Our mission at HRF is to improve young lives and create a positive impact across South LA. We invest in students, their families, schools, and communities. We bring youth and parents from Watts and Compton out for a safe, nurturing, and enriching experience at no cost to them, and use that experience to foster positive discourse, provide tools for reflection, and help young men and women set goals to rewrite the future of their schools and communities.
HRF has earned the GuideStar Platinum Seal of Transparency. GuideStar is the world’s largest source of information on nonprofits. The platinum seal means that our organization uses more donation dollars for programming than over 90% of all other registered charities in the USA.
Our Watts community consists of hard-working families with few resources available to provide the support students need to thrive. Parents work long hours and often several jobs to provide the basic necessities for their families, creating a void during critical hours after-school and limited capacity to help with homework or issues children may be dealing with in life.
Physical and mental health, social-emotional well-being, and positive role models are undeniably linked with academic success. However, the basic fundamentals of quality primary education often don’t reach poor communities. These roadblocks include overflowing classrooms with 40 students to 1 teacher, outdated/limited supplies including books and other basic resources, police officers on campus, and little-to-no technology. These challenges hinder the students’ ability to believe in a better future or to see their own inherent potential.
Violence and oppression within many marginalized communities create enormous obstacles for the families that live within them. Cornered between economic and criminal justice systems that have built the school-to-prison pipeline, along with the desperation of gang cultures that plague our most vulnerable communities, families struggle to create a better life for their children. Our youth often live entirely within a three-block radius with access to the safety and opportunities they deserve lying outside of their reach.
The transition into middle school can be one of the most difficult periods in a young person’s life. Everything is changing: their academic responsibilities, social lives, and bodies. In our most vulnerable communities, there can be the added stressors of negative influences such as gangs and drugs. We intentionally work with this population to support our youth through their individual journeys and help guide their goals and desires towards a positive life path.
Our flagship program brings school groups of 100 students and 36 adults to the Angeles National Forest for three days - the retreat is hosted at Canyon Creek Complex, an ACA accredited site. For some of our youth and families, the retreat represents their first significant trip outside of the LA metro area. Learn More
Camp Ubuntu Watts gives children from the Watts community a safe, fun, and educational outlet for 6 weeks every summer right in their community. Learn More
Pedal on the Pier is an outdoor physical philanthropy FUNraising event for the Watts Community. The event has over 100 teams pedaling on stationary bikes aimed at raising more than $1 million for the Watts Community. The event has consistently funded all Camp Ubuntu programming needs each year since its inception. Learn More
We know that it takes a village to raise our children. Extended family, friends, and positive role models all contribute to the successful development of our young people. The work we do at HRF is successful because of the commitment our Watts community has to support each generation of youth to see their inherent value and pursue their greatest potential. Learn More
We hold various publicly-available and private events throughout the year to bring communities together and raise funds for Camp Ubuntu. These events include ‘Pedal on the Pier,’ ‘Ubuntu in Motion,’ ‘Peace, Love & Funk,’ ‘Artists in Support of Camp Ubuntu, ’Cocktails for Camp,’ and more.>
Over the past 12 years, we have worked closely with over 30 schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District to create a positive impact and development opportunities for more than 12,000 kids. We have expanded some of our most impactful programs for youth who want to get involved, and have exponentially increased the participation and success of our donor events.
A Camp Ubuntu Specialist can volunteer at our Camp Retreats or any other camp event that requires their specific specialty. Examples: Yoga Instructor, Art Teacher, Skateboard Instructor, Swim Teacher, Dance Teacher, Writing Teacher, etc. See how you can be a Camp Ubuntu Specialist below.
A Mentor Volunteer is crucial in creating personal relationships with the kids during retreats and focusing on connecting with the children themselves while the counselors lead the group throughout the retreat. Read more about being a Mentor below.
LIT is for anyone who is still in high school and wants to give back to the community. We have roughly 60 LITs each year come to camp to volunteer as young mentors, which often results in creating valuable lifelong bonds with our campers that so many are otherwise deprived of. Find out how to be a Leader in Training below.
The foundation presents a myriad of opportunities for businesses to provide in-kind donations. At Camp Ubuntu and Camp Ubuntu Watts, we supply our kids with everything they’ll need like warm coats, gloves, and scarves to swimsuits, t-shirts, and art supplies. At our fundraising events, in-kind donations are key to our success.
At Camp Ubuntu, we aim to create meaningful experiences that camp participants can cherish forever. In order to capture that footage, we are constantly on the lookout for videographers and photographers that are able to connect with kids (and beef up their portfolio). Inquire about being a camp videographer/photographer here.
We host several fundraising events every year and are always on the lookout for volunteers to help the day of the event. Check out our list of events to see how you can help.
Curious about the funny looking characters all over our site? We’re glad you noticed! They happen to be some of the little creatures from Camp Ubuntu’s most popular campfire song, “Moose, Alpaca.”
Not all campfire songs make much sense, and this one might be the king of nonsense! A ‘repeat after me’ song, Moose Alpaca, is sung in crazy, frantic unison of moose, alpacas, and unicorns. Throw in some mustaches, ninjas, and pufferfish, and you have yourself one of our all-time favorite camp songs performed at nearly every campfire and every school visit.
