Agency Details:

Camp Laurel

Camp Laurel's mission is to empower children, youth, and families affected by HIV and AIDS, through educational and support programs.

Description:
Purpose: Our volunteers empower children, youth and families affected by HIV/AIDS. Our volunteers bring diverse experience and various backgrounds to Camp Laurel and are strong, unique role models for our campers and help our campers become strong, confident, positive individuals. Join us, become a counselor and have an amazing impact on the life of a camper affected by HIV/AIDS.
“Camp gives me the focus and clarity I need to live the rest of my life. Camp is my reality check during which all of my day-to-day concerns seem insignificant. When I return from camp, I am able to see that the struggles I face are trivial compared to the problems of the world and the difficulties other people have in their lives.”
Camp Laurel . . . changes lives!

History:
In 1992, Margot Andrew-Anderson realized there was an urgent need for programmed activities for children living with HIV and AIDS. Remembering her childhood summers spent at Camp Tanamakoon in Algonquin Park, Canada, Margot believed a camp for children living with HIV and AIDS would be the ideal place to help children whose lives have been shattered by HIV and AIDS.

Camp Laurel became a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in June of 1992. The mission of Camp Laurel was to teach children living with HIV and AIDS to believe in themselves and to understand that each one of them has the ability to make his or her life as full and rich as the next child regardless of their illness. The camp is free for children 6-16 living with HIV and AIDS.

In the summer of 1994, 13 HIV positive children attended Camp Laurel's inaugural camp. Through the hard work and dedication of its volunteer staff, Camp Laurel was a tremendous success. The response from parents, the medical community and AIDS community was overwhelming, and led to the expansion of the 1995 summer camp to 65 children both infected and immediately affected by HIV and AIDS.

Today, Camp Laurel continues to strive for ways to enhance the programs that have positively impacted the lives of so many children living with HIV and AIDS.

Contact person: Amanda Chung, Director Of Volunteers, (phone), (email)

Main office number: (626) 683-0800
Office fax number: (626) 683-0890

Address:

75 S. Grand Ave. Pasadena, CA 91105 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.camplaurel.org

Last updated on February 25, 2009