Camp Trail Leads Donor to Award

Bob Shadur walks along the dusty trail at Camp Max Strauss--a summer camp for at-risk boys and girls that is tucked into the foothills of the Verdugo Mountains in Glendale.

“It’s nothing like what the kids would see at 120th and Broadway,” said Shadur, 69, referring to a South Los Angeles neighborhood. “It’s so rustic [here]. Listen. You can hear the quiet.”

The camp is quiet now, but by June, the 112-acre camp--with its canopy of coast live oaks and sycamore trees--will teem with children ages 7 to 13 from some of the toughest streets in Los Angeles.

For 62 years, Camp Max Strauss has offered an escape for children from single-parent homes, or those in trouble with the law, or those who have been abused or neglected. For a week or two, the children spend their time singing around a campfire, doing arts and crafts, taking nature hikes and bunking 10 to a cabin with strangers who quickly become friends.

“It’s an influence on their lives, we hope,” said Shadur, who will be honored later this month with the 2001 Sydney J. Rosenberg Lifetime Achievement Award by Jewish Big Brothers of Los Angeles, which owns and operates the camp.

Shadur had written a check to sponsor a camper for about 20 years. But in 1992, a friend involved with the organization encouraged him to see the camp firsthand and do even more.

Since then, he has served on the board of directors, raised funds for the camp and participated in other mentoring and counseling programs offered through the big brothers group.

“He’s a real professional, and he’s got a good heart,” said board member David Swartz, 57, who helped set up Shadur’s first tour of the hidden-away camp. “We thought now would be a good time to reward him for all of his work for us.”

Shadur, a Sherman Oaks resident, admits he’s never been one for committees, and the Jewish Big Brothers board is large--about 70 members. But Shadur said he couldn’t help himself: “When I saw the camp, it really got my juices going.”

Shadur estimates that he volunteers 100 hours a year to the board and on various subcommittees.

He has often called on connections and friends he’s made through a lifelong career in insurance and estate and business planning to help solicit for the organization’s annual $2.7-million budget.

Once, a chance lunch even yielded $75,000 from a major foundation to help refurbish parts of the camp. That same foundation increased its giving to $1.5 million last year.

Two years ago, an idea of Shadur’s--to honor a group of donors at a Beverly Hills hotel--increased donations twofold. At the camp, there is one counselor for every five children. Kids enjoy a daily schedule of arts and crafts, horseback riding, dance, swimming, archery and motivational and team-building games. “It’s a true camp environment,” Shadur said.

He knows environment can make a difference.

Shadur grew up in a poor section of St. Paul, Minn., and often feared getting beaten up when walking to and from school. But when he was 9, his life dramatically changed because his family could afford to a move to a middle-class part of town.

He knows that some Los Angeles-area kids may not get that same chance. Many are missing out on their childhoods, he said, because they can’t play outdoors safely in their neighborhoods.

For these kids, Camp Max Strauss offers a much needed change in scenery. The children who go to the camp “are used to hearing guns at night,” Shadur said. “We’ve got to reach these kids. We’ve got to have something that changes the pattern.”

Each summer, 900 children attend Camp Max Strauss. The cost for each camper is about $800, which covers transportation, food and activities. Most campers are referred by social workers, psychologists and schools.

For more information about Camp Max Strauss or to make a donation, call (323) 761-8675.

Personal Best is a weekly profile of an ordinary person who does extraordinary things. Please send suggestions on prospective candidates to Personal Best, Los Angeles Times, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth 91311. Or fax them to (818) 772-3338. Or e-mail them to valley.news@latimes.com.