Vera Entwistle

Vera Entwistle is an inspiration. Sharing lessons of courage, hope and optimism, Vera speaks to audiences about establishing the Camp Quality organisation and her role as CEO for seventeen years. A dynamic speaker, Vera inspires audiences to think about their quality of life and the choices they make in life.

Vera was born in England and emigrated to the USA with her husband Brian where they adopted a son, Aaron. While in the USA Vera worked her way up through the company ranks, eventually holding the position as Director of Personnel for a company that hired over 300 women.

Vera and her family emigrated to Sydney, Australia in 1983 where she founded the Camp Quality organisation two weeks after moving into her Sydney home. She served as CEO for 17 years, establishing 14 Camp Quality locations around Australia and taking the program into 17 countries worldwide. She and her husband, Brian, participated in over 100 funerals for children.

Over the years, the story of her work has been the subject of television documentaries and magazine articles. The story of the personal tragedy which propelled her to change the direction of her life is one of determination and inspiration.

Vera resigned her position of CEO of Camp Quality in March, 2000 to accept a new challenge to serve on the Board of Directors for the Children’s Centre for Cancer and Blood Disorders at the Sydney Children’s Hospital.

She and her husband also founded a new charity, headquartered in Forster, called Rally for Recovery, a charity raising funds to find a cure for cancer in children. Vera also serves on the Board of Directors for the Ronald McDonald Beach House Forster, offering free holidays to the families of seriously ill children.

Vera was awarded the Order of Australia for her work with children with cancer in 1995, was named International Woman of the Year by Optimist International Organisation in Canada in 1999. She was named a Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary International.

Vera’s motto is that “no-one can do much about the quantity of anyone else’s life, but everyone can do something about the quality.”

Vera Entwistle talks about:

Vera Entwistle shares lessons of courage, hope and optimism from her many years of working with children with cancer.