OUR MISSION:

To provide a unique summer camp experience for children and adults with medical and developmental disabilities. 

Northwest Kiwanis Camp is a non-profit corporation comprised of five Kiwanis Clubs from Clallam and Jefferson counties. The camp, located in Chimacum in Jefferson County, is also available to the public on a reservation/fee basis for retreats, meetings, seminars, conferences, reunions or similar gatherings.

HISTORY:

THE BEGINNING: The camp was started by the Kiwanis Club of Sequim, WA, in 1989 to give children with special needs a summer camp experience. Between 1989 and 1992 it was held at various campgrounds around the Olympic Peninsula including Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend, Peninsula College in Port Angeles, Camp Ramblewood on Sequim Bay and Camp David Junior on Lake Crescent.

GROWTH: By 1993 four more Kiwanis Clubs had joined the Sequim Club and Northwest Kiwanis Camp was incorporated with the goal to locate, acquire and develop a suitable, permanent site for the camping program.

SITE ACQUIRED: In 1993 Jefferson County offered the group a long-term lease on a 50-acre wooded tract surrounding twenty-acre Beausite Lake. The site includes a 5000-square-foot Lodge and a 3-bedroom caretaker’s cottage. After signing the lease, the group acquired a Special Use Permit, made structural repairs to the caretaker’s cottage, and drew up a plan for transforming the site into a permanent home for the camp.

SITE IMPROVEMENTS: Extensive improvements have been made to the Lodge to bring it up to code. New structures were added: platforms for sleeping cabins, two mini barns, a corral, a terraced campfire site, water supply and sewer treatment systems, a parking lot, a network of hardened wheelchair accessible paths, sand boxes, picnic benches and tables, a flag pole, and landscaping.

FUNDING: Many thousands of dollars have been given in support of the camp by Kiwanis clubs and members, by individual donors, local businesses and local and national foundations including The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In kind donated materials and thousands of volunteer man-hours have been contributed to the development of the campsite and the operation of the camp. [See Fundraising]

PROGRAMS: Camping programs have been offered at the Northwest Kiwanis Camp since 1995. For the first four years a one-week camp serving 25 special needs campers was offered. It was expanded to two weeks in 1999 and three weeks in 2003 with up to 25 campers each week. Four sessions were offered in 2007. We strive for a one-on-one camper-to-counselor ratio and a quality staff and vital core of volunteers. The campers enjoy a full range of activities including horseback riding, fishing, swimming, games, campfires and arts & crafts.