The predecessor of the camp was a project announced in November 1977 to build a temporary home for up to 16 seriously ill children and their families to stay during treatment, sponsored by the Los Angeles Rams football team, the McDonald's Operators of Southern California, and Children's Hospital Los Angeles. The house was to be owned and operated by a nonprofit group formed for this purpose, Southern California Children's Cancer Services.John Hollon, "Home for Critically Ill Children Planned", Los Angeles Times (November 30, 1977), p. II-2. Construction began in June 1979, and by March 1980, about two thirds of the necessary funds had been raised, with the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team joining the effort.Ursula Vils, "Disease Leads to 'Housing Project'", Los Angeles Times (March 10, 1980), p. V-2, 7. In 1983, Southern California Children's Cancer Services sponsored two five-night summer camp programs in Malibu for children with cancer, naming the program Camp Good Times."Special Camp For Young Cancer Victims", The Signal (August 10, 1983), p. 17.
