Giving Her All to Help Kids Experience Nature

When Jenny Verner gets excited about a cause in her community, she often ends up doing a lot more than supporting it financially.

Usually, it starts with volunteering. “I used to do that even when my children were young,” she said. “We’d go to, say, a food bank, and we’d volunteer and then decide if we wanted to donate money.” Then one thing would lead to another—she’d agree to join a committee, then eventually serve on the board. Always, her philanthropy is paired with a hunger to get to know the people, finances, and culture of the organizations she supports.

That spirit is evident in one of Verner’s latest passions: The revival of a historic nature camp in Carver County that Phyllis Wheatley Community Center is now working to reopen.

Verner has supported the camp through her fund at the Minneapolis Foundation, but every bit as important, she’s an energetic cheerleader.

“She’s been a great advocate and champion of Phyllis Wheatley Community Center and specifically Camp Katharine Parsons,” said Minneapolis Fire Chief Bryan Tyner, who serves as board treasurer of the center and co-chair of its camp restoration committee.

Starting in the 1950s, Camp Katharine Parsons was a place where North Minneapolis kids and their families could learn camping skills, go canoeing, and enjoy nature. Beloved for decades, the camp fell on hard times in the 1990s and eventually had to close. Now, with a conditional-use permit in hand, Phyllis Wheatley is raising money and making plans to restore it.

It’s an exciting time for the center—and not just because of the camp. This month, the nonprofit held a gala to celebrate its 100^th anniversary as a cornerstone in North Minneapolis. Originally a settlement house, Phyllis Wheatley was the first organization in the city dedicated to uplifting African Americans. Today, it provides a host of services to children and families: A daycare. Basketball camps. Financial literacy coaching. Career pathway programs that teach students to code.

Verner’s dedication to Phyllis Wheatley might seem surprising, since the center is in North Minneapolis and she lives in Chaska. Her interest sparked a few years ago, when she saw a news article about the center’s efforts to revive its nature camp.

At the time, Verner was wrapping up her board service with the Minnesota Arboretum—an organization she was drawn to not only because she lives nearby, but because she loves gardening and could use her experience as a Cargill executive to help the Arboretum expand its educational programs on food and agriculture. When she read about Camp Katharine Parsons, she felt a similar synergy: The camp was in her neck of the woods. She was represented by local officials whose buy-in would be important. Could she help make it happen?

She reached out to the community center, and one thing led to another. Today, she is one of the camp’s biggest boosters. When the project came before the county board, she testified. When Phyllis Wheatley began working in earnest to match a state grant with private gifts, she gave. Now, as chair of the project’s fundraising committee, she is activating other donors who care about giving children a chance to experience nature.

“She’s doing everything she can to lend her time, her talent, and her passion to the project,” Chief Tyner said.

“Jenny Verner’s support of this camp shows that sometimes the best way to understand what will work in the future is to consider what was effective in the past,” said R.T. Rybak, President and CEO of the Minneapolis Foundation. “This project is built on Phyllis Wheatley’s century of success and is a beacon of hope for how people across our community can come together to serve the children of North Minneapolis.”

Learn more about Phyllis Wheatley Community Center and how you can support the restoration of Camp Katharine Parsons.