Camp Jojo Annual Report 2024
Camp Jojo is a registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation No: 1189163
It was really special to be outside late at night and to go for a walk and see the stars and to have lots of time with the donkeys.” Child 2024
I think being able to sit back and observe your children rather than constantly being on full alert made a difference for me. I could relax... I felt I wasn’t missing anything that way. Being able to watch them play with the extra support was lovely. It gives you a chance to learn more about your children and how they interact with others ...rather than being the one full on busy to keep them busy and involved which means you can miss lovely or interesting moments. Parent 2024
“We miss out on so many family experiences because sometimes it’s just too hard, yet Johnny had the best time the whole weekend. Such an amazing experience for a little boy who often finds the world difficult to navigate” Parent 2022
“Our favourite activity had to be Denise swimming in the sea for the first time ever! I will never forget the absolute joy on hers and Julie’s faces, and that as a family we got to experience this together. Having the photographer there all weekend to capture these moments was special beyond words” Parent 2022
“The most amazing special place, full of incredibly special people. Please extend it to more camps!”
“Thank you so much for allowing me to volunteer. I love Camp Jojo and whilst it’s really hard to explain the feeling you get until you do it, it truly is magical!”
Volunteers
“I knew the experience would be wonderful for the children but I totally underestimated the joy I would get from it myself. To feel supported, helped and not remotely judged is everything I could have wanted and more.” Parent 2024
“You go as strangers and leave as family. There will be tears, laughter and huge pride felt and wishing you could stay longer. As a family we are beyond grateful that we got the chance to become part of the Camp Jojo Family and you will be too!
A truly beautiful experience where “Everybody can!” Parent 2022
“What is fabulous about Camp Jojo is that the whole family is making good, happy shared memories. And those memories are sustenance, warmth and shelter for the soul against future hardship and stress.” Volunteer 2022
Volunteers say……………………..
Thank you so much for allowing me to volunteer. I love Camp Jojo and whilst it’s really hard to explain the feeling you get until you do it, it truly is magical!
Leadership and support before and during camp is amazing. The leaders make it known that they are there for you from the moment you sign up. All training is sufficient for camp. The expectations are clearly laid out.
As this was my first time at Camp Jojo, I really enjoyed being paired with somebody who had lots of experience at Camp Jojo. This made me feel more confident! It was the best experience.
The support offered was fantastic and made my first year as camp leader super easy!
Camp Jojo is a place where the whole family can experience relaxing in the ‘great outdoors’ knowing that support and friendship is on hand during their entire visit. This gives them time to relax and have fun together as a family. This is so important for siblings too. I thoroughly enjoy volunteering for them. For me volunteering is a very positive thing to do, knowing the difference these camps make to so many families. No wonder the camps are always oversubscribed.
Camp JoJo for me is one of the most incredible experiences. It brings together people from all over the UK, both volunteers and families, and puts them into this incredible farm camp for a weekend of happiness. Happiness is the main word I have for camp JoJo, happiness from families, happiness from volunteers and just pure love shown for the weekend and the experiences. It means the world to be able to come back and support Camp JoJo over and over every year, to see the faces of families light up as you give them and their children experiences they have only ever dreamt of in a fully inclusive and accepting environment and community.
Family Case Study from 2024
The Chand Family - Camp Jojo Experience
“If you had told me a year ago that we would be able to go camping as a family, I simply wouldn’t have believed you. My 5 year old twins, Ruby and Sophia, have an ultra rare neurological condition called Alternating Hemiplegia of Childhood (AHC), which causes global developmental delay alongside frequent episodes of hemiplegia, quadriplegia, paralysis and respiratory arrest. Episodes have become more frequent as the girls have got older - Sophia now has multiple daily episodes of paralysis and dystonia. Her respiratory arrests (commonly lasting up to 6 minutes, but sometimes as long as 2 hours) occur up to 38 times a month. Going to the park as a family can feel like a major expedition, so I never dreamed we would be able to camp! When filling in the application form- and even when we were offered a place - I assumed that at some point, we’d be told that a mistake had been made; that the girls’ needs couldn’t be met; that we couldn’t go after all.
Obviously - thankfully - this wasn’t the case. It was so helpful to be able to speak to Louise ‘face to face’ over Teams, and she was so knowledgeable about the girls and their needs that I felt instantly reassured. It was so clear how much planning had already gone into our stay. All my questions about Camp were answered, and there was absolutely no surprise, shock, panic or pity expressed at any of the girls needs (all emotions we are too used to seeing!) Louise also spoke directly to our care company regarding some of the arrangements and risk assessments, and that was really helpful. Because of their medical needs, the girls have nurse led care at home both day and night. With both of them needing such a high level of care, we knew we wouldn’t be able to manage without our carers. I was really worried that this would be a problem, and would mean that Camp wasn’t a realistic possibility for us, but Louise and the other organisers made it possible, and I know all our team really appreciated the way they were included and welcomed. It was also lovely that the camp leader and our volunteer got in touch before camp- it meant that I knew who to contact when we were running late, and also somehow just made the whole thing less nerve racking!
