The San Diego Union Tribune

By Tony Manolatos
STAFF WRITER

September 8, 2008

JULIAN – The summer camp in the Cuyamaca Mountains seemed like any other, but it offered something special for hundreds of local foster children – a chance to play with their brother or sister.

“This is one of the best camps I've been to because I get to share this with my little brother,” said Miranda, 14, who lives at a boarding school in Escondido.

Miranda and her 11-year-old brother, Michael, were separated three years ago. Michael lives in Chula Vista with a foster family.

About 6,000 children live in foster care in San Diego County, and roughly 800 live apart from siblings. Camp Connect West at Camp Cedar Glen in Julian brought 58 of them together for three days. It was the first time this kind of camp was held in the county to reunite siblings. It ended yesterday with smiles and pledges to bring back the outing next year.

“It just makes sense – bringing siblings that are separated together,” said Margo Fudge, a county social worker who organized the camp.

County officials asked that the children's last names not be used because of their family situations.

The children sang, danced, played football and soccer and swam, and they did the sort of things that make camp camp.

They made s'mores and sat around a bonfire. They told stories and stayed up too late. And in addition to spending time with their siblings, they made new friends. A few romances among some of the older teens – campers ranged in age from 6 to 17 – even started to bloom.

Everyone's favorite contest combined shaving cream and Cheetos and pitted groups of siblings against each other. The shaving cream was used to make a hat on a sibling; the other sibling lobbed Cheetos at the white stuff. The winner landed 135 Cheetos, and then the kids went a little wild with the shaving cream.

The campers spent yesterday swimming and making memory books and T-shirts. The books are filled with pictures from camp, and the children used colored markers to write farewell messages on the T-shirts.

Someone wrote “World's Best Drama Queen” on Miranda's T-shirt. She landed 91 Cheetos on her brother's head, and they took second place in “the toilet-paper contest.” The quickest to wrap their sibling in two rolls of toilet paper won.

“He liked being a mummy,” Miranda said as her brother presented a picture of himself wrapped in toilet paper.

They competed against Susana, 12, and her brother, Ramone, 10.

When Susana's social worker asked her about attending the camp, she wasn't that interested, but Ramone told her he thought it would be cool. They see each other most weekends, but he lives at a group home in Valley Center and Susana lives with a foster family in Oceanside. They were separated six years ago.

“I hope to come back next year,” Susana said. “I liked everything, but the shaving cream fight was the best.”

She planted 104 Cheetos atop her brother's head.

About 40 volunteers, including 20 social workers, served as camp counselors. Among them was Karen Martin, who manages 120 social workers in East County. Martin seemed to take as much from the camp as some of the children.

“This is like the best weekend of my life. I swear,” she said. “Just knowing what these kids have been through and seeing them have fun – I've had to hold back tears like 10 times. I'm recharged as a social worker. I'm totally pumped.”

United Way donated $50,000 for the camp, but it cost only about $20,000, said Fudge, who is the executive assistant to the county's welfare director. Fudge said the extra money would help fund a mentor program and next year's Camp Connect. She said she would like to make it an annual outing.

It was just four months ago that Fudge came up with the idea after reading about a similar camp – Camp Connect in Baltimore County, Md.

Fudge flew to Maryland in June and volunteered at the weeklong camp. Two organizers from that camp were in Julian, including Judith Schagrin, who manages foster care and adoptions in Baltimore County.

“The longest relationships we're likely to have is with our brothers and sisters,” Schagrin said. “What we do is give brothers and sisters memories.”

Read the Union-Tribune article here