VENTURA : Christmas Camp Offers Gift of Fun

Holly and ribbon decorate a turn-of-the-century hearth at the sprawling Victorian-style house in Ventura.

About 30 girls lie lumped on the floor, sprawled on couches and dangled over wide armchairs in the spacious living room watching a Christmas cartoon.

It looks like a slumber party, but in fact it’s Christmas Camp.

Funded each year by the Assistance League of Ventura County, the camp offers young girls a place to go when school is out for the holidays and their parents are at work, said Director Heidi Haines.

After-school day care is routinely offered by the Assistance League through its two ongoing programs, the Girl’s Club and Teen’s Club, Haines said.

But during the week before Christmas, the clubhouses are transformed into cheery Christmas centers where a structured after-school regimen is abandoned in favor of playtime.

And that’s just fine with Brittany Adams, a fourth-grader at nearby Lincoln School.

Brittany said she often comes to the Girl’s Club after school to take part in drama courses or to make crafts until her mom finishes work and comes to get her.

“But during Christmas Camp, we just play all day,” she said.

On Tuesday, the girls participated in a boisterous round of limbo out on the playground after watching the cartoon. Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” blasted from a stereo while the girls tried to outdo each other as the limbo pole dropped lower and lower.

“All my friends are here,” said 9-year-old Amber Madden. “I like coming here.”

The Assistance League has run the two clubs, aimed at heightening self-esteem and teaching skills, since 1954. Many of the children come from poor families or are struggling with problems at home caused by divorce or other factors, Haines said.

The cost of the program is $40 per semester, but families with financial problems can qualify for scholarships, Haines said.

Girls ages 5 to 17 are invited to join, she said. But older teen-agers tend to find other interests, she noted wryly.

“Usually after 15, we lose them to the boy thing.”