Following the cancellation of its camps for children with serious illness, Over The Wall calls on public support to survive. 

Today, Over The Wall is launching an emergency fundraising appeal in a bid for its camps for children with serious illness, to continue.  

Following the outbreak of the Coronavirus, we recently made the decision to cancel most of our camps across the UK. These cancellations have already had a severe impact on our income.  

Since 1999, Over The Wall has provided free residential camps for children with over 130 different illnesses, helping over 8,000 seriously ill children and their families, to engage in life-changing memorable experiences. It is now calling on the support of the general public to help ensure that the camps run again in the future.  

The charity is already putting alternative plans in place for the children who were scheduled to attend in 2020, by creating an exclusive virtual programme, named ‘Camp in the Cloud’. This will be a free interactive web-based programme that brings camp directly into the home of the camper through challenges, activities and inspirational projects.   

The charity is also engaging its larger audience through ‘Activity Blitz’, a project which offers activities for all children and families in lockdown to participate in at home, which currently appears on the charity’s social media platforms, three times per week.  

However, to ensure the continuation of the venue-based camps that the charity is famous for, Over The Wall is asking for any donations to ensure that families struggling with serious illness can access the fun and laughter of the free camps in the future.  

Kevin Mathieson, the CEO of Over The Wall, commented, “Today, we are launching an appeal for funding, to essentially help ensure the survival of Over The Wall– and would therefore gratefully receive any support the public can offer. We appreciate that this is a difficult time for everyone, but any support now would be critical in us securing the future of the charity.” 

“The Coronavirus has had such a severe impact on our fundraising programme, that we have already adopted a range of different measures in an attempt to ensure the survival of Over The Wall. Whilst we know the Coronavirus will be one day be beaten –we are unsure of the continuation of our charity. So, if you are able to, please help us to ensure that Over The Wall, not only survives, but thrives beyond these difficult times.”