As we approach our 100 year anniversary in 2024 and continue to serve special needs children of the Kansas City metro area, we are focusing on what makes the Rotary Youth Camp a truly exceptional place. We are the only camp in the metro Kansas City area that serves children with a broad range of special needs. Organizations that use our camp include the Boy Scouts, Campfire USA, ARC of Clay and Platte Counties, Midwest Brachial Plexus Network, Joshua Center and others. We provide children an outdoor camping experience at no charge who may otherwise not have that opportunity. These children are able to participate in a variety of activities including swimming, campfires, basketball, archery, crafts and other outdoor pursuits.
Enriching Lives, Changing the World
In December 2017, we embarked on a capital campaign to improve the camp and the experiences that these children have while attending the Rotary Youth Camp. As part of these improvements, we were excited to announce plans to rebuild the health and administration buildings. 
.jpg)
The current services for each children's camps and staff housing are spread among multiple buildings to meet ACA accreditation requirements. The existing health lodge and separate administration building are approaching 50 years old and are exhibiting deterioration and require significant repairs and modification. Both buildings currently do not meet the needs of today's campers and do not have accessible bathroom facilities requiring sick children needing accessible shower or bathroom facilities to cross camp to the comfort station building. These buildings currently do not meet the needs for any administrators or health professionals that may require accessible facilities. Having services in different buildings stretches the staffing across the camp and does not allow the camp to meet the needs of the children attending the Rotary Youth Camp in the best or most efficient manner. It is desired by the camp to replace the existing Health Lodge and Administration Buildings with a single building meeting the current accessible guidelines and meeting the ACA accreditation requirements in a single location. A single building will allow each camp using the Rotary Youth Camp to appropriately provide staffing without stretching resources. It will also provide room for growth of existing camps and attract other groups that currently may not be able to use the camp due to current deficiencies of these facilities. The building also is designed to be environmentally friendly, energy efficient, and with materials that require minimal maintenance and long term life expectancy. It is our goal to include solar panels, LED lighting, and efficient mechanical systems to reduce energy costs if fundraising can support the added up-front costs.
We are proud to announce we are already almost $100,000 towards our $1,250,000 goal of our capital campaign. We welcome any contacts, assistance, or donations that can continue our step forward in improving the Rotary Youth Camp. And we have also set up a GoFundMe page that everyone can broadcast on your social media pages to further our reach.
You may contact Laurie Mozley (Office@RotaryYouthCamp.org) or Dan Nenonen (dnenonen@gastingerwalker.com, 913-486-4302). Thank you.
