After two-year hiatus, Easter Caravan returns this spring
Easter Caravan campers in 2019. The Downey Foundation for Educational Opportunities is bringing back Easter Caravan this April. (Courtesy photo)
DOWNEY — The renowned Easter Caravan outdoor adventure for boys is returning this year, April 9-16, and organizers are keen to alert Downey families.
After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID pandemic, Easter Caravan is once again taking applications from Downey boys in middle school and ninth grade. Space is limited to 60 campers with slots allocated on a first-come, first-serve basis. The fee is $100 and scholarships are available.
The campsite is part of a federal recreation area along Lake Mojave near the Colorado River, just north of Davis Dam. The boys sleep in individual tents, the federal government maintains three outhouses, and supplies are available in Bullhead City—15 miles away.
While there may not be cellphone service, activities include 21st-century fun. In addition to the traditional camping, hiking, and fishing, the young campers can enjoy water skiing, wake boarding, boating, inner tubing, kayaking, and mountain biking.
“It’s a very beautiful area,” says Tod Corrin, former board member of the Downey Unified School District and Caravan organizer since its inception in 1973. “There’s canyons and hills, large bushes, a few cottonwood trees on the edge of the lake. We’re exposing kids to a wonderful area of nature.”
This year is Corrin’s 50th anniversary as organizer. He was a young man in his early twenties when the first Caravan set out. For six years he led the group as a paid staff member of the Downey Family YMCA. Seeing the impact on the lives of young boys was such a moving experience for Corrin that he has continued leading the annual excursion as a volunteer for over forty years.
“I get more out of it than the kids every single year,” Corrin affirms. “Kids have experiences they’ve never had before, and they come back telling their families how wonderful it was.” He describes seeing someone at a store or business who would ask if he “was the guy who does Easter Caravan?”
“It was so enjoyable,” Corrin continues, “to see these kids who were older, in their teens, their twenties, their thirties, and they would say, ‘That was the best experience of my life. I had a great time at Easter Caravan.’ And that’s exactly why I still do it.”
Corrin’s all-volunteer leadership team shares his feelings and many return annually to assist with the event even if they have moved out of state.
The camp’s focus is on middle school students, Corrin explains, because “the kids are very impressionable. They’re looking for what their direction in life is going to be.” He believes that offering new experiences and the opportunity to interact with adult staff who are successful will help the boys make good decisions in life.
Camp supervision, with eight directors and 34 counselors, approaches a 1:1 ratio of supervisors to campers. In addition, there are 15 junior counselors, high school students from tenth through twelfth grade.
“They go as a training experience,” says Corrin, “so hopefully they will be a counselor someday.”
Doty Middle School teacher Gordon Sodetani first attended as a sixth-grader in 2008. When his father died unexpectedly, his mother grew concerned about having male role models in his life.
“I instantly fell in love with it,” says Sodetani, referring to the camp. “I went all four years, I got all my friends to go, and it had a profound impact on my life.”
Sodetani continued on as a junior counselor in high school, and then as a counselor when he started college. Since first participating as a sixth-grader, Sodetani has missed only one year of Easter Caravan.
“The takeaway for me,” explains Sodetani, “is that it fills a void of not having a male role model. Many kids have similar stories like me. They come from single-parent households, maybe for a variety of reasons. It gives them an opportunity to interact with people who will take the time to listen to them and hear their story. At the end of the day, most of those kids just want to be heard and know that someone cares.”
A Family Tradition
The Easter Caravan has become a tradition for Corrin’s entire family. Corrin’s two sons, Philip and Benjamin, use vacation time from their jobs to serve as staff even though they live in Texas.
“Both my sons attended as tagalongs when they were little,” says Corrin. “They also attended all four years when they were eligible as campers, then as junior counselors, and then counselors.” This year Corrin says his grandson will also be attending as a tagalong.
The annual funding for Easter Caravan reflects the broad support among current and past residents of Downey. Corrin estimates the yearly budget for items like food and transportation (labor is volunteered) at $25,000. Only $6,000 is collected from camperships. Corrin says the balance of the money raised each year comes largely from individuals connected with Downey.
Up until two years ago, the Easter Caravan operated with the Downey Family YMCA as the organizing sponsor. When the YMCA could no longer continue in this role, Caravan organizers approached the Downey Foundation for Educational Opportunity (DFEO), which has an office at the school district headquarters.
Sheila Tetangco-Bartolone, DFEO’s executive director, says the foundation quickly agreed to be the organizing sponsor.
“We said absolutely,” she reports. “We’ll help you and advertise for you and get the word out because we believe clearly that this is such an important thing for young boys. Our mission is to do everything we can to prepare our DUSD students to be successful individuals and this just fell right in.”
Downey school board member Martha Sodetani encourages parents and teachers to refer young boys to the program who might benefit, even if the family does not have the funds. Gangs Out of Downey (GOOD) and RMI International (a local company) together sponsor 13 camperships.
“I can be contacted at msodetani@gmail.com,” offers Sodetani.
COVID virus vaccinations are not required for students to participate, and masks are not required at the outdoor camp. But as a precaution, Corrin says campers and staff will be asked to wear masks while traveling on buses.
Interested families can see pictures of the Easter Caravan experience and learn more details on the website EasterCaravan.com. Information and application forms are also available at DFEO.org/ecaravan.