From the moment we arrived at camp, we were made so welcome. Our tents were all set up, and as well as playing with the children when we unloaded the van, our volunteers also checked that we were happy with the sleeping arrangements and gave us a bag full of all our favourite goodies - including Brunch Bars, which made Ruby extremely happy and settled her down instantly! Everything had been thought of - there were hot water bottles and extra blankets for cold nights; lanterns and torches to borrow, and play equipment dotted all over camp which were just perfect for all three children - the littlest one, Alex, just loved the swing and the toy car ramp, and the girls had so much fun in the hammocks and the paddling pools.
On the first evening, we had a delicious meal and then had a music session with a music therapist. I had been unsure whether Ruby and Sophia would cope with this as it started after their usual bedtime and they can get a bit overwhelmed by busy and noisy environments at the best of times, but they absolutely loved it! Watching them dancing along to the music and getting stuck in with the instruments was really magical.
On both the second and third day, we were able to choose from a range of activities. On the Thursday, we went first to prepare breakfast for the donkeys; then to the sensory garden; then to the hammocks
(with a sneaky splash in the paddling pool on the way!); then to the beach. On the Friday, I had a massage - what a treat! - and we did some messy play, painting the barn door, and then made pizza! I have genuinely never seen Ruby and Sophia smile so much- they just loved it!
I also have to mention how utterly amazing our volunteers were. They couldn’t do enough to help us, and their help meant that we felt we really got a break. I actually managed to sit in a hammock and read my book during the day- I genuinely don’t remember the last time I sat down during the day and wasn’t driving somewhere! They were also so lovely with the girls- they just ‘got’ them straight away. They made our experience so much fun, and tailored everything to us perfectly.
Sophia actually wasn’t having a great time with her AHC symptoms during our stay - she had 3 respiratory arrests, and many episodes of paralysis and dystonia. However, she still got so much out of it - she really threw herself into the activities in between her episodes (sometimes literally), and we never felt that her symptoms were a problem in any way. We felt that everyone just understood, and there was no need to explain or apologise. Little Alex also had a brilliant time - it was so lovely that he was also included and catered for, and the week was just as special for him as it was for the girls. It was really special to see him playing and enjoying the activities with his sisters.
I cannot put into words how much it meant to us to make some happy memories as a family. It felt like we beat AHC for a few days, despite Sophia’s symptoms, and we really will cherish the memories we made forever.”
Contents
| 1. | The Story of Camp Jojo This Year, 2024 ................................................................................................1 | The Story of Camp Jojo This Year, 2024 ................................................................................................1 |
|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | Families ........................................................................................................................................1 | |
| 1.2 | Volunteers ...................................................................................................................................1 | |
| 1.3 | The Organisation .........................................................................................................................2 | |
| 1.4 | Development work for a second accessible camping site in the northwest of England .............3 | |
| 2. | How We’ve Involved People From Our Community in the Work We Do in 2024 .................................4 | |
| 2.1 | Our Community ...........................................................................................................................4 | |
| 2.2 | How has our community changed the way we work in 2024? ...................................................4 | |
| 2.3 | How are we joining up with what others are doing locally? How are we making the most of | |
| the strengths of our community? ..........................................................................................................5 | ||
| 3. | The Differences We’ve Made in 2024 ...................................................................................................6 | |
| 3.1 | Families ........................................................................................................................................6 | |
| 3.2 | Volunteers ...................................................................................................................................6 | |
| 3.3 | Donors .........................................................................................................................................7 | |
| 3.4 | The Camp Jojo team in 2024 .......................................................................................................8 | |
| 4. | What | We’ve Learned in 2024 ................................................................................................................9 |
| 4.1 | What’s gone well? .......................................................................................................................9 | |
| 4.2 | What’s not gone well or been challenging in 2024? ...................................................................9 | |
| 4.3 | What’s been unexpected or interesting to Camp Jojo in 2024? What we have learned. ....... 10 | |
| 5. | How We’ve Changed What We Do in 2024 ........................................................................................ 11 | |
| 5.1 | This Year ................................................................................................................................... 11 | |
| 5.2 | Our Plans Going Forward ......................................................................................................... 12 | |
| Appendix A: Map of Family Applications for 2024 ..................................................................................... 13 |
1. The Story of Camp Jojo This Year, 2024
We run a model of accessible camping for families with a child with complex disabilities that we know works; involving a small community each camp, a beautiful and dedicated farm site, a small army of volunteers, and a lot of specialist disability equipment – all supporting the families. Families coming to the camps have been extremely positive about what it offers them. We have wanted to scale up our delivery year on year, as demand is so great. This year we were able to increase the number of family camps held to 6, allowing more families to experience camping accessibility. We continue to be very heavily oversubscribed – we have had 284 applications this year for 38 places (see Appendix A) plus one extra camp for the families of an inner London SEN school.
1.1 Families
We have improved the families’ experience of our camps, from application onwards, through:
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Providing more detail of the selection process, and criteria we apply in family selection, on our website and in a dedicated video; so that families can consider whether to apply in a more informed way.
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Increasing access for families with complex needs – a new accessible bathroom (Mobiloo) was purchased, along with more tents with hoists, increased tracking on the camping grounds and an additional all terrain wheelchair.
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Improved catering budget and improved catering facilities.
