Behind every great purpose is great inspiration. The thought of bringing smiles and laughter to children seriously affected by illness inspired Paul Newman to open the first Hole in the Wall Camp in 1988. Since then they have grown to a family of camps around the world, with Over The Wall offering camp places to children living in the United Kingdom who are affected by serious and life limiting illnesses.

As summer approaches in this very difficult economic climate, the experience that they offer to extraordinary children free of charge has never been more important. This year, Over The Wall will bring together 500 children and young people who will attend one of their camps in either Dorset, the Midlands or Scotland.

A £5000 grant from the Barbara Ward Children’s Foundation will see seriously ill children trade their hospital beds for a week of laughter and friendship in a medically sound environment. For many children, this one week marks a significant turning point in their lives; often they have increased confidence to tackle the challenges they may face from not fitting in at school, or to prepare themselves for another session of complex medical treatment – sadly, on a few occasions their desire to attend camp comes as their final wish.