Eager to spot creepy-crawlies

Alejandro and George Echeagaray, 8 and 10, are sitting in an empty conference room at their after-school center in South Los Angeles reeling off the names of critters and creatures they hope to see at camp.

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot,” says George, who will head to camp for the first time this week. “I want to see bugs -- like spiders and bees.”

They decide spiders make the top of their list, followed by owls, ladybugs and maybe bears. Their mom, Alicia Echeagaray, sits beside them and begins to talk about why it’s important for her kids to go to camp. George translates her comments from Spanish to kid-speak.

“She’s happy because we haven’t done anything like see spiders and shoot arrows,” he says.

Alejandro and George will join 62 other campers, ages 8 to 12, at Loch Leven camp in the San Bernardino Mountains, sponsored by the All Peoples Christian Center, which provides social services, including after-school programming, for low-income families.

Alejandro and George live close to the center with their father, who is a truck driver, mother and an older brother.

“It’s sad, but in this community, for a lot of them, it’s the only chance they get to get out of this neighborhood the whole year,” said Julio Ramos, camp director for the last 17 years. “There’s no trips to Disneyland or Hawaii.”

Activities include archery, arts and crafts, and swimming every day. Campers also hike to waterfalls and, toward the end of the week, get to sleep under the stars for one night.

The camp becomes a refuge of sorts, Ramos said. Campers stay in cabins in groups of eight -- their “family group” for the week.

Though Alejandro and George aren’t staying in the same cabin, they said they’re OK with that because they think it will help them both make some new friends.

“I want to meet other friends -- like big friends and little friends,” Alejandro said.

For George, he’s just excited to try something new.

“There’s things I’ve never done, like going in the pool and eating marshmallows.”

Thanks to the $1.7 million raised last year by the Los Angeles Times Summer Camp Campaign, about 8,000 children will go to camp in Southern California this summer.

The Los Angeles Times Family Fund is a fund of the McCormick Foundation, which matches all donations at 50 cents on the dollar.

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nicole.loomis@latimes.com