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Recruitment and training of a catering manager to supervise all catering at the camps.
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Improved seating in the marquee and round the campfire.
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Increased access and funding for massage, photography, music therapy and activities.
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Increasing the number of camps – to 6 this year (as planned).
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Using more widely the woodland area of the site, through the development of a woodland labyrinth, sensory story telling areas, wildlife treasure hunt and other activities.
1.2 Volunteers
In 2024 we provided 188 volunteer places. We have improved our volunteers’ experience and training by:
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Improving our management and support process for volunteers. This year we appointed a dedicated Volunteer Manager, with a more detailed job description, and enhanced hours, for this role.
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Improving our selection process by appointing two of our most experienced volunteers as part time Volunteer Selection managers (all new volunteers are interviewed and references checked).
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Providing enhanced training for camp leaders – this year we had a 2-day retreat for camp leaders in June to allow time to emphasise our culture, the social model of disability, health and safety; this also improved consistency across camps.
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Camp Jojo Annual Report 2024
- Instituting a volunteer working party weekend, at the suggestion of the Volunteer committee, to encourage volunteer engagement beyond the camping weekends.
1.3 The Organisation
In terms of the organisation itself, we have carried out a review of all our business processes, policies and practices. This has led to significant improvements to our organisational capacity and resilience by:
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Continuing to hold a co-production approach in the organisation (see Our Community section below). This ensures that all proposals coming to the senior Operations team (SOT) or to the Board have already had a lived experience perspective and filter.
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Appointing a Transition Team for 6 months to proactively address any areas that needed further development as a result of our growth. This in turn led to the formation of a permanent Senior Operations Team (SOT) which now meets weekly, and which has greatly improved our coordination, communication and efficiency within the organisation.
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Appointing a new Comms and Marketing Manager who has a strong Comms background in both the statutory and third sectors.
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Developing a Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plan. This is ongoing; a draft plan has been produced and we are now addressing a number of possible scenarios. As part of this process we consulted widely and developed a protocol for the event of a death or serious illness of a child on camp. Given our beneficiary group, we felt that, while hoping very much this will never need to be utilised, we need to have complete clarity about the process should this occur. This has also led to a review of information about the site and camp given to families prior to their attending, with more focus on possible routes for emergency medical help.
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Commissioning ongoing Health and Safety consultancy input. This is now complete and we have a revised Health and Safety Policy, and new Risk Assessments on all needed aspects of the site and camp operations. This material then informed our Camp Leader training weekend
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Significantly enhancing our financial and accountancy systems to allow accurate and regular monthly review of our finances, to ensure safe growth, and support improved decision making. We have appointed a new Treasurer to our Board, who is an accountant with wide experience in both the commercial and charity sectors: and introduced a financial Special Advisor to our team. We have also transitioned our accounting system from a cash-based system to an accrual-based system (QuickBooks). We have carried out a major review of all our assets, enabling depreciation to be correctly reported on a routine basis.
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Improving our evaluation capacity; in 2024 we have started working with the NCVO evaluation team to develop a ‘Theory of Change’ framework that effectively measures the impacts that the camps have on families and volunteers. This work will continue into mid 2025. This year we have also undertaken a more in-depth survey of parents’ experience of their camp and its mental well being effects as well as effects on the family unit. Our evaluation of parents, children s and volunteers experience of each camp has also continued.
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Recruiting two part-time fundraisers to diversify and strengthen our fundraising and reduce the loading on key team members within the charity. Together with our existing part-time fundraiser for
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Camp Jojo Annual Report 2024
large grants they have made great progress in the last 9 months in establishing a funding pipeline for the charity, and broadening our fundraising focus. Our funding has continued to improve as a result.
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Separating out the previous key role of ‘Operations Manager’ into component roles. This has allowed us to increase the resilience of our organisation, by the employment of more staff in specific roles (Families, Volunteers etc). As with our fundraisers and Comms manager we have been fortunate in the quality of our recruitment, and in the lived experience as parents of complex children and disability that the majority bring with them. We are also partway through documenting our important operational processes, again to improve our resilience.
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Increasing our focus on the selection and training of Camp Leaders to strengthen their role and to allow for more consistency in leadership across camps. This resulted in a Camp Leaders weekend workshop prior to camps; as well as the development of a Camp Leaders Handbook, containing all relevant information. To support those in this role we also installed an office space with IT in the barn during each camp.
1.4 Development work for a second accessible camping site in the northwest of England
We know from families how difficult it is to travel from the north of England to a camp in Essex if you have a child with complex needs. In 2023 we identified a potential second site at Nags Head Farm near Appleby, Cumbria. This year has been a time of developing that partnership towards being able to offer Camp Jojo camps there. We know some of the detail of what we envisage:
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We will use the existing model. We know that this works effectively and efficiently for the camps.
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Two of our trustees and one special advisor are from the Cumbria area. Two have visited Ivy Farm during Camp Jojo camps so are aware of the operational aspects also.
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We know that there is considerable local demand for what we offer. Of the 284 applications received for 2024, 80 of these (30%) were closer in proximity to the North West of England than to East Mersea (see Appendix A: Map of Family Applications 2024).
