptional camp, hospital, and at-home programs for kids living with serious illnesses and their families, recently partnered with the American Institute for Research® (AIR®) to conduct this first-of-its-kind study. Alumni campers from SeriousFun camps all over the world, including campers from Victory Junction were the participants in the study. Questions asked provided a look into influence and lasting impacts of SeriousFun’s programming. The study explored personal, social, and health-related outcomes that are influenced by SeriousFun camps; elements of the camp and camper’s experiences that affect those outcomes; and whether outcomes were affected by frequency of attendance or demographic characteristics of attendees.
SeriousFun, founded by legendary actor and philanthropist Paul Newman, is made up of Victory Junction, along with 29 other camps and programs around the world that help children living with serious medical conditions and their families reach beyond illness to discover joy, confidence, and new possibilities. SeriousFun is the only organization of its kind to serve children living with more than 50 medical conditions – including cancer, blood disorders, immunological conditions, neurological conditions, and more. Through camps like Victory Junction, children and families have the opportunity to escape the everyday demands of hospital visits, doctor appointments, and treatments to experience an unparalleled opportunity for belonging and accomplishment.
Study data were gathered between January and March 2021 through online surveys administered to SeriousFun alumni, who reported their outcomes and the extent to which they attributed these outcomes to participation in SeriousFun camps.
More than 2,200 SeriousFun alumni, ranging in ages from 17-30, from 16 camps and eight countries (France, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, and United States) took part in the survey, the largest study ever carried out by SeriousFun Children’s Network.
More than 80% of total alumni reported that their SeriousFun camp experience played a major role in their development of lasting outcomes, which they used in their everyday adolescent and adult lives including:
• Willingness to try new things (90% of respondents)
• Appreciation of diversity (88%)
• Self-identity (86%)
• Empathy and compassion (86%)
• Self-confidence (85%)
• Perseverance (84%)
• Friendship skills (82%)
“Adam Petty’s legacy has always been Victory Junction and its impact on the campers with serious medical conditions that it serves,” said Chad Coltrane, President and CEO of Victory Junction. “As a member of SeriousFun Children’s Network, the premiere network of medical camps globally, Victory Junction is proud to provide these exceptional safe experiences for children living with serious illnesses right here in the Triad, North Carolina, and the entire southeast. This study will help us to serve those children even better.”
According to the study, all types of campers, representing diverse demographic backgrounds, benefitted from their experience at SeriousFun camps. Demographic characteristics, including race/ethnicity, age, education, gender, employment status, and medical diagnosis, had little to no bearing on the perceptions of alumni about the influence of camp on outcomes.
