R.M. PYLES BOYS CAMP

All of the boys who come to our program live in low-income families and have been identified as being at risk of poor life outcomes by their teachers and school administrators, police or juvenile justice authorities, or personnel at community youth organizations. Though our boys come from urban, suburban, and rural backgrounds, all are surrounded by negative influences, including poverty, living in single-parent households, lack of responsible adult role models or mentors, learning disabilities, lack of English fluency, attendance at low-performing schools, and exposure to dangerous neighborhood or family influences such as gang activity, substance abuse, and domestic violence. All of these (and other) negative factors combine, in low-income circumstances, to make these boys more likely than others to drop out of school, have low job and career aspirations, and take up the negative attitudes and behaviors they observe among their peers and nearby adults, thereby nearly ensuring their entrapment in disadvantaged circumstances.

The central goal of Pyles Boys Camp is to create measurable and positive long-term change in the lives of boys in five southern California counties (Santa Barbara, Ventura, Kern, Los Angeles and Orange) who have been identified as being at risk of poor life choices. Participation in our program -- both our summer camp and follow-up activities during the rest of the year -- provides the personal tools that help our boys set meaningful life goals, graduate from high school on time, avoid gangs and crime, attend college or begin careers, and live responsibly and productively as adults. Our boys will rely on their experiences at Pyles Boys Camp to guide them in roles as leaders and contributors in their communities.

Camp activities include horseback riding, a ropes course, archery, athletics, arts and crafts, and a full nature and stargazing program. The highlight of the session is a 5-day backpacking “outcamp" adventure in the Sequoia National Forest which allows our boys to explore an environment far different from their disadvantaged neighborhoods. All activities include positive mentoring, peer support, and confidence-building exercises that inspire our boys to believe in a set of core values -- including honesty, openness, integrity, caring, dependability, fairness, safety, initiative, personal responsibility, and strong work ethics -- that they put into practice during their outcamp experience. When our boys return home, they continue to hold the values they began internalizing during camp. They believe in themselves and their talents, they are far more able to develop and achieve positive life goals, and they are determined to overcome negative circumstances to grow into successful students, family members, and community citizens.

Our program components include:

First Year Camper Program: Boys ages 12-14 years participate in a two-week wilderness experience where they:
Develop self-confidence and socialization skills
Develop personal responsibility and positive work habits
Develop decision-making and conflict resolution skills and the ability to set and achieve goals
Become success- and future-oriented

Second and Third Year Programs: Boys 13-16 years are recruited from the previous year's campers for a more demanding two-week camp experience. Spending most of their time camping in the open wilderness, they:
Increase self-confidence, self-reliance and teamwork
Deepen a sense of personal responsibility and positive work habits
Refine conflict resolution skills and leadership ability
Learn what it means to be a role model for others

Winter Follow-Up Program: Pyles Boys Camp maintains contact with campers over the winter months in the form of reunions, field trips, trainings, letters and phone calls from staff and local contact persons in order to:
Offer ongoing male mentoring and consistent positive adult relationships
Help ensure that campers retain the core values learned at camp when they return home

Leadership Development and Summer Employment Program: Campers who demonstrate leadership potential are invited to this program to act as role models to younger campers, build job skills and:
Expand skills in leadership, supervision, mediation and crisis management
Become proficient in decision-making abilities
Develop effective interpersonal, public speaking and group facilitation skills
Become certified in Safety Awareness, Back-country Emergency Care and EMT Advanced First Aid

College Scholarship Program: Available to Leadership Development Program alumni, scholarships can be used for college or vocational training. Since 1977, 220 boys have received scholarships totaling over $900,000.

R.M. Pyles Boys Camp is located in the Sequoia National Forest, roughly 90 miles from Bakersfield, California. Shelters and other physical facilities at the camp are well-maintained and adequate for the 80 - 100 boys who attend each of our five two-week sessions during the summer. Camp facilities include dormitories, a dining hall, safe swimming venues, an archery range, a ropes course maintained by a certified staff member, a nature center, and a horse stable and corral. The Forest itself has a variety of terrains and many miles of hiking trails and camp facilities. The camp is safe and secure throughout the year. About 30 seasonal staff members, most of them camp alumni, provide services to our boys during the summer.

Pyles Boys Camp is also glad to have the services of hundreds of volunteers who assist our six-member permanent staff throughout the year. Volunteers, who also include many camp alumni in their ranks, work with schools, juvenile justice authorities, and community groups to identify and recruit approximately 500 boys who will attend camp each summer. Volunteers also prepare the camp for occupancy before the summer's first session, and, during the off-summer months, serve as mentors to our boys in the winter follow-up program.

Pyles Boys Camp raises approximately $500,000 each year to cover operational costs, which allows all of our boys to attend camp and participate in the follow-up program at no charge. funding sources include local and national corporations, private foundations, and individuals. We do not accept government funding. Though our fundraising strategies require tremendous effort, the rewards to our boys make our efforts an exceptionally good investment.

Finally, R.M. Pyles Boys Camp has a well-experienced permanent staff of six, three of whom were at one time Pyles campers. Our staff is small, but its efficient conduct of the administrative work of our camp leaves more funding available to serve our campers. Our 37-member Board of Directors includes many long-time friends and enthusiastic supporters of the camp. The Board has recently set in motion the process of defining Pyles Boys Camp operational strategies -- including composition of the Board -- that will keep R.M. Boys Camp thriving for many years to come.

Since its founding in 1949, R.M. Pyles Boys Camp has received more than 27,000 disadvantaged boys from its Southern California service area. We believe that over 60 years of success with our campers is a testament to the effectiveness of our program, and to the loyalty of our communities to Pyles Boys Camp and the work it does. Each year, 400 - 500 new boys enter the Pyles program during the summer and participate in the follow-up program in autumn, winter, and spring. Our volunteer selectors work tirelessly throughout the area to find disadvantaged boys who will benefit from the Pyles program and interest them in joining. Every year our selectors are successful in achieving their goals. So, too, are our annual fundraising efforts. Each year, staff and volunteers work to raise over $500,000 that defrays the cost of our program operations and ensure that our boys -- all of whom come to us from low-income families -- will be able to participate in our program at absolutely no cost to them.

The most important measure of our progress, however, is the long term successes of our alumni. All of our boys enter our program with bleak prospects for their futures. Many are uninterested in school, have poor relationships with peers and adults, or are headed for trouble with the police and other authorities. After participation in our program, equipped with a positive attitude and internal strength that will help each of our boys turn away from negative influences, our campers go on to create productive adult lives that benefit their families and communities. We are proud that our alumni, all of whom once were heading for negative long-term outcomes with the potential to cost taxpayers many thousands of dollars in services, now include teachers, judges, doctors, police officers, social workers, and caring fathers. Many remain friends of the camp for life, serving as role models and mentors to our boys.