We work with schools in some of LA’s most marginalized communities in an attempt to provide disadvantaged youth with personal development opportunities that they may not otherwise have. We work with 12 elementary schools in the Watts community that meld into Markham Middle School. We also partner with the JK Livin Foundation to bring six high schools together for a Camp Ubuntu retreat during Spring Break, providing these students with a well-deserved getaway that they otherwise wouldn’t have.
The adventure begins at 9:00am when our deluxe tour buses pick up the kids at their school. Upon arrival at camp, the kids are enthusiastically greeted by our staff and introduced to the main dining hall where they are broken into cabins for orientation, ice-breakers, and lunch.
Camp Ubuntu is an 81 acre camp facility nestled in a beautiful wide canyon in the middle of the Angeles National Forest. Camp Ubuntu is only a little over an hour from Los Angeles, but the beautiful breathtaking mountains and remote location makes one feel as if they are a world away from the city and any stresses of life at home.
This beautiful location creates the perfect setting to break down barriers, take in nature, and provide an experience that lasts a lifetime.
We provide the campers with resort-quality accommodations including heating & air-conditioning and in-cabin bathrooms. Our lodging is purposefully designed to make the kids feel right at home from the moment they get to camp.
HRF’s programming is based on the CASEL social and emotional learning model, a process through which our students understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. The compilation of these integral areas creates a holistic approach to ensure children develop the necessary interpersonal skills for success in academia and in greater life, deepening their sense of self-worth and strengthening their community.
Our hip-hop instructors are professional dancers/choreographers who are highly motivational and have a gift for developing a great rapport with the kids. They create a safe, non-judgmental space for all the kids to express themselves through dance. All campers participate in the workshops regardless of their dance skills. Everyone learns the routine and at the end of each retreat they get to perform their dance. It is inspiring to watch kids and parents and teachers let their guard down as they are encouraged by the instructor, their counselors, and their peers. Participants come away from the experience feeling a little more comfortable in their bodies, a little more self-confident, and a little spent from the workout.
Drumming has been proven to have the ability to produce feelings of well-being and help release emotional trauma. Our drumming workshops utilize “junk percussion,” things that you can find around the house or around your neighborhood; garbage cans, empty coffee cans, water jugs, pots, shakers, and drumsticks/beaters. The campers are taught how to drum along to different songs and make music together in unison. This ends up being a very powerful experience because our kids learn that music is something you can create anywhere at no cost.
This class allows the campers to literally march to the beat of their own drum. Our campers leave this rotation feeling closer to themselves, less stressed, and more like a team after getting lost in the music together.
Camp Ubuntu is working toward closing the Nature Gap. The majority of inner city youth have had very little, if any, experience in nature. According to reports by the Outdoor Foundation, 75 percent of youth from 6 – 24 who engage in outdoor recreational activities are white. You can’t get kids interested in nature without introducing it to them.
Our highly experienced hike leaders take students/chaperones on a hike that is both challenging and rewarding. Throughout the hike they are shown different plant life that is native to Camp Ubuntu, as well as signs of different wildlife. The hike offers fantastic views from which they can take in the mountainous landscape.
With over 30 different elements, the experienced and highly-trained ropes staff offers a variety of options for the students to choose from. Before a single harness is put on, the students are told about the different elements that will be offered. The ropes staff debrief the students on proper supporting techniques as well as safety procedures for the course.
Even when the students are not climbing, they are all encouraged to not only physically support their classmates by holding ladders, but also to verbally support one another through positive language. Ropes courses were designed to be an educational method that helps build self-esteem, problem solving abilities, communication skills, leadership abilities, and increased morale. It helps individuals overcome their fears while proving that you can accomplish almost anything with the support of your “team.”
In an effort to get each student/chaperone out of their comfort zone and trying new things, we offer a yoga rotation. Our yoga teacher gives them a brief introduction to yoga and how it can be used to settle the mind and calm the nerves all while moving the body. The class ends with guided meditation using a gong. The kids, parents, and teachers recognize the transformative uses that meditation can offer, and many have carried these practices back to the home and classroom.
In art, self-expression is the objective so there really is no right or wrong; it pretty much guarantees success and is another way that we encourage our campers to express themselves freely without words. Our campers get to take home their creations except for the one piece of shared memorabilia they make for the camp’s UBUNTU WALL. Campers take great pride in having their artwork on display for everyone to see.
Our team-building challenges, like most of our camp curriculum, are designed as a metaphor for overcoming the many obstacles that our kids will face at home, at school, and in their communities. The exercises enhance their problem-solving skills and teach our campers how to develop trust, learn to work together, and communicate with each other. This rotation can be very challenging at times, but by the end our campers feel empowered and understand the value in asking for help.
Rough Writers is a program that we primarily use with middle school and high school students. This rotation gives each student a chance to express himself or herself through the written word. Our writing teachers are tremendously effective in providing a positive and safe space in which the students are able to write candidly and share freely. It is amazing to see how the kids open up when they feel like people care about what they have to say. It’s one of our most powerful rotations.
Campfire is held every night that the campers are at Camp Ubuntu. At campfire the campers are encouraged to let loose and just have a good time. The counselors lead goofy songs and dances that enhance the camp experience. At the end of the last campfire, the campers get to have s’mores; a dessert treat that many have never had. The purpose of campfire is to enhance the overall camp experience. The students go home singing the songs they learn at campfire, which is a way that camp can still remain in their lives once they go home.
At the end of each camp retreat, the campers and counselors close with Tradition. The camp schedule is designed in such a way to keep the campers busy at all times of the day and evening. Tradition allows everyone a chance to slow down and focus on what the weekend meant to him or her. Campers in each rotation group gather for mini-tradition and are all given the chance to speak about fears they overcame, lessons they learned, and their overall favorite memories of camp. Then each group selects 3-4 campers to represent the group at regular Tradition in front of the whole camp. Tradition also allows the campers’ to hear and reflect on their fellow campers experiences at camp. It also helps to break down the fear of public speaking.
In the beginning of each astronomy night, the campers are divided into small groups. Once they are broken into these small groups, they play icebreakers to acclimate to the dark. After the games, the Naturalist will show all the visible constellations. They use stories from our ancestors to give weight to the importance of the constellations.
The purpose of this activity is to allow our campers an opportunity to see the night sky in a way that many have never seen.
A 501 (C) (3) CHARITY ORGANIZATION
FEDERAL TAX ID # 26-4807035
Mailing Address:
c/o Edward Charles Foundation
269 S. Beverly Dr., #338
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
Curious about the funny looking characters all over our site? We're glad you noticed! They happen to be some of the little creatures from Camp Ubuntu's most popular campfire song, "Moose, Alpaca."
Not all campfire songs make much sense, and this one might be the king of nonsense! A 'repeat after me' song, Moose Alpaca, is sung in crazy, frantic unison of moose, alpacas, and unicorns. Throw in some mustaches, ninjas, and pufferfish, and you have yourself one of our all-time favorite camp songs performed at nearly every campfire and every school visit.