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We also have a significant number of volunteers from the region (primarily Manchester, but also Northumberland) who have volunteered at Ivy Farm. Some have also been Camp Leaders. They will provide a knowledgeable and ready-trained core group of volunteers for the new site.
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We know that for the project to succeed it would have to be firmly rooted in the local community, in the same way as the Ivy Farm site is. Having two trustees and a special advisor from Cumbria is critical. We continue to develop local networks with volunteer organisations, SEN schools, the children’s hospice, a music therapy charity, and other related bodies – with whom we will work when we start full camps at the site. We are also applying to donors, Trusts and Funders in the area to ensure that when we go ahead the project will be integrated into and supported by the local community.
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Camp Jojo Annual Report 2024
2. How We’ve Involved People From Our Community in the Work We Do in 2024
2.1 Our Community
Our community is the disabled community, with particular emphasis on the families of children with complex needs. We have an system of governance which is based on co-production and the involvement of people with lived experience at every level of the organisation. We have further extended our lived experience representation this year:
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Trustees: through the majority of 2024, of the 7 trustees 3 have lived experience of parenting children with complex needs, and one is herself a wheelchair user.
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Special Advisors: of our 5 special advisors 2 are parenting a child with complex needs and two are carers.
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Committees: we have 6 committees – Finance, Families, Volunteers, Comms, Site Ops and Northern Development – and we have lived experience represented in all of these as well as learned experience and strong volunteer representation.
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The Team: this year we have split out our Operations Manager roles into several more specialised but less time-consuming posts to allow recruitment opportunities for people with lived experience who cannot commit their resource above a certain level (see below). As a result we have recruited 5 new part time staff. Our Finance Officer has a teenager with special education needs. Our Families and Operations Manager, 2 of our 3 Fundraisers and our Comms Manager all have children with complex needs; our third fundraiser is herself disabled. We have always clearly appointed the best person applying for each role; but are delighted that this has led to such good community representation in our Camp Jojo team.
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Feedback and Suggestions: we have a well structured feedback process to allow families and volunteers to inform us of their experiences at camp and any suggestions they have for us following each camp. A half day review is held in September with camp leaders, team members, site manager as well as trustee representation. Following that, any lessons learned, and additional requirements for equipment etc are taken to our Committees for review and then to the SOT and Board for discussion and implementation.
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Social Media and Group Chats: we have an online community that we are nurturing as a forum for discussion and support. We use group chats to facilitate the building of community among families and volunteers before and after camps. We also have a longer term private families page, with a dedicated moderator, experienced in safeguarding. Some of our committees also have Whats app groups.
2.2 How has our community changed the way we work in 2024?
It is impossible to overemphasise the effect that having our community so deeply embedded in the charity makes to our working. Most importantly it ensures that our culture and values continue to
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reflect those that underpinned the formation of the charity – families with children with complex needs. The voice of our community is represented in every meeting and every decision that we make.
2.3 How are we joining up with what others are doing locally? How are we making the most of the strengths of our community?
We continue to forge links with our local community on Mersea Island, in Colchester and Essex more widely. This year we have received financial support from many local groups, including: Lions Club, community choirs, a caravan site that ran a quiz evening, a Christmas lights event, Community Support Group, an Essex school (who raised over £10,000!), Businesses including a construction company, a legal firm, Tesco and Asda branches, Mercury Theatre carol concert.
Some local residents and businesses provide regular support through fundraising events - dinners, barn dances, musical events, which not only raise funds but also build and extend our ties with the local community. Several of our volunteers also held individual fundraising events.
We regularly liaise with the Hamelin Trust, a locally based, national charity with similar aspirations to Camp Jojo. Also with PHAB and other disability charities.
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3. The Differences We’ve Made in 2024
3.1 Families
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In summer 2024, 45 families attended our camps – a total of 156 people. Of these, 27 families completed an evaluation for us after they attended a camp. From these surveys, ,all families said that they would recommend Camp Jojo to a friend or family member and that they were extremely satisfied with their experience at Camp Jojo. In addition over 95% of families felt ‘extremely welcome’ upon arrival at camp, were ‘extremely satisfied’ with the facilities and catering at camp, and felt that the photos shared with them afterwards were ‘extremely important’ to them as a family. 93% thought that the volunteer support provided was ‘very helpful’
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Below are some examples of the extremely positive feedback that we received from parents after this year’s camps:
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“I can’t stress enough what a fantastic time we had, and how grateful we are to have had the opportunity to experience Camp Jojo. This is something we could never have done independently- in fact, if you’d told me a a couple of years ago we would be able to camp with the girls, I just wouldn’t have believed it. I’ve never seen them smiling and laughing so much- they really threw themselves into everything (quite literally at times!).“
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“Camp JoJo was magical, there aren't many words I can find to describe it.”
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“It’s hard to put into words just what this weekend has meant to us. Camp Jojo is a very special place, with an amazing bunch of volunteers. Watching our little girl who is selectively mute, interact and talk until her hearts content with volunteers who she had known for all of five minutes, was just amazing to see. She even took part in the talent show, something I never imagined she would do.”
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“A massive heartfelt thank you to everyone at camp Jojo! We will be forever grateful for the wonderful experience we had at camp Jojo. My husband and I went for a wonderful little walk along the beach whilst the volunteers played with our kids in the sand, it was the first time in a long while we've been able to enjoy some couple time together. Although a 20 min walk might seem small it was huge for us.”
