Dovel volunteers with camp for children with cancer
Local resident Amber Dovel has been volunteering with Camp Quality, a camp for kids with cancer and their siblings, since she graduated from high school.
Camp Quality is an international organization that originated in Australia. In the U.S. all camps function under one umbrella, but each one plans and operates separately, she said. In some places Camp Quality is a household name, but in Arkansas it is the best kept secret, she said.
“I’m not sure why it’s still a secret. I’m not sure how we bring it to the forefront,” Dovel said. Camp Quality Arkansas has struggled with this since it was founded in 1989, she said.
Dovel began volunteering with the organization in 1993 as a companion. Each camper is paired with an adult companion who serves as a support, friend, mentor and guide for the week of camp. She served in that role until she graduated from college, and at that time most of her friends were stepping into leadership roles. She served as secretary of the board for a couple of years and she was “hooked,” she said.
Over the years, Dovel has also volunteered as Camp Organizing Committee program coordinator, photographer and COC volunteer coordinator. She also served as program coordinator at the Texas camp for a while.
She took a couple of breaks from volunteering to focus on her children but returned to Camp Quality after a few years. In 2022 she became COC social media coordinator from home. She has been working on getting a lot of old photo files organized and tagged, she said.
“It’s probably an undertaking no one else would take on,” Dovel said. “With the passing of time, that history’s going to be lost. It’s important to document that we’ve been an organization since 1989 and these are the lives we’ve impacted. Not only have we impacted them, but they’ve impacted us.”
She added, “I truly believe Camp Quality has given me as much as the hours I’ve poured into it.”
Dovel said there is a place at Camp Quality for anyone who wants to give a week of their life. There are companions, the medical team, a psychosocial team, a photography team and a team squad made up of 16 and 17 year old volunteers.
“It’s hard work on the volunteer side, but it’s a soul-fulfilling experience,” she said.
Campers can be anywhere in the stages of their cancer treatment and can range in age from 5 to 17 years old. Siblings of cancer patients are also invited, and only the medical team knows who the patients are, so everyone is treated equally, Dovel said. She added safety is a high priority, with layers of protection in place. For example, every camper must be with two adults at all times, she said. Every volunteer goes through mandatory training, she added.
Camp Quality Arkansas is located at Camp Mitchell on Petit Jean Mountain in Morrilton. It has been a struggle to get the camp’s numbers back to normal following covid, and there is room for more campers, Dovel said.
Camp Quality Arkansas is donation-funded and has to raise about $6,000 per month to meet its annual goal. There is no fee for children to attend camp.
There are 61 people, including volunteers and campers, who have returned to Camp Quality Arkansas for 10 summers. One camper, Amy, attended the first camp in 1989 as a patient and returned as a volunteer and has attended every year, Dovel said.
She added, “We don’t lose a lot of campers. Over time, as medicine has gotten better, we lose fewer and fewer, but you remember every one we’ve lost.”
“At 18 I didn’t have any concept of how [Camp Quality] would impact my life,” Dovel said.
To volunteer for Camp Quality Arkansas, contact volunteer coordinator Nicole Turnage at nicole.turnage@campqualityusa.org.
To donate, mail donations of cash or checks to Camp Quality Arkansas, PO Box 7754, Little Rock, AR 72217, or donate online at www. campqualityusa.org/waysto-help/donate.
To donate in-kind donations that can include time, services and physical goods such as a meal or snack, contact Sara Seagraves, executive director, at arkansas@campqualityusa.org.