June 9, 2007

Sisters are ready for camp
Camp would enhance the girls' self-esteem, their mom says.
By ALEJANDRA MOLINA
The Orange County Register

Rebecca and Raquel are already practicing.

Instead of going to sleep on their bunk beds like they normally would, the Ycaza girls tuck themselves into their sleeping bags.

In the mornings, they time their showers; three minutes to be exact. Well, seven for Raquel.

For them, camp means sleeping bags and taking quick showers.

As first-timers, both girls are excited about going to Camp Scherman though the Girl Scout Council of Orange County. They look forward to hikes and making new friends.

"It's going to be awesome…pure fun," Rebecca said. "I want to go swimming," Raquel added.

But for their mother Patricia Torres, the opportunity goes deeper.

"I want them to be able to feel more independent…they're going to be on their own," Torres said. "I want them to feel that they have a lot of potential to do things."

Camp can get expensive and would normally be an unrealistic goal for the girls, but trips are made possible through sponsorship from the Girl Scout Council and the Orange County Register Campership Fund, which helps nonprofit groups offer scholarships for camp programs.

Torres knows first-hand the drawbacks of low self-esteem and wants to do everything possible to steer her girls away from that, and toward a life of fulfillment.

At the age of 32, Torres decided that staying in her abusive marriage was not the example she wanted to set for her daughters. She was a stay-at-home mom who always wanted to do more for her family and disliked being dependent on her husband.

She took the risk and left with her daughters; living in a shelter for about a year. Speaking little English, she took a job as a sales secretary but without an education and the language barriers, Torres faced challenges.

"People take advantage that you need the job … so I decided not to put up with that."

Torres left the job and shortly after found Project Self-Sufficiency, a program with the city of Huntington Beach that assists low-income, single parents in achieving economic independence.

Through that program, she was provided student housing and scholarships to help her pay for rent and her education.
Torres, a native of Mexico City, always valued education. She took English and finance courses in Mexico. She then moved to Miami with her then-husband where Rebecca and Raquel were born and where she also earned her associate's degree in a community college.

Now with the help of Project Self -Sufficiency, she is attending Cal State Fullerton and is majoring in international business with a concentration in Spanish.

Raquel, 6, and Rebecca, 8, are your normal perky girls who enjoy jump roping and talking about their school crushes. Yet they understand how valuable it is to be educated and independent.

And camp will help steer them in that direction.

REGISTER CAMPERSHIP FUND

100 percent of all donations sends children of low-income families to camp. The donations are distributed to the following agencies:

Anaheim Family YMCA

Boys & Girls Clubs of Orange County

Campfire USA Orange County Council

Girl Scout Council of Orange County

Boy Scouts of America's Orange County Council

YMCA of Orange County

Los Altos YMCA

To contribute, mail in the coupon, call 714-796-2280 or go to www.ocregister.com/campership