Camp Holiday

SONY FOUNDATION 17

Sony Foundation Australia has set up Children’s Holiday Camps to give parents of developmentally delayed children some respite.

The ﬁrst Children’s Holiday Camp was held at St Ignatius’ College, Riverview NSW in 1998. Since its success, the Camps have been adopted by

other high schools around the country willing to help the disadvantaged members of the community and broaden their social responsibility.

Host schools now include St. Joseph’s College and Tamworth Anglican College in NSW; Marist College Ashgrove and Anglican Church Grammar School in QLD; Hale School and Christ Church Grammar School in WA; Kormilda College in NT and Launceston Church Grammar School in TAS. While these schools play host to each Camp, they also encourage involvement from students at neighbouring schools, helping to make the event a community affair. In 2005, the Camps expanded across Australia to include schools in Darwin and Perth with more schools across Australia planning to join next year.

The Sony Foundation Australia Children’s Holiday Camps give high school students the opportunity to take time out from their school holidays to care for a developmentally delayed child over a weekend. This provides much-needed respite for parents and daily care- givers as well as an educational and inspiring experience for the children and students. High school students experience

the everyday challenges and demands involved in caring for a developmentally delayed child whilst all the children partake in a fun-ﬁlled weekend.

Camp activities include theme park excursions, horse riding, swimming, arts and craft, talent shows, magic shows and picnics. These activities give both the children and their teenage carers a unique experience beyond their normal routine.

Early in the year, Sony Pictures Releasing partnered with the Sony Foundation Australia to raise funds for the Children’s Holiday Camps Program across the country. Moviegoers were given the opportunity to see, at over 100 cinemas nationwide, special advance screenings of Zathura: A Space Adventure for the reduced price of $7 per ticket. Sony Pictures Releasing Managing Director, Ross Entwistle expressed his appreciation to the public for embracing the movie and in turn raising vital funds for such a worthy initiative, “It’s our pleasure at Sony Pictures to support these magniﬁcent Camps, and an even greater pleasure

to witness the dedication and compassion that the young carers display for kids who are less fortunate.”

The funds raised from the movie screening will further assist the national expansion of the Sony Foundation Children’s Holiday Camps Program.

Sony Pulse 17