Chiquita, 18, Needs a Break From Family Leadership

Chiquita Williams has struggled to maintain her optimism and can-do attitude since the violent death of her cousin a year ago. The 18-year-old reacted to her cousin’s death--he was shot by a security guard at a Pacoima Burger King after an argument escalated over a drive-through order--by channeling her anger into raising money for his funeral.

“I know it was very hard on her,” says Sandra Perez, program director of the Boys & Girls Club of San Fernando Valley. “She went to different people to raise the money. She stood outside of supermarkets and explained the story to friends and neighbors so the family could afford a burial.”

Providing for others is a familiar role for Williams, who has been raised since she was a baby by her 74-year-old grandmother, Lela Parks, who also cares for her younger sister and cousin. The senior at King Drew Medical Magnet says that “basically everything I need, I get myself. School supplies, or if I want to go to a movie, or if my little sister needs something and I have money, I’ll give it to her.”

“My sister and little cousins look up to me, but it is hard” to be a role model, says Williams, whose mother has a drug problem.

“I have cousins in gangs, and an older brother who didn’t graduate. Everyone depends on me. My little sister hears her friends talking about new shoes and outfits, and I remember how that was. If I want to change her experience, I’m going to have to stay in school.” Williams is headed to Cal State Northridge next fall.

As a reward for being such a strong leader, the Boys & Girls Club of San Fernando Valley is working with the Times summer camp campaign to send Chiquita, and 33 other children, to summer camp for one week.

They are still trying to find ones that are affordable.

Perez, who met Williams six years ago, says she has come a long way, from “a very feisty girl who needed some direction” to “a young lady who doesn’t follow anyone else and doesn’t really care about what anyone says about her.”

“Chiquita’s worked as a youth employee since she was 14. It was her way of getting what she needed, like clothes,” says Perez. “She worked at McDonald’s until very late at night to make money for a prom dress.”

Perez is counting on Williams’ resourcefulness to face future challenges. “She is very outgoing and driven,” she says. “I commend her for getting through it all.”

Every year since 1954, readers and employees of The Times have sent thousands of needy children to summer camp.

This year more than 11,000 children will experience a special summer thanks to the $1.6 million raised last year.

The average cost of sending a child to camp for a week is $150. This year, the McCormick Tribune Foundation will match the first $1.2 million in contributions at 50 cents on the dollar.

Checks should be sent to: L.A. Times Summer Camp Campaign, File No. 56984, Los Angeles, CA 90074-6984. For more information, call (213) 237-5771. To make credit card donations, visit www.latimes .com/summercamp. Please do not send cash.

All donations are tax deductible. Unless donors request otherwise, gifts of $25 or more are acknowledged in The Times. The summer camp campaign is part of the Los Angeles Times Family Fund, a fund of the McCormick Tribune Foundation.