Shell Cove sisters Krystle, Katie and Lara Sandelin are excited about what was delivered to their house by courier this week.
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It was like Christmas come early when they arrived home from school to find three big yellow boxes waiting for them, one addressed to each.
Since then they have been brimming with expectation about what they will find inside when they are allowed to open them on Sunday.
That's when Camp Quality's new Virtual Camp starts nationally to bring the fun, positivity and connection of Kids' Camps online to children between the ages of seven to 14 who have been isolated by COVID-19 and cancer.
Mum Jane Sandelin said it has been a very different week for the Shell Cove household.
Her three daughters have all taken part in Camp Quality camps before and have missed the opportunity to do so this year.
Camp Quality came into their life after Ms Sandelin's worst nightmare came true when her daughter Krystle was diagnosed with leukemia at 13 weeks of age.
Krystle is now 13 but in her first year of life endured chemotherapy before becoming one of the youngest children in Australia to have a bone marrow transplant at seven months of age.
"Camp Quality events over the years have been such a relief and Krystle and her two younger sisters are so excited for Virtual Camp," Ms Sandelin said.
"We can't wait to open the camp-in-a-box. They have kept asking me when the camp is? And when the big yellow boxes arrived this week they got really excited about it.
"When they came home from school and the boxes were sitting by the front door they were keen to open them but know they can't until Sunday."
Ms Sandelin said she registered the girls for the inaugural Camp Quality Virtual Camp a few weeks ago and they haven't stopped talking about it since.
"We have been to family camps and family days out and the girls have been to Kids Camp. Each year they also have a Jamberoo day," she said.
"All Camp Quality events are really well run. And with everything provided it really takes the pressure off parents and families. It allows everyone to relax and make memories.
"Krystle, Katie and Lara are excited about the new Virtual Camp because they know it will be great."
Katie described it as being like Christmas come early when she saw the big yellow boxes.
"It is really exciting and you really want to open it but you can't," she said.
"It is quite heavy and it is hard to wait. Kids Camps are always fun."
The new initiative from the children's charity provides a camp experience, streamed live, to kids who have been diagnosed with cancer and their siblings, who due to compromised immune systems or location cannot attend a face-to-face camp experience.
Developed during COVID-19, to keep isolated kids connected to Camp Quality's fun experiences and positive well-being programs, Virtual Camps will be held regularly to help Camp Quality reach more children when, and wherever, they need it most.
Virtual Camp will see camp leaders and Camp Quality puppets take kids on an interactive, live-streamed adventure where they choose from activities such as science experiments, martial arts and hip-hop dancing.
Without giving too much away and spoiling the surprise on Sunday camp-in-a-box contents include science experiments and craft activities.
Camp Quality chief executive Deborah Thomas said the new Virtual Camps means children in regional and remote areas, as well as those in the stages of cancer treatment where their immune systems are vulnerable, will no longer have to wait to be well enough, or able to travel to a Camp Quality experience.
Ms Sandelin has no doubt that Camp Quality experiences in the past had prepared her children for the COVID-19.
"Lara's reading came along well while schooling at home and Katie got creative in the kitchen cooking us lunches and snacks most days," she said.
"Krystle is very artistic and was able to rekindle her passion for art.
"My kids were able to be kids during that time. And we all got to create a really nice vegie garden together and pick fresh food for dinner. That ties in really well with my passion for hygiene and living as toxin free as possible. It has given me peace of mind to know I am making healthy choices for my family."
While they were able to self engage so well during lockdown the Sandelin children are ready to do a Virtual Camp online with lots of other children.
As part of a Camp Quality fundraiser in July they did a camp-in at home which Ms Sandelin said was a lot of fun for them all during lockdown.
"I imagine the virtual camp-in-a-box will be just as good. It will be great to see the kids interacting happily."
Ms Sandelin said her other two daughters weren't born when Krystle was having all her treatment in her first year of life.
But they know children in other families can miss out on a lot when one child is very sick and spending considerable time in hospital.
And that is why what Camp Quality does for the siblings as well as the sick child is so important.
"The whole family is included," Ms Sandelin said.
"Camp Quality has been wonderful helping our family out over the years."
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Greg Ellis
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