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“The volunteers who supported us were amazing. I felt they went above & beyond what I expected. Blending my daughters food, chatting to her like any 16 year old about her favourite things, involving her & including her ideas throughout the weekend. Thank you!”
And from one of the siblings:
- “I loved my time at camp, it was so nice to see my little brother be himself with no judgement from anyone; and see my mum relaxed and enjoying herself too. It was nice to be able to sit with my mum and talk and neither of us be on edge caring for my brother and making sure he was safe.”
3.2 Volunteers
Our Volunteers make the camps possible, and are the backbone of what we do. They carry out many different roles: family support volunteers, catering, site maintenance, activities, photography and more.
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We believe that the camps are lifechanging for volunteers as well as for families – changing their attitudes to disability, giving them transferable skills to take elsewhere, and developing their confidence socially and in other areas through the experience of a camp. We also take young volunteers of 14-18 years old who are accompanied by an adult. They have a unique role with the families, providing peer interaction with all the children and young people
Feedback quotes from volunteers reflecting their experiences at camp included:
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“Due to my own disability I’ve never been able to volunteer anywhere else but at Camp Jojo this wasn’t an issue at all and I was valued the same as any other volunteer and for once I also felt like ‘everyone can’.”
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“I am amazed and thrilled at the way each camp maintains the very high standards of Camp JoJo for all the families and also supports the volunteers.”
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“Exhausting, but felt great personal satisfaction, that I had been part of something rather unique and clearly of enormous benefit to all those at the camp.”
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“It was a very family centred environment and everyone was inclusive and worked together to make sure all families had the best time.”
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“The camp had such a warm and welcoming atmosphere and everyone just came together to support each other in anyway needed. I will definitely recommend this to families to apply and volunteers too.”
3.3 Donors
We have been delighted by the effect that being involved in fundraising has had for Camp Jojo supporters. For example a local school took on a dawn to dusk relay around their playing field – carrying a little Camp Jojo teddy bear - involving all the children and staff that wanted to participate, and allowing them to learn about the camps and the very special children who are at them. One of the teachers at the school said afterwards “this event inspired the whole school community to give a little of themselves to help raise funds for this wonderful charity. The children have now come back to the school asking for further events to support Camp Jojo in the future, which is so heart-warming”.
We have started to set up mutually beneficial corporate partnerships with local businesses including a legal firm, supermarket branches, and a local property developer. We are also maintaining links with local not-for-profit organisations such as Rotaries and Lions who have benefited from increased understanding of disabilities and the impact of caring for a disabled child on families, from both visits to camps and presentations given at club evenings.
We have had volunteers and family members take part in fundraising activities such as sponsored runs, coffee mornings etc following their time at camp, allowing them to feel positive about helping more families like their own experience Camp Jojo. This can be very empowering.
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3.4 The Camp Jojo team in 2024
We believe that the quality and passion of our team contractors makes a fundamental contribution to Camp Jojo’s culture and activities. As mentioned earlier, the majority of our contractors have lived experience of being a parent/carer to a child with complex needs themselves. They say:
“I am very proud to work for a charity that shares my passion for inclusion, accessibility, support for the whole family, as well as a love of the outdoors. As a foster carer for a young child with complex needs, I am thrilled to be able to use my experience to empower other families to step out of their comfort zone and try camping. I also find it extremely rewarding to see volunteers come back year after year and see their skills and understanding around disability grow and develop.”
“Camp Jojo is a fantastic charity to work for. My daughter and myself attended a camp back in 2018 and 2019. I loved everything that Camp Jojo set out to achieve and we had a great time at camp. As my daughter attends a special school and doesn’t cope on school transport, being selfemployed for Camp Jojo fits well within the school runs. It’s a great privilege to be part of the Camp Jojo team; I’ve especially loved seeing it grow and I’m excited for the future plans Camp Jojo has.”
“I am a mum of a gorgeous little girl with complex and profound disabilities. For the last 7 years I have been a full time carer for her. However prior to this I had a successful career in Fundraising for several large national charities. As a potential service user of Camp Jojo, I followed their social media pages so when the role of fundraiser was advertised it was the perfect opportunity for me to combine my Fundraising skills with my passion for helping families similar to my own, that face all the obstacles that come with being parent/carers. Camp Jojo is uniquely placed as an employer to understand the flexibility needed to work around my daughter’s care. Working for the charity and being able to make a difference has increased my self esteem and given me back a purpose beyond being a mum and carer to my daughter. It is a wonderful place to work, surrounded by passionate people all working for a common cause with a great deal of understanding and respect for the families it supports.”
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Camp Jojo Annual Report 2024
4. What We’ve Learned in 2024
4.1 What’s gone well?
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We are delighted to have now completed the upgrade of our financial systems, including a new accrual-based accounting system and regular management reporting. This gives all Board and committee members a clear understanding of our income and expenditure. The Finance Committee reviews and discusses the financial management information monthly.
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We have completed a full Health and Safety review, with a new Health and Safety Policy along with Procedures and Risk Assessments.
