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Blog Entry 3 of 21 Adventures in Parenting

I am a valleynews.com staffer, wife, and mom. My husband of two years and I had our first child in February. I will write here occassionally about my adventures with baby Frank plus all the wonderful things going on in Burbank and Glendale (as well as the surrounding communities)dealing with children.

Blog Url: http://valleynews.com/~Mom2B

Reaching out to underpriviliged children

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Contributed by: angie valencia/valleynews.com on 7/3/2007

I recently returned to work after nearly five months of maternity leave. The time spent with my baby Frank was hectic yet very fun and rewarding. It's hard to believe that he's already five months old. Just last night, he reached a milestone - rolling over. He was late as his pediatrician told me; but boy was it worth the wait. It was one of my proudest moments as a mama seeing him try something new and the surprised look on his face when he realized what he accomplished. Pretty big task for him, I'm sure. He's been trying for weeks but never quite went all the way until yesterday. Today, he's simply showing off by doing it over and over and over again.

I realize how lucky I am to have my husband help raise our child. He's a wonderful dad who will raise him into a good, decent man. We live in a suburban neighborhood with three dogs and two turtles and are considered middle class. Frank has everything he needs. He's very lucky. I can't help but feel for those children who come from broken marriages or underpriviliged backgrounds. Those are the children that need the most attention and love.

Luckily, there are many organizations out there that put the welfare of these children at the forefront. Such is the case with Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Los Angeles who run Camp Max Straus, a residential summer camp located in Glendale that provides recreational activities for underprivileged children. These kids, who are between the ages of seven and twelve, primarily come from single parent homes.

Children who attend Camp Max Straus are referred by schools, social service, community agencies, counselors, and religious leaders. Parents can also contact the camp directly. During their stay at the camp, they swim, horseback ride and hike, among other things. Most importantly, they help children build self esteem and confidence, says Dan Witzling, of Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters.

"Our mission involves serving children," he said. "We try to maximize different ways to serve kids on a one-to-one level, and group settings."

This Saturday, Camp Max Straus will be treating the children to a special concert featuring The Figureheads, a hip hop group who tours all over the country. The National children's performing group will be with the kids all day and will culminate their stay with a concert. The day consists of workshops to help children build self esteem and improve relationships by expressing themselves through hip hop music.

About the camp: Approximately 1,000 underserved children will come this summer to Camp Max Straus. Celebrating its 70 th anniversary, Camp Max Straus offers a summer camp and year-round mentoring and youth development activities for children. For more information, visit http://www.jbbbsla.org/jbbbsla/.

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