A 501 (C) (3) CHARITY ORGANIZATION
FEDERAL TAX ID # 26-4807035
Mailing Address:
6300 Wilshire Boulevard,
Suite 880
Los Angeles, CA 90048
Creating safe spaces is one of the most important aspects of all of our Camp Ubuntu programs, and the mentorship program has been a profound addition to virtual experiences. Teenagers gather weekly with young adult mentors in a safe space to share their successes and challenges, thoughts on current events, and hope for their future.
Meeting the basic needs of our families has been imperative during the current crisis. Lack of access to fresh, healthy food is one of our students’ and families' ongoing challenges. HRF partnered with Sunrise Produce and Dole Foods to provide close to 340,000 lbs of restaurant-quality fresh produce, protein, and dairy with the support of community partners such as Watts Empowerment Center and Think Watts, who helped us distribute our food to thousands of families in need. We will continue our food distributions as long as necessary during this pandemic.
Through our work at the Markham Middle School garden, we bring inspiration and gardening knowledge to the community. Participants collaborate on building, preparing, and cultivating garden beds where they can watch their efforts come to life and share the produce with their families. Our community garden project promotes physical activity, exploration of nature, and the joy of developing our own healthy food sources. Most importantly, it teaches our children to be environmental stewards who care for their planet.
NOTE: During current social distance guidelines, our community garden project is being offered virtually, providing students with individual plant boxes, all necessary supplies, and a virtual engagement opportunity to work together and share the successes of growing our own food.
Creative Arts is one of the most important tools for our developing youth. Through our Camp Ubuntu 2.0 virtual program, we provided participants with “camp in a box,” including all of the supplies they need to actively participate in art workshops with our specialists and counselors to make projects like lava lamps and vision boards.
Camp Ubuntu 2.0 participants have been able to continue engagement in some of their favorite activities at weekend camp retreats. Virtual dance workshops offer attendees a fun way to see their friends and get moving to hip hop music, practice some of their favorite tik tok dances, and learn some new moves with our professionally-trained teaching artists.
Yoga workshops at Camp Ubuntu 2.0 have proven to be an important outlet for helping our students create quiet, mindful space in their lives to practice the breathing techniques and body awareness elements that our engaging yoga teaching artists guide them through. We sometimes get the giggles and jitters while moving through poses, but that’s all part of the fun of practicing yoga together.
Special time with Camp Ubuntu counselors is one of the highlights for our young campers. It alleviates some of the social isolation they may be experiencing. Our counselors are mentors and positive role models who make our campers feel safe and comfortable sharing challenges they are experiencing, singing silly camp songs, and enjoying s’mores, while imagining they’re gathering together around a burning campfire out in the forest. We deliver hot chocolate and snacks to all of our campers who sign up.
What makes us stand apart from other camp programs is that we bring parents, teachers, and community leaders to our weekend retreats for the purpose of witnessing the emotions, experiences, and enlightenment of our students. This is critical for those closest to our students to help them bring home the skills learned as well as help the adult role models in their lives to more deeply understand the challenges and concerns our young people are facing.
The school administrators, community leaders, and partner organizations also play a critical role in our ability to access the greatest number of students and establish a holistic support system for them to reach their greatest potential.
Artists in Support of Camp Ubuntu
We held a virtual art auction curated by art advisors Jacquie Israel (Arthouse LA) and Lisa Gelber (Venice Art Walk), and gallery owner Terrell Tilford of Band of Vices. The wide variety of work in the auction included painting, photography, mixed media, neon, and sculpture, along with some unique, art-related experiences. It also featured a special creative work by Bob Dylan.
Peace, Love & Funk
Peace, Love & Funk is an annual benefit concert. In 2020 it was hosted by Chali 2na of Jurassic 5 and featured a powerful line-up of funk and R&B performers led by renowned drummer Nikki Glaspie (formerly with Beyoncé.) These top musicians came together for a unique jam experience to raise funds for Camp Ubuntu. There were performances by The Nth Power and Ghost -Note, along with special guests including Amanda Brown (The Voice, The Killers), Robert "Sput" Searight (Snarky Puppy, Kendrick Lamar), Sylvester Onejiaka aka Sly5thAve (Prince), and musicians representing members of Snoop Dogg, Erykah Badu, Herbie Hancock, Kendrick Lamar, Marcus Miller, Toto, and Justin Timberlake.
Cocktails for Camp
Cocktails for Camp is an intimate gathering hosted in a private home or event space. The design and feel is up the host but leave the programming and planning to HRF. Cocktails for Camp allows for an up-close look into the HRF mission through real-life testimonials from campers, families, educators, and community leaders.
Curious about the funny looking characters all over our site? We're glad you noticed! They happen to be some of the little creatures from Camp Ubuntu's most popular campfire song, "Moose, Alpaca."
Not all campfire songs make much sense, and this one might be the king of nonsense! A 'repeat after me' song, Moose Alpaca, is sung in crazy, frantic unison of moose, alpacas, and unicorns. Throw in some mustaches, ninjas, and pufferfish, and you have yourself one of our all-time favorite camp songs performed at nearly every campfire and every school visit.
