Van Nuys YMCA Camp Offers a Season of Sports, Field Trips

The end of the school year means more to Guillermo Canales than just days without teachers and homework.

For the past few years, the 11-year-old has spent his time off at the Mid Valley Family YMCA’s Summer Day Camp, which runs for 11 weeks.

“I like going on field trips, playing basketball and swimming,” said the Cohasset Elementary School fifth-grader.

The Mid Valley Family YMCA in Van Nuys offers day camp from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday for kindergarten through seventh-grade students at the Mid Valley facility and at four elementary schools: Chandler, Dixie Canyon, Kittridge and Sherman Oaks. The cost is $100 per week.

The activities, which include trips to the L.A. Zoo, Chinatown/Olvera Street and Hurricane Harbor, are designed to build self-esteem, promote an appreciation for cultural diversity, encourage creativity and develop personal values, said Executive Director Barbara Linski.

Combined, the camps average about 350 to 400 children weekly, she said.

The Mid Valley Family YMCA also runs a one-week residential program at Camp Round Meadow in Big Bear for students in fourth through eighth grade, and one for teenagers at Camp Whites Landing on Catalina Island. There’s also a counselor-in-training program for ninth- and 10th-graders.

“A good number of children are from working families, so the camps really assist in child care,” Linski said.

With both his parents working, Guillermo said he likes going to the YMCA and being with his friends, building on his dreams of playing basketball or doing arts and crafts.

“This is like a second home. I feel comfortable,” Guillermo said. “It’s a cool place.”

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Wish List

Mid Valley Family YMCA

(818) 989-3800

* 3-D Body Parts: $39.95

* Barometer: $23.95

* Dominoes: $19.95 (box of six sets)

* Softball bat: $12.95

* Horseshoe set: $11.95

* Beanbags: $11.75 (set of 12)