In 2019 Kinkora Activity Camp became a registered charity, and today Kinkora is proud to serve a wide range of groups, but Kinkora has a legacy that goes back nearly a century.
History
The Kinkora site was first established in 1926 as a Catholic boys camp run and funded by St. Patrick’s Parish in Montreal. Throughout the 1930s the camp grew in size and the iconic features of the dining hall and chapel were built. It continued on as a church-run boys camp until the mid-1960s when specialized camps were established. The site began hosting a mix of Christian family and youth camps and introduced sessions for adults with intellectual disabilities.
In the 1970s ownership of Camp Kinkora was transferred to the Federation of Catholic Community Services. Over the next 40 years the Kinkora community grew and evolved with the needs of society. Many new groups were welcomed to experience camp, including Camp Positive in the 1990s for individuals and families impacted by HIV and AIDS, the Douglas Hospital for individuals living with mental health issues, Camp Inspirations for young girls with severe mobility issues, and a number of faith-based family and youth camps.
In the late 2010s the Foundation of Catholic Community Services took over four-season operation of the site, and recognizing a need to expand Kinkora’s community reach, established the Kinkora Activity Camp Board with a mandate of opening doors to a range of community groups from all faiths and backgrounds, with a continued focus on strong values, community, and meaningful engagement with nature.
As we lead up to the hundred-year celebration of the founding of our beautiful site, we will be sharing more about our history and events to mark this momentous occasion. Join our Kinkora 100 Facebook group for the latest news.
Our Future
While the Kinkora site has been serving the community for close to 100 years, KAC is just at the beginning of its journey. With the global pandemic occurring just one year into KACs establishment as a charity, the past few years have been focused on building camp attendance and staff back up. In the summer of 2024, we finally reached pre-covid camper levels, and we have built up our KAC team to start planning for the future.
Our Vision statement identifies three strategic areas for our future: growing our community, leveraging the use of our assets for growth, and driving towards sustainability – both as an organization and environmentally.
In the coming months we will be updating our community on the steps we are taking to achieve our goals.