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Our Business Continuity Plan (BCP)/Disaster Recovery Plan work, which is ongoing. In particular developing a protocol around the event of a serious episode of illness or a death on camp.
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Staffing: the recruitment and induction of 6 new team members has gone very well with high quality applicants, many of who also represent our community. All of our team are contractors, and this allows them a flexibility that is very important where they themselves are carers of children with complex needs.
4.2 What’s not gone well or been challenging in 2024?
One of the greatest challenges – and greatest affirmations too! - is the sheer number of families who apply. We could only accept less than 1 in 7 applications this year. Our selection process is very detailed and demanding, with input from 5 key members of the team. It is very hard to say no to so many families that we know would benefit from attending a camp. We are working to further develop this process – this year we introduced a two-stage selection process and used IT expertise to make the handling of data as streamlined as possible. We have also had input from our Families Committee about how we can be more transparent and better inform families about this selection process and our criteria; and have fed this into our updated processes for 2025. This now includes a family selection video.
There is an ongoing challenge for families who live a long way from our Essex camps base (see Appendix A for a map of our family applications for this year). It is particularly hard for families to contemplate a drive of several or many hours if their child has complex needs – and very often it may simply be impossible to make such a journey. A significant number of families applying this year (almost 30%) would have very long journeys from Northern England and even Scotland. We have been considering options to meet this issue over the last 2 years, resulting in collaboration with a farm in Cumbria. In 2025 we plan to run an open event; and in 2026 to start running full camps on that site
We offered mid-week camps as well as weekend ones in 2024, as a pilot, in an effort to provide a better choice of dates for families and volunteers, especially those who cannot manage weekends. However for several reasons to do with the site, and to do with the families and volunteers availability, we have decided not to continue these next year. In 2025 all camps will be held over long weekends.
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4.3 What’s been unexpected or interesting to Camp Jojo in 2024? What we have learned.
The very profound effect that a tranquil rural environment has on families coming from the London inner city school we worked with this last 2 years was not totally unexpected but very moving. We will work with this school again in 2025. We also increasingly recognise the hugely positive effect for many neurodiverse children of being in a safe, wide-open space where they are not physically constrained, whilst also being closely supported. This year, children who require 2 or even in one case 3 TAs in school may be really transformed in their behaviour and meltdowns by this effect while on camp Jojo.
Additional IT expertise has greatly enhanced the efficiency of our data processes. More work is underway on this including plans to implement a CRM system to help in Donor management.
We have learned from the incredibly helpful and important advice and contacts that other disabled charities, national and local, have generously offered to us. We are now part of a children’s disability charities network run by PHAB.
We are aware that at the present time we are alone in the UK in being able to offer this level of tented accessible support for children with very complex needs where the whole family can ‘make memories’ together. Given the level of need, this is surprising and we would want to offer what support we can to others seeking to offer this also.
Page 10 of 13
Camp Jojo Annual Report 2024
5. How We’ve Changed What We Do in 2024
5.1 This Year
This year, 2024, we have made significant changes to our capacity and resilience, to the way that we work, and to our internal organisation and processes:
-
We have increased the organisation’s capacity at all levels – board, special advisors, team contractors – in order to improve our resilience and also to add to our knowledge and skills base.
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We have created team posts that specifically relate to our Volunteers – the Volunteer Manager and Volunteer Selection Manager roles. This is to strengthen our recruitment/selection and support functions for our volunteers. We are working on a Volunteer pathway, including for our young volunteers, and now have a Young Volunteers group to advise on this.
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We have appointed an experienced Comms manager to ensure focus specifically on our Comms functions – both internal and external. We have also added a newsletter after each board meeting for our very dedicated core group of volunteers to ensure that they remain up to date with the charity’s thinking between camp seasons.
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We have now embedded into the organisation an inner-London schools project. This was piloted last year, and assessed as very effective and worthwhile. This is to strengthen our ability to reach families in particularly deprived inner-city areas who would not otherwise access us.
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We are now ensuring that all of our core processes are documented to minimise disruption in the event of any team member or core volunteer / board member being absent (this came out of ongoing work on the Business Continuity Plan).
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Camp Leaders are crucial in maintaining the ethos and character of the camps. We are planning to make this year’s Camp Leaders retreat in June an annual event and a prerequisite to leading a camp: in order to consolidate and make more consistent the Camp Leader roles, and the quality of leadership. This is alongside a new Camp Leader selection initiative which we implemented in 2024.
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We have employed an IT specialist who has developed and greatly improved our IT systems. This has included efficiency measures in processes such as spreadsheets for Family selection, as well as a new shared Central Repository. We have also developed and implemented a cyber-security policy, to ensure that all our data is secure, and that GDPR is carefully monitored.
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We have sought and obtained professional guidance with a charity solicitor for any legal issues which could arise.
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We have had and will continue to have excellent support for our new accounting package and systems from an accountant at our local Community Volunteers Organisation.
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We have responded to the limitations of having only one fully accessible bathroom on site, which limited the number of families with children with complex needs that we could accommodate on each camp. We successfully raised funds last year for a second bathroom (a Mobiloo) which has doubled our accessible bathroom capacity.
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We have improved wheelchair access on the camping field, through matting, and increased our catering budget and facilities.
