Boys from the Highland Park area, along with adult leaders from the Hathaway Sycamores Highland Park Family Resource Center gather outside the center before leaving on a two-week summer camp in Sequoia National Park last month.
Story Created:
Aug 12, 2010 at 12:36 PM PST
Story Updated:
Aug 12, 2010 at 12:36 PM PST
HIGHLAND PARK — A group of 23 boys, ages 12 to 15, recently traded their urban surroundings for the tranquility of the High Sierras and Sequoia National Park during a nearly two-week stay at the R.M. Pyles Boys Camp.
Hathaway-Sycamores’ Highland Park Family Resource Center, which is a division of Hathaway-Sycamores Child and Family Services, coordinated the trip by selecting deserving youngsters from local schools for the wilderness experience.
Designed to build on the leadership lessons taught at the Family Resource Center, the camp featured outdoor activities from horseback riding to archery and fishing.
“Among our goals is to expose these boys to life-expanding and life-affirming experiences, and this camping trip certainly provides that and much more,” said Richard Ledesma Sr., coordinator of the mentoring program for the Family Resource Center.
Eight years ago, under the direction of Ledesma, the Highland Park Kiwanis
Club began sponsoring camping trips for local boys. The Kiwanis connection established a long-term relationship for Highland Park young people.
Ledesma accompanied the boys on their recent trip and shared with them his experiences.
“Who would have thought that someone like me — a teen from East Los Angeles — would grow up to become a police officer and a co-founder of the Los Angeles Historical Society and Museum,” Ledesma said. “You can become more than you think you can, if you take good advice from others.”
The Hathaway Sycamores Highland Park Family Resource Center at 840 N. Avenue 66, provides community-based services that include early childhood programs, after-school youth enrichment activities, individual and family counseling, a computer learning center, adult education classes, and preventative programs that are designed to enrich and empower families and their communities.
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