Kieve Wavus Education

Kieve Wavus Education is a nonprofit organization that helps people grow through experiential programs led by inspirational role models.

Located on Damariscotta Lake in rural Midcoast Maine, KWE runs three primary programs across two main campuses: Camp Kieve for Boys, Wavus Camp for Girls and The Leadership School.  In addition, KWE hosts a variety of retreats for a diverse set of groups throughout the year.

All KWE programs are guided by our mission: to empower people to contribute positively to society by promoting the values of kindness, respect for others, and environmental stewardship through year-round experiential programs, camps for youth and adults, and guidance from inspirational role models.

“Uncle Don” Kennedy founded Camp Kieve on the pristine shores of Damariscotta Lake in 1926. Since then, Kieve has evolved from a small summer camp for boys into a wide reaching, year-round educational organization now known as Kieve Wavus Education, Inc.

Long before the two camps merged in 2005, the Wavus Camps began in 1922 and shared many of the same ideals as Kieve.  In 1981, Dick Kennedy started The Leadership School (then Leadership Decisions Institute) in order to help kids from Maine make positive decisions to impact their futures.  Today, Kieve Wavus Education has programming over 300 days each year, reaching more than 10,000 people annually.