UCLA UniCamp, the official philanthropy of the UCLA student body, won a $109,000 grant from the American Camp Association in late March.

Every summer, about 500 UCLA students volunteer at UniCamp’s Camp Pine Mountain, located in the San Bernardino Mountains, to serve as community leaders for more than 1,200 children from underserved backgrounds. The “Character at Camp” grant will allow the organization to build a formal curriculum, collect better feedback from campers to measure its impact and build new infrastructure, said Martin Mai, the director of development and operations for UniCamp.

Isabella Mora, a third-year English student and UniCamp’s student chair, said she believes the grant is a recognition of UniCamp members’ hard work.

“We’re trying to give these kids a good experience without this being a burden at home,” Mora said. “We’re trying to reduce the friction between these kids and summer camp as much as possible, and grants are what make it possible.”

Olivia Gilchrist, a fourth-year psychology and public affairs student and the head camp program director for UniCamp, said campers participate in technology-free activities including hiking, mountain biking and arts and crafts. The camp also hosts weeks with special themes, including Alice in Wonderland, in which participants held tea parties and created tissue paper flowers, she added.

UniCamp offers opportunities for campers to get outside of their comfort zones, Mora said, adding that she has seen campers’ confidence levels grow throughout sessions.

One of the most challenging activities campers participate in is the 50-foot alpine climbing tower, said Mai, a UCLA alumnus. Kids as young as 10 years old have made it to the top, he added.

“Summer camps, in general, are very essential for a child’s development, especially in today’s day and age with technology,” said Mary Assadi, a third-year anthropology student and UniCamp volunteer. “I see a lot of kids open up and break out of their shells.”

The program, Assadi said, inspires campers to volunteer at UniCamp in the future. She added that attending college, especially at UCLA, has also become a goal for many campers from first-generation backgrounds.

“We’re very reliant on grants, basically to function,” Gilchrist said. “Having grants like the character award essentially makes it so that we can keep running, and also makes it so that we can infuse resources into programs to help campers.”

UCLA UniCamp is entering its 91st summer camp season this year, Mai said. This is the first year UniCamp will be able to collect data on camper feedback and impact instead of relying on anecdotal information, he added.

UniCamp will also use parts of the grant to buy new climbing and backpacking gear and build a low ropes course, Mai said.

“American Camp Association grants are notoriously competitive and difficult to get,” he said. “It does come with a lot of requirements, restrictions and the use of the funds, as well as being able to deliver on every single item that we stated in the grant.”

Staff at UniCamp are hoping to return to their home camp – Camp River Glen – by 2028, Mai said. The camp was damaged during Hurricane Hilary in 2023, forcing UniCamp to relocate to Camp Pine Mountain temporarily, he added.

Both UniCamp participants and volunteers gain valuable skills from the summer program, Gilchrist said.

“As much as kids grow when they’re at summer camp, so do we,” Gilchrist said. “I’ve grown so much through my experience as a counselor and in these different leadership positions.”