Nonprofit for ailing kids profits on land deal, thanks to generous buyer

Camp Korey, a nonprofit that operates free camps for children with serious illnesses, has sold its farm to the foundation created by the founders of Carnation Milk.

The foundation then granted Camp Korey a 30-year lease on the 818-acre farm for a nominal fee, freeing up money for the nonprofit to expand its programs.

The Elbridge and Debra Stuart Family Foundation said it completed the sale of the Carnation Farm on Wednesday for an undisclosed sum.

The camp was started in 2005 by Tim and Donna Rose, who lost their teenage son, Korey, to cancer. They were inspired by actor Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall Camps, places where children fighting cancer and other life-threatening illnesses could go for free recreation.

Tim Rose, a senior vice president at Costco, knew about those camps through his relationship with Newman's Own food products. Paul Newman visited Carnation in 2007 for the announcement that the farm was being sold to Camp Korey.

Owning the farm had become a financial burden for the camp, said Camp Korey spokeswoman Eva Conner. Nestlé acquired the property in 1985 when it purchased the Carnation Co., and sold it to Camp Korey for about $20 million in a transaction completed in 2008, Conner said. The nonprofit had about $5.7 million in revenue in 2008, and almost 60 percent of its expenses were going toward costs related to purchasing the farm.

Elbridge "Bridge" Stuart III, the great-grandson of Carnation Founder E.A. Stuart, said the farm has been a part of the family's history for a century.

"Re-acquiring it lets us support the good work of Camp Korey and preserve a part of King County and Washington State history while honoring our connection to the property," he said in a statement. "It is all of us working together for a single purpose."

Stuart and Ann Stuart Lucas, the granddaughter of E.A. Stuart, are on Camp Korey's board of directors.

Without a mortgage obligation, Conner said, the camp can use its resources to expand programs to more children and families in the Northwest. It's holding seven weeklong camp sessions this year, along with weekends and other recreational programs.

Kristi Heim: 206-464-2718 or kheim@seattletimes.com