Get Involved

Life Changing Experiences

There are several ways to help Girls Quest provide life changing experiences to young girls who hail from families who can’t afford to send their daughters away to a developmental camp program.  Regardless of how their daughter might benefit from the experience, these families are struggling to take care of the bare necessities and see camping as a luxury.

Review the following donation options and select one or more that speaks to you.“Thank You” for your generosity!

Volunteer

If you are interested in volunteering your time at Camp Oh-Neh-Tah or supporting a fundraising effort or special project, download and complete the Volunteer Form below and email to: volunteer@girlsquest.org. DOWNLOAD VOLUNTEER FORM »

Donor Spotlight

Time, Talent and Treasure:

Laura Danforth, Connie Stine & Douglas Ball, Jean & Thomas Pedersen, Eva Lewandowski

Girls Quest would like to Spotlight four Donors whose vision, commitment, hard work and/or financial contributions have played a significant role in preparing GQ to host Camp again. Laura Danforth, Connie Stine and Douglas Ball, Jean and Thomas Pedersen and Eva Lewandowski have taken actions to help make the 2019 re-opening of Camp Oh-Neh-Tah to young girls a reality. Without each of their contributions, girls heading to Windham, NY on August 15, 2019 for an experience that could change their lives would not have happened.

So who are these Donors and what have they done?

Laura Danforth has been a member of the GQ Board since 1962.  She has served on the Board as well as the Executive Board of Directors. Her multiple past accomplishments include driving the effort, as President of the Board, to have the Pole Barn built which houses the Camp’s arts and crafts and theatrical activities. She believed it was critical for the girls to have a building for creative endeavors, as well as a location for activities during inclement weather. Laura’s more recent deeds include contributing the needed funds to purchase a new tractor which enabled efficient camp upkeep. She also funded the repair and replacement of kitchen equipment in the Dining Hall. Without functional kitchen equipment, opening a residential camp would be impossible. Laura’s offer to step in and take care of this expense in 2018/2019 addressed one of the key hurdles to being able to operate as a working camp again.

Connie Stine and Douglas Ball also go way back with GQ. Actually, Connie is the granddaughter of the founders of GVF/GQ, so GQ is in her blood. Connie was the Camp Director at Camp Oh-Neh-Tah from 1974-1976 and 1978-1982. She also volunteered over the years doing many things including teaching Native American Lore. She received the Alumnae Service Award in 2006. Connie and her husband, Douglas, have contributed sweat equity during Alumnae Volunteer Work Weekends and Alumnae Weekends, which Connie has helped organize. They have also come up to Camp to take on and complete special projects, like remodeling the Admin Lodge bathroom. Besides physical labor, they have made significant financial contributions several times. Serving on the Girls Quest Camp Committee, Connie played a major role in planning Camp 2019, Camp 2021, Camp 2022 and Camp 2023, and was the master mind behind GirlsQUEST@Home and GirlsQUEST@Home Year-Round.  She also volunteered to be the Camp Director for Camp 2019, Camp 2021 and Camp 2022, a position she has committed to taking on again for Camp 2023. As the Camp Director, she tapped her network of Alumnae and players in the camping space, to successfully recruit committed staffers and campers. Connie was welcomed onto the Girls Quest Board of Directors in 2019.

Jean and Thomas Pedersen attended an Alumnae Volunteer Work Weekend along with their son. They thoroughly loved the weekend and Jean got a chance to go down memory lane. A lane that is pretty long because, 1) her father was the Camp Director at Camp Orenda, a “brother camp” to Girl’s Vacation Fund; 2) she attended all three camps under the Girl’s Vacation Fund umbrella (Camp Manitou, Camp Talako, Camp Oh-Neh-Tah); and 3) she was a staffer at Camp Manitou (Trading Post Girl, Waterfront Director). Even though almost 40 years had passed since Jean was last at Camp, she clearly remembered the impact Camp can make. Driven by that memory and the desire for others to experience Camp Oh-Neh-Tah, she and her husband Thomas made a generous targeted donation to address Camp repairs needed to open Camp in 2019. They have continued their support of Girls Quest by funding capital improvements at camp.

Eva Lewandowski’s history with GQ goes back to the seventies. She was deeply involved with GQ from 1971 to 2004. Starting as a camper, Eva has worn many hats from staffer to Camp Director to Executive Director (ED). Under Eva’s leadership as the ED (1988-2004), the organization grew in terms of capacity, extent of programing, and from an annual budget of $200K to $750K with a sizable endowment and dedicated funders. Her commitment to GQ, regardless of her role, has not strayed from a belief that Camp Oh-Neh-Tah should be utilized to enrich the lives of underprivileged girls. Over the past few years, Eva has been an invaluable resource in helping the organization navigate the path to providing camp again. Along with Connie Stine, she has managed the initiative to bring back Alumnae Volunteer Work Weekends and Alumnae Weekends. This initiative, along with other volunteer efforts she has coordinated, has helped rebuild the facility. Eva is also a member of the Girls Quest Camp Committee and she brought her years of camping experience to help the team plan the opening of Camp 2019. She focused heavily on ensuring that the waterfront was ready and safe for campers’ swimming and boating activities. With her interest in the waterfront, she took on the role of Aquatics Director for Camp 2019, Camp 2021 and Camp 2022.  Also, true to form, Eva is working to bring in major funders to the organization as she has in the past.

GQ has been blessed to have these special individuals willing to give their time, talent and treasure. They all played a pivotal role in helping GQ return to fully executing its mission. 

NOTE: Girls Quest is a 501 (c) (3) organization and is incorporated in New York State. All contributions are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.