About us

Founded in 1967, Campus is an entirely volunteer run charity that provides respite holidays for disadvantaged children in the Liverpool and Merseyside area.

We work with some of the most vulnerable children in the area: children in care, some who have been abused, young carers, and children living in poverty or violent neighbourhoods. These children are referred to us by parents, social workers and other organisations to give a break to both them and their families. 
What we do
Over the school summer holidays, we run week-long projects for kids aged 6-13. There are 2 types of projects: a residential and a day (Hippocampus) ​

The kids are then invited back at Christmas for “Winter project” – a one day reunion. We also run “Young Helper”  project which is a training weekend for kids who have graduated from Campus to prepare them for being young helpers. 

Our Ethos
Our emphasis is on fun! Campus wants kids to be kids!

We also strive, through our high volunteer to child ratio, to provide targeted positive adult attention and therefore  a nurturing environment that give the kids opportunities to do things outside their comfort zone, develop friendships, and create positive memories. Furthermore, for many of our kids, their home lives have been characterised by instability. Campus offers the opportunity for them to return every year untill they turn 13 alongside the same cohort of children, which provides them with continuity and a sense of community. 

I first attended a Campus holiday when I was eight and have now been involved for eleven years. As children, my brothers and I would sit by the window with our suitcases packed on the day when our holiday was going to start, waiting for the Campus bus to come and pick us up, because we were always so excited for our holiday. The benefit of the respite breaks which Campus provides is just unreal. You make incredibly close friendships with people who you otherwise wouldn’t meet and do activities which just wouldn’t be available to you in your normal life. When I was 14, I was invited to take part in Young Helper Project. Children who have shown leadership potential during their as Campus kids are trained so that they can become volunteers on Campus projects. Knowing that people believed in me to be responsible for kids at such a young age had a massively positive impact on my self-confidence. Most of the adult helpers who volunteer on Campus are university students or graduates. When I was a Young Helper, mixing with these people from different backgrounds who I wouldn’t have come across in my ordinary life really opened my eyes to the different educational and career options which were available to me and made me realise that I could achieve so much more than I had realised. I continue to volunteer with Campus as an adult helper and I have even been a coordinator on a project, which has developed my organisational and leadership skills – something which always impresses employers. It is an unbelievable feeling to be able to give back to a charity which has given me so much and I cannot stress enough how much Campus has made me the person I am today.”
Ash Bennett
Current Campus Volunteer

A Campus story