Summer Camp Campaign: A budding doctor gets academic boost at APCC

Nine-year-old Alyssa Rosado has the sort of sweet face and pleasant personality that invite a warm hug. Her delicate and bashful mannerism draws people to her. Her favorite subject at San Pedro Elementary School in L.A. is math and she wants to be a doctor when she grows up.

“I like to watch ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ because they help sick people. I want to do that too,” said Alyssa, playfully adjusting her colorful summer dress.

But earlier this year she was falling behind in school. Then she got help from the All Peoples Community Center (APCC) in Los Angeles. Alyssa began attending every day after school and also on Saturdays for extra tutoring.

“She was in danger of repeating fourth grade but her grades went up and she scored 3’s and 4’s on her last report card,” said Julia Herta, the center’s youth coordinator. Now, she said, Alyssa will start fifth grade in the fall and has great potential to keep going strong.

APCC is a family resource center established in 1942 that provides a variety of programs to meet the needs of the residents in the surrounding community. Its after-school programs include academic, sports and recreation opportunities, computer training and various enrichment activities, such as art and dance, team-building lessons and leadership skills development.

Alyssa has continued to attend this summer, playing softball and participating in arts and crafts activities. “Sports is fun,” she chimes. She also loves reading Junie B. Jones and “Goosebumps” books at home with her parents and four sisters.

Alyssa’s two older sisters, Ashley and Davida, also participate in the after-school program. Her father, David, 44, works part-time as a truck driver and is very involved in his five daughters’ lives.

David lost his father at a young age. Having spent most of his 20s and 30s in jail for gang-related offenses, he is putting his life back together by being there for his family. While his wife works at a supermarket, he too comes to the APCC to work on his résumé, search for jobs and participate in the center’s “Project Fatherhood” program.

He sighs when asked what it’s like being a father to five girls. “You can see I’m losing my hair,” he jokes, “but I love being with them and making sure they are safe.”

Through the generosity of Times readers and a match by the McCormick Foundation, nearly $1.3 million was granted to local camp programs this year because of the Los Angeles Times Summer Camp Campaign.

The Summer Camp Campaign, part of the Los Angeles Times Family Fund, a McCormick Foundation Fund, 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 calling (800) 518-3975. All gifts will receive a written acknowledgment.

aida.ahmad@latimes.com