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Four Winds Camp 

Description

Four Winds Westward Ho is a summer camp for boys and girls age 6 to 18 on 150 acres of woods, fields and waterfront on Orcas Island in Washington state’s San Juan Islands.  The camp serves approximately 450 young people every summer, with a staff to camper ratio of better than 1:3.     

Ruth A. Brown founded Four Winds for girls in 1927 and Westward Ho for boys in 1932.  Miss Brown ran the camp successfully for many years and in 1967, deeded the land, facilities and equipment to Four Winds, Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit foundation governed by a board of trustees.  The foundation exists to preserve the mission of FW*WH Camp: to foster in young people of diverse backgrounds, a spirit of adventure and delight, cooperation and compassion, and creativity and self-confidence that will enrich and inspire them throughout their lives.    

The camp program consists of 2 four week sessions and a one week junior session. Main activities include: water-based trips, big boat sailing, small boat sailing, canoeing/kayaking, horseback riding, gardening, sports, and arts & crafts.

Mission Statement
Four Winds Westward Ho is a camp where young people learn to live in harmony, creating a sense of family and community, helps campers to strive for excellence and to develop various skills including: riding, sailing, canoeing, landsports, gardening and arts and crafts, and through the experience and adventure to develop self-confidence, teaches a respect for nature and the camp setting, encourages the love of truth and simplicity, and nurtures the appreciation of beauty and respect for humanity, encourages an appreciation of music and poetry as expressions of creativity and self expression, fosters friendships among people of diverse origins and cultural backgrounds, celebrates the value of play, providing opportunities for kids to be kids, provides a safe, healthy living experience distinct from home and school and provides an excellent learning opportunity for young adults wanting to develop teaching, counseling and other leadership skills.
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Four Winds Camp
PO Box 140 
Deer Harbor 
WA
98243-0140 
(360) 376-2277 

Paul Sheridan 
Executive Director 

Programs

Four Winds Camp Programs

Financial Aid Program
Our financial aid program is unique among traditional residential summer camps in that we set aside 20% of our camper spaces for families that require financial aid, and that we commit to those families for three years, so the child receives a full and rounded camp experience.

Big Boat Sailing Program
Since its founding in 1927, Four Winds has offered campers an opportunity to live and sail aboard a large sailboat. Of the course of its history, Four Winds has used many boats, including Martha and Adventuress. Today, we use the 61-foot yawl Carlyn, custom built for educational purposes in 1995. Campers have the opportunity to do trips aboard Carlyn as short as a day, and as long as a three week adventure up to Princess Louisa Inlet, off the Strait of Georgia in British Columbia.

General Camp Program
This may not be as flashy as the other programs, but it's the core of what we do. The traditional, slower paced, four week session allows for wonderful friendships to form, and genuine group dynamics to develop. We strive to be a community where every child is accepted and honored for who they are.

Recent Successes and Current Challenges

In the coming years, we hope to build our Financial Aid Endowment through major gifts and Planned Giving.  Building this endowment will ensure that our financial aid program will remain part of Camp in perpetuity.

Evaluation

Grant History with The Seattle Foundation:

Grants Awarded through The Seattle Foundation Grantmaking Program:

DateAmountPurpose
There are no recent grants awarded to this organization.

Financials

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