How A Camp Founded By Paul Newman Continues To Serve Sick Children

More than 30 years ago, Paul Newman, a Hollywood icon and philanthropist, founded a free camp where kids could escape the fear and isolation of their medical conditions and, in his words, “raise a little hell.” Today, the SeriousFun Children’s Network is a global community of independently managed and financed camps serving children with serious illnesses.

The name “SeriousFun” captures Paul’s belief in the power of taking fun seriously and was an expression he liked and used. The name reflects both the “serious” components of impact and outcomes and the “fun” camp experience.

“After all these years, I don’t honestly think there is one story about the origin of the camps that captures it all,” said Clea Newman-Soderlund, Ambassador of SeriousFun and youngest daughter of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. “The idea really wasn’t about an “a-ha” moment necessarily. Still, more of a longstanding feeling my Dad had about wanting to recognize and appreciate all the good luck he believed he experienced in life and, in return, give back some of that goodness to kids who were born with serious medical conditions.  

The mission was to create opportunities for children with serious illnesses and their families to reach beyond illness and discover joy, confidence, and a new world of possibilities, always free of charge.

“Basically, children have no control over the medical challenges they face,” explained Newman-Soderlund. “For him, being at camp as a child was the place that gave him independence and pure carefree fun, and he wanted for these amazing kids, who he knew was missing out on their childhoods, to feel that and so much more. After all, my Dad was a visionary, but he was just a big kid himself in many ways.”

The True Support of SeriousFun

Each SeriousFun Member Camp is an independent, not-for-profit organization dependent upon private funding to serve children free of charge. SeriousFun programming and facilities are skillfully adapted to be inclusive and accessible, considering all campers’ medical conditions and needs. SeriousFun Partner Programs also deliver the camp experience to children with serious illnesses in resource-limited locations through collaborations with other international organizations.

The medical expertise at Member Camps enables them to support children with more than 50 different types of conditions and genetic and metabolic disorders. Through programming delivered via camp and outreach programs, children are also empowered to reach beyond the barriers of their needs to build connections and foster resilience.

“Among the conditions we serve are cancer, transplants, blood conditions, genetic disorders, and immunological disorders –to name a few,” said Newman-Soderlund. “I am also proud of our Partner Programs in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean, which mostly serve children and teens living with HIV. In those areas, not only are the programs encouraging confidence and giving these children hope, but they’re also helping to reduce the stigma of their illness. Hence, they feel comfortable adhering to their life-saving medical treatments. It’s a game-changer for so many of them.”

According to a 2014-2015 evaluation of SeriousFun camps by Yale University’s Child Study Center, parents of children with serious illnesses showed improved confidence, higher self-esteem, a greater sense of independence, and increased interest in social activities after attending camp. The study also found that the combination of dynamics at SeriousFun centers — including friendships made, a supportive social network, and improved relationship skills developed — all support campers’ capacity for resilience.

A 2018 study by The American Camp Association (ACA) and the University of Utah showed that SeriousFun alumni campers (aged 18-25) experienced several beneficial outcomes learned at camp they consider useful in their daily adult lives. The most prominent was an appreciation for diversity, living in the moment, empathy and compassion, perseverance, self-confidence, and self-identity.

Ms. Newman-Soderlund shared that all of the experiences at camp are carefully adapted so every child can participate. “When you see a camper in a wheelchair using a specially built harness to ascend a rock wall or glide down a zipline, it just does your heart good,” she said. “But even beyond those obvious examples, our experiences provide more than just fun; they build confidence, encourage a different way of thinking about what’s possible, and foster connection and community, so everyone knows they belong. Those moments are priceless.”

Their program also extends to campers’ siblings, families, and caregivers because the camp knows a child’s illness doesn’t just affect the child; it affects the whole family. In addition, each camp’s schedule is based on the needs of the campers and families they serve, their local conditions, important aspects of the culture in which they operate, and more. This means they run beyond just the traditional summer season and offer all kinds of programming throughout the year.

How The Camp Has Evolved

Since the first SeriousFun camp opened in 1988, they have delivered more than 1.4 million experiences to campers and family members around the world, totally free of charge. They have also expanded, and you can find their camps in the United States, Europe, Israel and Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. The Support Center, based in Norwalk, CT, works with the camps to maintain standards of excellence, provide training and technical expertise, raise money, and foster program innovation.

When asked how the camp has changed since its inception, Ms. Newman-Soderlund responded, “So much of the mission remains the same. We allow kids with serious illnesses to break free of the fear and isolation they face every day to enjoy some fun and just be a kid. But I think we have realized over the years that it’s not just about a week away from home. So we have evolved our programming to be so much more than traditional summer camps, including hospital-based programs, virtual programs, sibling, and family programs.”

In addition, the camp underwent a name change in 2021. The name change was about creating greater cohesion throughout their network of camps and programs. Each camp has its own name, so having the broader organization share a name with the first camp, The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, they felt may be confusing. 

“The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp is still going strong, so becoming SeriousFun Children’s Network created a shared identity that all our camps are part of equally,” said Newman-Soderlund. “And I love it because my Dad used the term ‘SeriousFun’ to explain the mission to people – it represents the serious work we do on our end so kids can have fun on theirs.”

Due to the pandemic, the camp leaders, program staff, and communications teams convened to create new programs that would keep campers and families connected and engaged with their camp communities and offer them fun and hope while they couldn’t be there in person.  This led to the addition of camp session live streams, social media sing-alongs, camp-at-home care packages, virtual reunions all were happening worldwide. And in the background, camp medical experts, fundraisers, operations teams, and facilities teams are making plans for how to continue supporting this mission during such a difficult time and doing all the hard work that would come with reopening the camps when it’s safe to do. 

How Newman Would Feel About The Camp Today

I asked Newman-Soderlund how she felt her father would feel about the camp as it is today. “That question is always the hardest for me because this network is my heart and soul and has an ongoing connection to him,” she said. “But I would like to think he would not only be proud of the work we had done, especially throughout the pandemic when his tenaciousness continuously inspired us, but he would be excited about all we aim to do in the future. I also imagine he would likely tell us not to pat ourselves on the back too much because there is still so much more we can and should be doing to reach more kids and families worldwide.”

Regarding plans for the future, they hope to serve more children and families everywhere, reach kids with different medical conditions who don’t get the chance to participate in other activities because of their illness and shine a light on the profound importance of these experiences for kids and families who otherwise wouldn’t get to have them. As Newman-Soderlund shared, when people understand the impact these SeriousFun experiences have on kids and families, it goes from being seen as a “nice to have” week away from home to affirmation that kids, all kids, need to experience childhood. 

As we ended our conversation, Newman-Soderlund ended the interview with these final and inspiring words: “Everyone goes through challenges in life, but the world is an especially harsh place for kids living with serious illnesses. But like my Dad always said, these kids didn’t ask to be sick. So if we can all do our part and put a little goodness into the world, we can give them the chance to experience the positivity, friendship, and hope that just might carry them through their toughest times. It doesn’t take a lot on our part but can literally change their lives and maybe, just maybe, change the world for the better.”