Service at Boys & Girls Club of Venice made her a summer camp leader

Idalia Munoz recalled the day in ninth grade when she sat handcuffed in the back of a police car and saw her father’s pained expression as he arrived at school to pick her up.

“I didn’t want to rebel,” she said, “but at the time, my mind-set — I didn’t know where it was.”

That was Nov. 22, 2010. Four months later, she was sentenced to a year of probation for marijuana possession and ordered to perform community service — 80 hours at the Boys & Girls Club of Venice.

The punishment proved a turning point in Munoz’s life. She completed her community service in just three weeks, and soon after, at age 14, she applied for a junior staff position at the club’s summer camp. She got it.

Now 18, Munoz is still active in the organization. She worked as a junior staff member the last three summers, giving her the opportunity to tell her story to kids who might find themselves in a similar position.

“They’ve taught me to be more of a leader than a follower and teach other people to be leaders as well,” she said.

The Boys & Girls Club of Venice’s summer camp serves more than 400 kids daily for seven weeks. The camp includes familiar elements: sports, field trips, snacks and sailing. But the club also aims to help campers, ages 6 to 17, continue to learn even when school is not in session.

“We tackle the summer learning loss,” said Armando Diaz, the club’s associate executive director.

Campers participate in educational activities disguised as entertainment. This summer they created and flew rockets, filmed short movies and went on field trips to museums and science centers. Even a trip to the beach was seen as a day in an outdoor classroom, with lessons about the environment and animals.

“The kids are actually learning without knowing that they’re learning, which is really great,” Diaz said.

The Boys & Girls Club partners with the Los Angeles Unified School District to track how campers do when they return to school. Half of the students who had been failing math and 43% of those failing English raised their grade to passing, the club said.

“I think the kids do better because of course they’ve learned additional skills during the summer, and of course we help them retain what they previously learned in a previous grade level,” Diaz said.

Munoz has been named the club’s youth of the year, earning her a scholarship. This fall she is starting at Cal State Northridge. Munoz wants to be a social worker, thanks to her experience with the kids at summer camp.

“They really push you because they want you to do whatever you can,” she said of the club. “They see the potential in you that no one else does.”

The Summer Camp Campaign is part of the Los Angeles Times Family Fund, a McCormick Foundation Fund. The campaign raises contributions to support programs that provide thousands of Southern California’s at-risk children ages 7 to 17 with enriching, educational and fun camp experiences. Donations are tax-deductible as permitted by law and matched at 50 cents on the dollar. Donor information is not traded or published without permission. Donate online at latimes.com/donate or by phone at (800) 518-3975. All gifts will receive a written acknowledgment.

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