Page 11 of 13
Camp Jojo Annual Report 2024
5.2 Our Plans Going Forward
We see this period as a very important ongoing transition stage for our charity. All of the organisational development and strengthening referred to earlier will continue as we work towards increasing provision to 8 camps per year at our Essex site. We will continue to review and develop our processes and practices to ensure that the organisation remains fit for purpose as we grow. In particular:
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We will continue to advance our goal of providing positive and memorable experiences for families whose children live with the most medically and other complex long-term and sometimes life limiting conditions, to ‘make memories’ when they come to Camp Jojo.
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We plan to increase our Mersea Island camps to 7 next year. We will use the extra camp next year specifically for families whose children have life limiting conditions and who are supported by EACH – East Anglia Childrens Hospices. We have been discussing this initiative with EACH for some months and will hold next year’s collaborative camp with them as a pilot.
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We will continue to work on an ongoing basis with our Health and Safety consultant to further develop our site in an appropriate and safe way.
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We will finish our work with NCVO on the evaluation of Camp Jojo s work; and continue the development of our organisation’s skills, knowledge, understanding and implementation of evaluation.
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We intend to implement a CRM system, with significant potential future benefits to all areas of our operations.
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We are preparing to establish a site in the north-west of England to allow for more families in the north of England to become a part of the Camp Jojo family. We are very aware that this is a big step for the organisation with many dependencies. Managing expectations is an important facet of this - as is the biggest challenge, fundraising for the project. We are also very clear that in pursuing this we will not prejudice the quality of what is currently provided at our Essex site.
Our plans for this have moved forward in that we now have a site in Cumbria selected as the venue for the project. We also know some of the detail of what we envisage: using the effective existing model; maintaining 3 Board members from the Cumbria area; working with a significant number of Camp Jojo volunteers from the region who have volunteered (and been Camp Leaders) at Ivy Farm. They can provide a knowledgeable and ready-trained core group of volunteers; to continue to develop, local networks with volunteer, charity, donors in the Cumbria area to ensure that the project is integrated into and supported by the local community. We will hold an ‘Open Weekend’ in June 2025 at the farm.
Page 12 of 13
Camp Jojo Annual Report 2024
Appendix A: Map of Family Applications for 2024
The total number of family applications in 2024 was 284 (excluding our dedicated school camp); our capacity in 2024 was 40 (5 camps for open applications, maximum 8 families per camp).
Page 13 of 13
Camp Jojo Annual Report 2024
CAMP JOJO
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
CAMP JOJO
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Statement of Financial Activity | 1 |
| Balance Sheet | 2 |
| Notes to the financial statements | 3 - 6 |
| Independent examiner's report | 7 |
CAMP JOJO
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
| 2024 Unrestricted Notes £ Income Donations & legacies 2 20,099 Charitable activities 3 20,373 Other trading 11,786 Other income 270 Total income 52,528 Expenditure Charitable activities 4 43,686 Fundraising expenses 14,766 Total expenditure 58,452 Net income before transfers (5,924) Transfer between funds 3,254 Net income after transfers (2,670) Total funds brought forward at 1 January 2024 Total funds carried forward at 31 December 2024 125,704 128,373 |
2024 2024 Restricted Total £ £ 700 20,799 116,928 137,301 366 12,152 - 270 117,994 170,522 73,311 116,997 - 14,766 73,311 131,763 44,683 38,759 (3,254) - 41,429 38,759 192,851 67,148 154,092 25,719 |
|---|---|
The notes on page 3 - 6 form part of these financial statements
1
CAMP JOJO
BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2024
| Notes Fixed assets Tangible assets 8 Current assets Cash at Bank and in hand: Stock Debtors 6 Total current assets Creditors due within one year: 7 Net Current Assets Net assets Represented by Funds Unrestricted general fund 10 Restricted fund 10 Total Funds |
2024 £ 100,585 3,118 11,193 114,896 3,418 |
2024 £ 81,373 111,478 |
|---|---|---|
| 192,851 | ||
| 125,704 67,148 |
||
| 192,851 |
These accounts were approved by the Trustees on and signed on their behalf by:
Dr Christine Wright Date
2
CAMP JOJO
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
1. Accounting Policies
Basis of the preparation of the accounts
These accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items being recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant note to these accounts.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement on Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.
Cash Flow
The financial statements do not include a cash flow statement because the charity, as a small reporting entity, is exempt from the requirement to prepare such a statement under Financial Reporting Standard 1 "Cash flow statements".
Value added tax
Value added tax is not recoverable by the charity, and as such is included in the Statement of Financial Activities.
Tangible fixed assets for use by the Association and depreciation
Tangible fixed assets for use by the Association are stated at cost less depreciation. Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write off the cost of fixed assets, less their estimated residual value, over their expected useful lives.
Critical accounting estimates and judgements
In the application of the charity's accounting policies, the Trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
There are no critical accounting estimates or judgements in the financial statements.
