Camp Periwinkle Volunteer Application
What is Camp Periwinkle
Camp Periwinkle is a special place for children who are being treated for cancer at Texas Children’s Hospital. Each year we welcome approximately 100 boys and girls, ages 7-15, for one week during the summer to a beautiful camp facility called Camp For All near Brenham, Texas. Here, they can experience all the fun of camp without having to feel unusual or different in any way. Campers and volunteers do not pay to attend camp. The Periwinkle Foundation raises the necessary funds to bring all campers and volunteers to Camp Periwinkle free of charge. Camp Periwinkle is designed to provide a safe, emotionally healing and fantastic adventure that gives every camper (both patients and siblings) the opportunity to grow in independence and self-esteem. Campers leave knowing they are not alone, and they have what it takes to keep fighting their illness and face the challenges that life sends their way.
When is Camp Periwinkle
Sunday, July 21 – Saturday, July 27, 2024.
Mandatory Volunteer Orientation, Saturday, July 20, 2024. Junior Counselors, aged 18 to 20, will be transported by bus from Houston to camp and back on Sunday, July 21st, and Saturday, July 27th.
Requirements To Become a Volunteer/Counselor
- Camp Periwinkle Volunteers must be at least 18 years old.
- Enthusiasm, ingenuity, and a love for kids
- Camping experience or medical knowledge is not required.
- Be available all week and attend the volunteer orientation.
- ALL campers, volunteers and staff members will need to be fully vaccinated to attend camp.
Volunteer Application
To submit your application, please click the link below. Your application will not be considered, and we will not reach out to you until it is fully completed. Your application will only be considered complete if the following criteria are met:
- Answer all the questions to the best of your ability.
- Fill out two reference forms and follow up with your references to confirm they’ve completed the reference. A family member, boyfriend, girlfriend, or fiancé should not be a reference for you.
- Upload a current photo of yourself.
- Junior Counselors (18-20) – Email essay to Larry Geiger
Counselor interviews take place on May 9th and May 15th in the evening. You will only be considered for an interview if you complete all sections of the application and have two completed reference forms.
Things to Know About Camp
Camp Periwinkle is organized and staffed by volunteers with the help of the staff at The Periwinkle Foundation. Volunteers serve in many ways at Camp Periwinkle, and the two most common positions are cabin counselor and arts & crafts member. Counselors spend the week with a cabin of campers, who are all about the same age. Each air-conditioned/heated cabin has 10 to 12 campers and three or more counselors, depending on the age of the campers. Counselors attend all activities with their campers, including arts & crafts. The arts & crafts team impacts every single Periwinkle camper, helping each camper to create their own masterpiece to take home as a treasured memory from Camp Periwinkle. Campers also enjoy other activities, including swimming, horseback riding, a ropes course, fishing, archery, canoes and more. The camp facility has qualified instructors to teach us all how to safely participate in the fun. Texas Children’s Hospital physicians and nurses will be at camp to care for any medical issues that arise.
COVID-19
All campers, volunteers and staff will be required to have completed a primary COVID vaccination series and are highly encouraged to have the bivalent Omicron COVID booster. In addition, all campers, volunteers, and staff must take a rapid COVID test, when they arrive at bus loading/camp.