Interview With
Kaleen Deatherage
Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp was built in the 1930’s by Kiwanians as a chance for kids impacted by the Great Depression to experience camp. A few years later Kiwanians opened the camp gates to individuals with disabilities. The program was so popular, and the need so strong to serve this population, that the Camp made a permanent change to serving individuals with disabilities. In 1950, the Camp became a not for profit entity called Mt Hood Kiwanis Camp, financially independent of the Kiwanis organization. Today we remain a Camp for individuals with disabilities and the local Kiwanis Clubs remain dedicated to the success of the camp through various methods, alongside the hard working Camp Staff and Year-Round Staff.
We are located in Government Camp in the heart of Mt Hood Territory. Just off Hwy 26 on Forest Road 39.
Our philosophy is to empower children and adults with disabilities through a rich variety of programs, with volunteers and staff who create an environment of safety, belonging and autonomy.
Our camp specializes in providing an environment of safety, belonging and empowerment to children and adults with disabilities. We offer our Campers a chance to shed their limitations and give adventure, exploration and belonging a front seat in their lives. Due to the physical and cognitive limitations of our Campers they are often confronted with things they cannot do, surrounded by people that cannot relate to them and in a world where they find it difficult to just be themselves. Mt Hood Kiwanis Camp is a world created for them and with only them in mind.
We are able to offer a wide variety of activities to our campers, based on their needs, strengths, and capabilities, sometimes with the assistance of adaptive equipment and always with an open mind. Activities include; tent camping, fishing, canoeing, swimming, horseback riding, wall climbing, zip lines, giant swings, arts and crafts, skit night, cook outs, Alpine Slides, White Water Rafting and more.
Our campers stay for 5 days, they arrive on a Sunday and leave on a Friday morning, after Thursday night’s big BBQ and wishpond ceremony.
2014 pricing: $1275 for main camp, $1350 for offsite programs.
We have 11 Year-Round Staff, 75 Camp staff and 250 Camp volunteers, not to mention all our other volunteers. This increase in Summer staff allows us to provide a one-on-one ratio of camper to staffer, with some additional specialized personnel.
Our Camp offers a whole new world to individuals with disabilities. Your Camper will come home with stories of fun, adventure and friendship on a level they have never had before. At MHKC, our campers go through many powerful experiences every day. Campers talk about how many fish they caught, or the friends they danced with at the dance, or the fear they overcame by doing the zip line. These are all extraordinary aspects of MHKC – and summer camp in general for that matter. But what’s even greater—and the part we often forget about—is the way summer camp positively affects our campers as a whole. Experiences at summer camp contribute to the total learning and total growth of our campers. They grow as individuals and blossom in ways that only summer camp can foster.
Our enrollment is on a first-come first-served basis. It opens in early January and generally fills quickly. We encourage families to register early.
Our Winter Retreat is a growing opportunity for our Campers to come to Camp in the winter and re-live some Summer Camp activities, as well as, adding some special Winter Retreat activities like sledding and building snowmen. Winter Retreat is a 2 day action packed weekend held in January or February. 11. After assessing the needs of our camp families through surveys and evaluations of our current programs, we have decided to launch a new Family Camp model this summer. We have determined that creating a Family Camp Program will help our youngest campers and their parents make the adjustment (transition) from home life to camp—a special issue for our younger campers. This new program will provide a chance for new and young Campers to spend some time at Camp adjusting to the dorms, layout and activities, in the comfort of their family—thus preparing them to “graduate” and come to Camp independently when they are ready.
In April, MHKC will be launching a new website with an extensive camp section, information, and photo galleries. In the meantime, we encourage parents to learn more about camp by following our MHKC Facebook page and calling the camp office at 503.452.7416.