3
CAMP JOJO
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
| 2. Donations and legacies Donations Gift-in-kind 3. Income from charitable activities Grants Received Fees 4. Charitable Expenditure Contractors Training, DBS Checks, Recruitment, Consumables Professional Services - Health & Safety Site Rental Software, Telecomms Insurances Non-FA Equipment Purchase, Equipment Maintenance Food for Volunteers and Families Activities and Entertainment Bursaries Storage Utilities and cleaning Merchandise Support costs 5. Support costs Contractors Depreciation Training, Recruitment, Equipment, Consumables Professional Services - Legal, Accountancy, HR Professional Subscriptions Venue and Meeting Room Hire Software, Web Hosting, Telecomms Insurances |
Unrestricted 2024 £ 10,099 10,000 |
Restricted 2024 £ 700 - |
Total 2024 £ 10,799 10,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20,099 | 700 | 20,799 | |
| Unrestricted 2024 £ 18,268 2,105 |
Restricted 2024 £ 116,928 - |
Total 2024 £ 135,196 2,105 |
|
| 20,373 | 116,928 | 137,301 | |
| Unrestricted 2024 £ - 2,217 1,400 12,405 371 2,009 723 70 - - 5,400 250 2,364 16,477 |
Restricted 2024 £ 31,568 1,949 1,900 6,755 - 1,560 4,799 6,153 379 155 - 273 - 17,820 |
Total 2024 £ 31,568 4,166 3,300 19,160 371 3,569 5,523 6,223 379 155 5,400 523 2,364 34,296 |
|
| 43,686 | 73,311 | 116,997 | |
| Unrestricted 2024 £ 710 11,631 179 1,035 - 1,044 1,376 502 |
Restricted 2024 £ 15,902 - 305 353 214 - 656 390 |
Total 2024 £ 16,612 11,631 484 1,388 214 1,044 2,032 892 |
|
| 16,477 | 17,820 | 34,296 |
4
CAMP JOJO
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
| 6. Debtors Trade debtors 7. Creditors Trade creditors Accruals 8. Fixed Assets Cost As at 31 December 2023 Additions As at 31 December 2024 Depreciation As at 31 December 2023 Charge for the year As at 31 December 2024 Net Book Value As at 31 December 2024 As at 31 December 2023 |
Total 2024 £ 11,193 |
|---|---|
| 11,193 | |
| Total 2024 £ 2,878 540 |
|
| 3,418 | |
| 89,748 3,256 |
|
| 93,004 | |
| - 11,631 |
|
| 11,631 | |
| 81,373 | |
| 89,748 |
9. Change of accounting policy
The board of trustees took the decision to change from a receipts and payments basis for reporting to an accruals basis for the year ended 31st December 2024.
5
CAMP JOJO
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
| 10. Funds analysis As at 01/01/24 £ Unrestricted funds 128,373 Restricted funds Awards for All 668 Axis Foundation - Banham Foundation - Charles S French - The Roseland Trust - True Colours - National Lottery 25,051 Other - 25,719 11. Fund analysis assets and liabilities Fixed Assets Current Assets Current Liabilities |
As at 01/01/24 £ 128,373 668 - - - - - 25,051 - |
Incoming resources £ 52,528 - 5,800 11,600 6,000 5,000 9,275 63,140 17,179 117,994 |
Outgoing resources £ 58,452 155 - - - - - 69,495 3,661 |
Transfer of funds £ 3,254 - (2,714) - - - - (540) - |
As at 31/12/24 £ 125,704 513 3,086 11,600 6,000 5,000 9,275 18,156 13,518 - |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25,719 | 73,311 | (3,254) | 67,148 | ||
| Unrestricted Funds £ 81,373 47,748 (3,418) |
Restricted Funds £ - 67,148 - |
As at 31/12/24 £ 81,373 114,896 (3,418) |
|||
| 125,703 | 67,148 | 192,851 |
6
CAMP JO JO
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
I report on the accounts of Camp Jo Jo for the year ended 31 December 2024 which are set out on pages one to six.
Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner
The Charity’s Trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The Charity’s Trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year (under section 144 (2) of the Charities Act 2011 (The Act) but that an independent examination is needed.
It is my responsibility to:
-
Examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act,
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To follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners (under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act, and
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To state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of independent examiner’s Statement
My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the Charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes considerations of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts.
Independent examiner’s statement
In the course of my examination, no material matters have come to my attention which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:
-
the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or
-
the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
-
the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of the accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair' view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.
I have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
David Courtier FMAAT AATQB for and on behalf of:
Community360
Winsley’s House, High Street, Colchester, Essex, CO1 1UG
Date 6th July 2025
7
CAMP JO JO
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024
I report on the accounts of Camp Jo Jo for the year ended 31 December 2024 which are set out on pages one to six.
Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner
The Charity’s Trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The Charity’s Trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year (under section 144 (2) of the Charities Act 2011 (The Act) but that an independent examination is needed.
It is my responsibility to:
-
Examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act,
-
To follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners (under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act, and
-
To state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of independent examiner’s Statement
My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the Charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes considerations of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts.
Independent examiner’s statement
In the course of my examination, no material matters have come to my attention which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:
-
the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or
-
the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
-
the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of the accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair' view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.
I have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
David Courtier FMAAT AATQB for and on behalf of:
Community360
Winsley’s House, High Street, Colchester, Essex, CO1 1UG
Date 6th July 2025
7