WEST HILLS : Girl’s Dream Realized in Special Camp

How do parents raise children instilled with values and courage in this increasingly irresponsible society?

Jacques Hay of West Hills, a parent of two socially involved children, may have the answer.

“Although mostly I’m afraid, it comes down to some mixture of blind faith and good luck,” Hay said.

Hay’s 11-year-old daughter Jalena has been the impetus and organizer who made her dream of establishing a Jewish summer camp for disabled children a reality.

“The real motivation here is the idea that we should make a world in which our children can be just as Jewish as they want to be, regardless of disabilities,” said her father.

But for Jalena, the secret lies in not leaving dreams in dreamland.

“Kids have really good ideas,” Jalena said. “And they should talk to adults about them, because they really can make a difference for other people.”

That is what makes her happy--helping other people, Jalena said. That and keeping up with her older brother, Joshua.

Two years ago, Joshua, then a ball boy for the Cal State Northridge basketball team, was touched by the plight of disabled player John Flowers. Joshua undertook two years of fund-raising efforts, netting $27,000 to help pay hospital and tuition bills for his friend.

Jacques Hay says he remembers well the moment Joshua looked up at him during a Matadors game, and said quietly, “We’ve gotta do something for him.”

It was the same kind of pronouncement, completely lacking in grandeur or fanfare, that Jalena made at the dinner table a few months ago.

Jalena’s father is president of the West Valley Hebrew Academy in Woodland Hills, where she is a student. During the summer, the school usually leases its 7 1/2-acre campus for a variety of summer camp activities.

“I just thought, ‘Why can’t we save a week or two and make a camp for handicapped kids?’ ” Jalena said.

And though Hebrew academy staff members have never organized a summer camp themselves, Hays said, plans are moving right along.

“We have gotten support from so many places,” Hay said. “The Clippers (professional basketball team) are donating balls and sports equipment. John Flowers is going to teach the campers basketball.”

Hay has estimated operating costs at $600 per camper, but there will be no fees for the children or their families. Hay said he is confident that contributions and support from the community will cover the costs.

The inaugural season of Camp Chessed (Hebrew for loving-kindness ) is slated to begin in late June on the Hebrew academy’s campus.

And the Hay family has a third child--9-year-old Jonny--waiting in the wings. Maybe he can save the rain forests.