From a camper to a counselor in training
Chelsea Muñoz is “Whittier” than you -- or so she claims on the bright red T-shirt she’s wearing, which touts both her hometown and her cleverness. Sitting in the chapel of the YMCA of Greater Whittier, 15-year-old Chelsea doesn’t at all appear ready to head up to what she refers to as her “second home,” Camp Arbolado, in only a few weeks. She’s dressed in a tight pair of jeans, has sculpted her bangs into a near-perfect coif and has coated her eyes with a thin layer of black eyeliner.
“At school, you have to be all pretty and perfect for the guy you like,” Chelsea says, referring to her appearance. “But at camp, that kind of stuff doesn’t matter. I became a social butterfly there. And we get to do cool, fun stuff like go gold panning on hikes or eat spaghetti with no utensils.”
In the coming weeks, Chelsea will watch between 130 and 160 kids ages 8 to 14 arrive during one of Camp Arbolado’s two one-week sessions. Located between Big Bear and Redlands by Barton Flats, Arbolado has traditional camping activities such as swimming and low ropes as well as assorted options, including a dinosaur egg hunt and a Native American program that teaches kids about the way the Southland’s early inhabitants lived.
“Every day has a different theme, and we’ll teach kids values at camp -- honesty, caring, respect and responsibility,” explains Suman Rana, associate executive director of camping services for YMCA of Greater Whittier. “So each day a child has to implement the theme into their life. It can be like, ‘Hey, I helped Johnny find his shoes’ or ‘I waited for Johnny so we could go swimming together.’ Simple things that go a long way.
“A lot of the families, especially those from the inner city, can’t afford coming to camp,” Rana adds. “There’s no way a single mom can afford that money. Our scholarships allow kids who’ve never been up a mountain to experience that. Kids live in L.A. and see the mountains are close by but have never been able to touch them before.”
Chelsea was 8 when she first arrived at Arbolado, where she confronted her fear of heights on a rock climbing wall and created lanyards she’s saved for years.
The teen shares a Norwalk apartment with her mother and her sister, 18, who is in remission from cancer. Chelsea has helped to keep the house spotless for her sister during an isolation period after she received a bone marrow transplant.
“At first, I was really scared, but things are a lot better now,” the 10th-grader says. After the turbulent year, she says, she’s especially anxious to assume her title as a first-year counselor-in-training at Arbolado.
“There’s a lot of drama with the girl campers over the boys, like ‘Oh, I wanted to dance with him,’ ” Chelsea says with a chuckle, rolling her eyes.
“They’ll ask me to ask a boy to dance for them or to do their hair. And I will, because I remember the older girls who helped me to feel comfortable with myself once.”
The YMCA of Greater Whittier is one of 60 organizations receiving financial support this year through the Los Angeles Times Summer Camp Campaign. More than 8,000 underprivileged children will go to camp this summer, thanks to $1.5 million raised last year.
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 $1.1 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.
