Camp out with Bruins

By Cynthia Lee

If the cost of gas and the sinking dollar overseas have put a fancy vacation in faraway places out of your family's reach, there are a couple of camping options with a UCLA connection you may want to consider.

This year, you can actually have a family vacation getaway right on campus with Bruin Family Experience hosted by the UCLA Alumni Association. Or consider a week of camping in the San Bernardino Mountains for the kids, or a weekend for all of you ... at UCLA UniCamp.

For nearly 75 years, UniCamp has given thousands of children from families living at or below the federal poverty line the outdoor adventure of their dreams — a place nestled in the forest where they can hike, fish, swim, bike, learn crafts and enjoy the carefree fun of camp life for a week.

This summer, roughly 900 campers from all over the L.A. region will head to the 10-acre facility located on the Santa Ana River in the San Bernardino Mountains. Most of their expenses will be covered by UCLA students who raise money to keep the campfires burning. While campers' families will pay $75 for camp, the true cost of $500-plus is covered by fundraising, donations from business and community groups and other sources. Last year, students raised more than $120,000 in pledges.

But this summer, organizers will for the first time welcome full-paying campers to a session, called Camp Woodsey, a new way to raise funds.

"Every kid should have this opportunity, not just those who can’t afford it," said W. S. Wally "Pops" Wirick, executive director. To do this without reducing the number of regular UniCamp kids, they've expanded facilities to house 185 campers weekly in open-air summer cabins retrofitted with attached restrooms and showers.

"If Camp Woodsey makes it, it will become an important part of the revenue mix that supports UniCamp," Wirick said, especially in tough economic times when nonprofits tend to suffer.

Camp Woodsey will be a weeklong resident camp from July 27 to August 3 for children 10-15 years old at a cost of $700. Experienced UCLA student volunteer counselors as well as program specialists and paid staff will be on hand offering the same UniCamp experience. For $1,500 a week, a Camp Woodsey kid can enroll in Wilderness Adventures in Leadership and Learning. Trained guides will take these campers on a four-day trek to the summit of Mount San Gorgonio and back.

UniCamp is also hosting families on two weekends, July 4-6 and August 28-Sept. 1. Costs, which includes all meals, range from $75 for children to $100 for teens and $175 for adults. For details, visit the UniCamp Web site.

If you want your children to sample the UCLA experience, the UCLA Alumni Association is once again offering the Bruin Family Experience.

For one all-inclusive weekend, August 7-9, families can stay in the newly built Hedrick Summit, eat their meals in campus dining halls and enjoy everything the university has to offer, including the Visualization Portal, the Marina Aquatic Center and a VIP tour of athletic facilities. While children can go off with recreation counselors for a day of activities, adults and teens can visit go to museums, attend special workshops, including one on preparation for college (one for adults and one for teens), or just relax poolside.

In its third year, the program has been popular among families who want to give their teenagers the feel of the campus. "This is a great way get reacquainted with what makes UCLA so special, and share the Bruin spirit with family and friends," said Stephanie Lertzman, project manager for Bruin Family Experience. "We're known at UCLA for our hardworking staff and faculty, and many of us are alumni. Being so busy, it's easy to forget what a truly amazing place this is. This is a great way to get back in touch with that, and show the campus off to your friends and family."

At least one person in the party needs to be a Alumni Association member. To find out more or to register, call (310) 206-0532 or visit the Bruin Family Experience Web site.