WHAT an amazing summer!
The Children's Lifesaving Foundation had another great summer season-at Zuma Beach through our Surf Camp4All Program, and our continuing collaboration with Interfaith Inventions for our overnight, week-long Teen Camp at Camp Shalom in the beautiful Malibu Mountains and with the Leo Carillo Jr. Lifeguard Team at Heavens Beach! First, in July, we were lucky enough to have our esteemed founder & President Maria D'Angelo honored as a community Hero by none other than the L.A. Dodgers July 4th weekend! We also brought 60 teens and families from Homeboy Industries, My Friend's Place, and the CLF's own Vita Network Program to enjoy an amazing Dodgers game, with free food (Dodger Dogs, anyone?) and great seats in the stands.
Our Camp4All Program started in the beginning of July, with new friends from the Malibu Underdogs acting as our surf instructors! Hundreds of children, teens and families came from agencies like Para Los Ninos, Covenant House, Operation Progress and My Friend's Place, and we were so honored to have families from Homeboy Industries join us three times this summer season! We enjoyed awesome lunch on the beach, as well as truly remarkable, refreshing time. In addition, the lovely Chantelle Heroux from Bridge to Skate joined us for an afternoon of skate deck decorating-which was, in a word, just awesome. Our pros from the Malibu Underdogs insured that the kids really got up on those boards, became expert boogie boarders too, and truly enjoyed the surf and the sand to the fullest extent.
Our amazing friends at FOX Gives! invited us for the sixth year in a row to their incredible Screen on the Green event- where CLF kids and families and volunteers were treated to In-N-Out Burgers, sweet treats and a beautiful screening oft the animated film HOME, right on the 20th Century Fox lot! It was just another beautiful way to celebrate the summer season with our friends and CLF families, and we are so appreciative.
Camp Shalom Teen Camp with Interfaith Inventions happened just last week, where teens of other faiths and backgrounds come together for a week of classic camp activities, bonding and some heavy-duty discussion and soul-searching. Teens from our Vita Network participated, along with our Program Director Sean McCaffery, and the Interfaith Inventions team. Along with the zip-lining, Beach BBQ, archery, horse therapy, swimming and paddle-boarding, they joined teens from Agape International Spiritual Center around campfires at night and during workshops regarding bullying prevention, and respect for others.
The first week of August, we simultaneously participated in Leo Carillo Jr. Lifeguard Program's full week of Surf Camp at Heaven's Beach near County Line! Nine participants from Operation Progress (an amazing educational program in Watts) joined us, and worked closely with the LCJLG team-many getting up on that surf board the very first afternoon! (Really!) Special thanks to Tim Harvey and his AMAZING staff (shout outs to Derrick and Brie!) for this really incredible opportunity and experience.
This summer would not have been possible without operational support and guidance from our friends at Topson Downs, the City of Malibu, the Carrie Estelle Doheny Foundation and the Oder Family Foundation, and without our pretty incredible volunteers-Alex Fields, Jason Villanueva, Josie Treadwell, Alec McCloskey, Susan Bard, Mollie Meyer, Patrick O'Sullivan, Wendy Paris-and of course, our staff of AMAZING surfers from the Malibu Underdogs Crew (Tim Hazelip and friends-thank you!) as well as the illustrious Leo Carillo Jr. Lifeguard Team. Together-we all made it a truly remarkable experience for so many deserving youth and families who truly benefited from this summer of fun, relaxation and true inspiration. THANK YOU ALL!