ABSTRACT
Word spread like wildfire that the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp had beneficial effects on children with cancer and leukaemia. This chapter outlines how Paul Newman’s vision was exported first to Ireland and then to the rest of the world. The experience and perspective of European Serious Fun campers can still contribute to the unique nature of sick children’s experience of camp and highlight aspects that American children take for granted. The Serious Fun network has become truly international and a Global Partnership Program links with the poorest countries ensuring that the benefits of Serious Fun camps are not confined to affluent countries. The ‘perfect day’ is a model for camp activities that would easily be recognised in America or anywhere else in the world that have established Serious Fun camps. American counselors needed an aide memoire for their European counterparts who would be recruited every year and trained into the ethos of the American summer camp.
