The Gold Ribbon Accreditation is an education program intended to help COCA member camp organizations identify policies and practices specific to their setting and population, that are
documented and delivered in the course of providing a medically and emotionally safe pediatric oncology camp experience.
The Gold Ribbon Accreditation program is overseen by a Committee of COCA board members, pediatric oncologists, other medical staff as well as Camp Directors, COCA Camp volunteers, and senior level managers within COCA member camps.
These standards are intended to be used in conjunction with an outside verification process, not to judge camps’ practices or policies, but to allow objective verification so as to add credibility to the Gold Ribbon Camp status to parents and healthcare partners and donors.
The COCA Gold Ribbon Accreditation program is important because it is the only pediatric oncology camping association to offer specific guidelines for providing a medically and psychosocially safe environment for individuals and families affected by childhood cancer.
In the development of the Standards for the program, many areas of practice were omitted. The committee felt that the expertise of the association was best placed in the realm of medical and psychosocial support. Through the process the committee recognized that many vital and important practices of general camping industry and not-for profit management already exist.
Therefore, it’s a strong recommendation of the COCA Gold Ribbon Committee that in addition to COCA Gold Ribbon Operation Practices, each camp should hold accreditation from a camping industry association and meet or exceed all local, state/provincial and governmental regulations in the following areas:
- Camping Industry Best Practices:
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- Business Operations
- Human Resources
- Facility Operations
- Transportation
- Program Design & Delivery
2. Camp Industry Accredited Bodies:
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- American Camp Association-https://www.acacamps.org/accreditation/overview/standards-glance
- Canadian Camp Association-https://ccamping.org/membership.php#accreditation
- Ontario Camps Association ‐http://www.ontariocampsassociation.ca/about/standards/
- Camp Association of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island ‐http://canspei.ca/accreditation/
- British Columbia Camping Association –http://www.bccamping.org/camp‐professionals/accreditation/
- Alberta Camping Association ‐http://www.albertacamping.com/about‐standards‐accreditation
- Saskatchewan Camps Association ‐http://www.saskcamping.ca/accreditation.htm
3. Not-For-Profit Best Practices:
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- Governance
- Finance & Accounting
- Human Resources
- Volunteer Management
4. Resources for Not-For-Profit Best Practices:
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- Center for Nonprofit Management ‐ http://www.cnm.org/
- Non Profits first ‐ http://www.nonprofitsfirst.org/?page=Accreditation
- Standards of Excellence Institute ‐https://standardsforexcellence.org/accreditation‐and‐recognition/