Out of the city, into the woods

For seven years, Lizette Sosa suffered from severe fits of coughing, sometimes so bad she coughed up blood as she ran on the school playground.

Doctors diagnosed her condition as asthma. Her mother kept her home from school as many as three days a week, fearful that Lizette would be tempted to run around and would get sick.

Soon, Lizette’s grades began to fall. Desperate to get her daughter back on track and help her have a more normal childhood, her mother, Lizette Campos, took her to another doctor who diagnosed her condition as allergy attacks and she was given the appropriate medicine.

Since that visit, 8-year-old Lizette can now do what she loves best -- jumping rope and playing with a hula hoop -- without fear of getting sick.

Down the street from several large factories in Commerce is Lizette’s house, a baby blue two-bedroom where she lives with her sister, mother, stepfather, grandmother and uncle.

Another uncle and his girlfriend sometimes sleep in the bunk beds set up in the living room.

Lizette dreams of becoming a first-grade teacher when she grows up, sometimes having her friends over to her house, where they sit dutifully on the living room floor for her instruction. She will then bring out notebooks and coloring books to begin the day’s after-school lesson.

This summer, Lizette went to Camp Mt. Crags near Calabasas through the Salvation Army.

She speaks timidly in Spanish about camp as she taps away on her favorite toy, a pink Barbie laptop.

Her favorite part of camp was hearing the Bible stories around the campfire and she remembers the story of Noah loading two of every animal onto the ark as her favorite.

As she and her mom talk about camp experiences, Lizette’s 6-year-old sister, Stephanie, bounces on the couch expectantly. She can’t wait until it’s her turn to go to camp as soon as she’s old enough.

Campos said that camp was Lizette’s one opportunity to escape her industrial surroundings for a wilderness setting, to play outside and learn new skills.

“It helps her a lot because she’s not just inside the house,” Campos said. “She’s outside and can just have fun.”

Lizette is among the 12,000 children who went to camp this summer, thanks to $2.1 million raised in the Los Angeles Times Summer Camp Campaign last year. Donations this season will ensure that just as many deserving children get the camp experience next summer.

The annual fundraising campaign is part of the Los Angeles Times Family Fund of the McCormick Tribune Foundation, which this year will match the first $1.2 million in contributions at 50 cents on the dollar.

Donations are tax-deductible. For more information, call (213) 237-5771. To make donations by credit card, go to latimes.com/summercamp.

To send checks, use the attached coupon. Do not send cash.

Unless requested otherwise, gifts of $50 or more will be acknowledged in The Times.