The Real-Life Story Behind Sunny Dancer movie and Care Camps Foundation
Sunny Dancer is in theaters now.
Here’s the story behind the story: the real camps that give kids with cancer and their families a place to just be kids again.
In Sunny Dancer, Ivy, played by Bella Ramsey, finds something at camp she didn’t expect: friendship, a sense of belonging, and the freedom to just be a teenager again, not “Ivy with cancer.”
That feeling isn’t fiction. It’s what happens every year at the 126 pediatric, adolescent, and young adult (AYA) oncology camps funded by Care Camps Foundation across the U.S. and Canada, free of charge, for kids, siblings, and parents alike.
Learn About Our Camps
“What Ivy finds at camp in the film, the friendships, the belonging, the feeling of finally being around people who understand what you’ve been through without having to explain it, that’s exactly right. That’s what these camps do, every year, for tens of thousands of kids, siblings, and parents.”
~ Gwynn B. Sullivan, Executive Director, Care Camps Foundation
What Camp Really Looks Like
Camp isn’t just for kids in active treatment. It’s built for the whole family:
- Survivors and kids at every stage of their cancer journey
- Siblings and parents, with sessions designed just for them
- Alumni who return as counselors, and some who go on to become nurses and doctors
- Communities that hold space for both joy and loss, remembering campers who have died
Every camp that Care Camps Foundation funds is a member of the Children’s Oncology Camping Association (COCA), which oversees medical supervision, staff training, and safety accreditation. We fund the camps; COCA members operate them under attentive supervision and in accordance with well-established safety standards.
For over 4 decades, we have been dedicated to helping children with cancer experience joy, belonging, and the healing power of the outdoors at no cost to their families.
As the only national organization providing funding for pediatric oncology camps, we are ecstatic that the film is bringing attention to why this work matters.
If Sunny Dancer made you feel something, you can help make it real for a family who needs it most.
Donate TodaySunny Dancer is a work of fiction inspired by the spirit of camp, not a depiction of any specific Care Camps Foundation funded program. Images from Sunny Dancer used with express permission from the film’s producers.
