Community Highlights: Meet Jennifer Larson of Camp Quest Kansas City (Non-Profit)

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Larson

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
In 2012, I was asked if I would lend my design talents to creating a logo for a secular sleep-away camp; Camp Quest Kansas City. At that time I had been involved with various secular organizations in the Kansas City area and had assisted in running a few small groups on Meet-Up and had become more interested in finding ways to give back to the greater Kansas City community.

When Linsey Conrad, the first Board Chair of Camp Quest Kansas City (CQKC) contacted me, I thought that I would only be volunteering to create the logo, brochures and other digital and print designs that they would need to advertise camp. After completing the logo, Linsey asked if I would like to serve on the board. I agreed and began the work of planning CQKC’s first camp. As the dates for our first camp drew closer, I was asked “You are coming to camp, right?”.

Our first camp had 18 campers and 16 volunteers signed up for camp. I thought that having almost a 1-to-1 ratio of Leaders to campers seemed excessive, but everyone on the board, who were all volunteering at camp, insisted that I come to see all our hard work in action. Having never worked with children, I was a bit apprehensive, but when they said that they needed an official camp photographer, I agreed to go.

My concern over never having worked with children melted away almost immediately. The campers, in addition to being super excited for camp, were curious, creative, funny and so thankful to meet other campers who shared their world-views. Our first camp theme centered around marine biology and we had the good fortune to have 2 biologists from the University of Nebraska, Kearny, running our education. We had microscopes on loan and sampled pond water to see what kinds of small creatures live in the pond. We dissected squids, paddled canoes in the pond, had campfires and made all kinds of fun crafts. I was hooked.

Over the next few years, I was entrusted with various roles at camp, and soon became part of the senior Leadership Team. I served as the Programming Director in 2016 and since 2017 I’ve been serving as Camp Director. I couldn’t be more proud of what I have helped to build.

Camp Quest Kansas City has grown from our first year, and this past August we served 68 campers and had 28 volunteers.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Building any organization is has its ups and downs. When the Board was first formed, we were responsible for creating and maintaining budgets, creating various policies, training camp Leaders and keeping up with the important legal aspects of operating a non-profit that services children. We also were the camp planning committee. This meant that our meetings, which we would have about once a month, could last half a day or longer. That lead to struggles growing our board. It was hard to find prospective board members that were willing put in 2-4 hours a week of work on top of attending monthly meeting that could last 3-4 hours.

We finally made the move to separate the fiduciary and legal responsibilities from camp planning which has made the job of our board members much easier and means our board meetings can be less frequent, and much shorter. And the time that board members can expect to spend on board work is more like 4-6 hours a month. This has helped us to attract more people to serve on the board, and we are always looking for more people to serve.

We still have struggled finding local board members. Currently, only 2 of our 7 board members live in the Kansas City area. That can be difficult when we try to have fundraisers or are called on to promote camp at local gatherings or events.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Camp Quest Kansas City is an educational, non-profit summer camp serving children ages 8-17 from Kansas City, and beyond!

CQKC was started to fill a need for a secular sleep-away camp option for campers from atheist, agnostic and non-religious families. Over the years many campers who self identify as atheist have had struggles with making friends in their hometowns due to not belonging to a church community and in some cases, have been rejected by their peers for their non-belief. For many, this had been the first time they met other children who also come from non-religious families.

At Camp Quest, we envision a world in which children grow up exploring, thinking for themselves through connecting with their communities to make the most of life for themselves and others. Our summer camp program combines traditional camp activities with critical thinking, science, philosophy, and ethics! We promote open-mindedness, choice, empathy, and respect for religious, philosophical, and cultural diversity while also modeling appropriate and respectful discussion and critique of belief systems.

At Camp Quest, campers and adults alike are inspired and intrigued by the diversity of worldviews that have developed throughout human societies and cultures. Freethought Heritage and Worldview Awareness activities, including our signature Famous Freethinkers™ program, highlighting non-religious people who have made positive impacts on their community and the world.

In alignment with our humanist values, Camp Quest believes that we are all made better by celebrating differences, cooperatively learning from one another, practicing empathy, and questioning cultural constructions which define and venerate “normality” as a means to deny some people social value and community belonging.

For these reasons, Camp Quest is committed to providing youth with a safe, non-judgmental, bully-free environment that embraces human diversity and makes every reasonable effort to be inclusive.

We are LGBTQIA+ friendly camp. We have had gender inclusive cabins since 2021 which makes accommodating transgender youth much easier.

How do you define success?
Building something that will outlive me!

While I don’t see myself stepping away from CQKC any time soon, I am always looking for my replacement. Building a good team is vital to the success and longevity to any organization or business.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://campquestkc.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CampQuestKC
• Other: https://campquest.org/