Project: Camp, a non-profit organization, is helping kids and their families impacted by the devastating wildfires in Southern California by establishing camps that are encouraging play and connections.

Los Angeles

More than a thousand structures have been destroyed and lives lost as wildfires sweep across parts of Los Angeles.

LA Wildfires

Project: Camp, a non-profit organization, has been offering support to children and families affected by the recent wildfires in Southern California. The organization has set up ten pop-up day camps across Los Angeles and Santa Barbara as a response to the crisis. These camps aim to provide a space for children to play and connect, allowing their parents to manage the necessary steps during these challenging times.

Founded by Mikey Lautner, Project: Camp focuses on creating trauma-informed spaces for children impacted by natural disasters. Through activities and games, the organization strives to lower stress levels and provide therapeutic benefits. As a result, children can momentarily escape the uncertainty associated with the destruction of homes and disruption to education.

Beyond the current situation in California, Project: Camp has previously responded to various natural disasters across the United States, including wildfires, hurricanes, and flooding. The organization has a history of assisting communities in need, having supported victims of past California wildfires such as the Dixie and Calder Fires. Project: Camp relies on donations to offer their services free of charge to affected families, highlighting the importance of childcare in disaster relief efforts.



Non-profit helps kids impacted by devastating California wildfires

the trauma of the law of the Los Angeles wildfires destroying destroyed homes, schools and communities for hundreds of families. Project Camp is a non-profit that creates free pop-up day camps to help kids after natural disasters. Mikey Lautner is the founder and executive director of Project Camp. Thanks so much for being with us. Thank you, it's good to be here, appreciate it. Mikey, can you explain how and where Project Camp has been helping in the LA area? Yes, yeah, since the disaster hit, we've opened 10 camps across both west and east Los Angeles as well as in Santa Barbara for kids who have been impacted by the fire, whether they've been evacuated, displaced from their homes, their schools, all over Southern California. And what kinds of activities and mental health support does Project Camp volunteers provide the kids? Project Camp, we provide a free trauma-informed day camp for creating a space for kids to be kids and allowing parents to do the things that they need to do to navigate emergency services and rebuild their lives. So our kids are in activities, sports throughout the day, circle games, really taking advantage of the healing therapeutic power of play to lower their stress and help them navigate this difficult period. And what have you seen kids going through these weeks? How does Project Camp help parents try to navigate the disaster? The biggest thing that both our kids and our parents are facing is just uncertainty of what's next. Our kids were torn from their homes, they don't know if they'll be going back to school, where they'll be going back to school, and the same for their parents. School, child care, there is a central pillar to community, to society, to economy. So parents understanding where their kid's going to be in school next has an implication for how they'll be able to get to work, where they're going to be living. And so being able to navigate that uncertainty, creating the space for them to do so, has been really important for our families. Now the organization, excuse me, the organization started in California in 2018. Were there other disasters, other disasters Project Camp helped children and their families? Yes, yeah, Project Camp is a national organization, so we've responded to wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes flooding across the country. In California, we responded to the Dixie Fire 2021, Calder Fire, a few other larger Northern California wildfires. And as climate change increases the frequency and severity of disaster, that stuff is becoming ever more frequent and ever more severe. You are doing some incredible work. How can people who are watching right now and listening to this help? Thank you. Yeah, I really appreciate that. You know, for us, really being able to uplift the need for child care as a part of disaster relief. So our work is free for the communities we serve. It's free for all the families that send their kids to camp. And we're supported by donors, large and small, that make this work possible. All right, Mikey Lattner from California Project Camp, helping children out. We thank you so much for joining us in all of the things that you're doing. Thank you. It's a pleasure.

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LA Wildfires