Kids Keep Busy With Sports, Games, Field Trips at YMCA Camp

For four years, the North Valley Family YMCA in Mission Hills has served two essential purposes for the Foster family.

For Kevin, 12, of Toluca Lake, who attends the center’s day camp during school breaks and summer months, the programs--from basketball to board games to educational field trips--have exposed him to new places and helped him build new friendships.

And every summer, he spends a week at Camp Whittle near Big Bear, swimming, mountain biking, horseback riding, practicing archery and sitting around campfires singing songs with about 200 other young people.

“This is the best program because we get to do something different every day,” he said.

His 36-year-old single mother, Jennifer Foster, said the center provides a wonderful environment that occupies her son with constructive activities that help him stay out of mischief when she is at work.

“When he is here, I don’t worry about a thing,” she said. “I feel so safe. This is a place that gives him structure and keeps him busy.”

Jane Stanton, the YMCA’s executive director, said that going to camp is an essential part of a child’s development and that the center awards about 50 scholarships each summer to families who have heavy financial burdens yet want to provide alternatives for their children.

The Foster family has benefited from a $150 scholarship every year to attend the summer camp.

“It’s real important for kids to leave the streets of L.A. to go into a refreshing environment, to get another perspective, to watch the stars--perhaps see a falling star--and not be worried about their safety,” Stanton said. “I don’t think camp gets enough credit for what we do.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Wish List

North Valley Family YMCA

(818) 365-3231

* Playground balls: $10 each

* Water bottles: $10 each

* Fishing poles: $20 each

* Computer software: $30 each

* Camp stove: $50

* Tents: $60 each