The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians has donated $100,000 to the Los Padres Council, Boy Scouts of America capital campaign to rebuild Camp Rancho Alegre, which is rising from the ashes of the 2017 Whittier Fire.
The blaze scorched more than 18,000 acres in the Santa Ynez Mountains, destroying 16 homes near Highway 154, and decimating 47 of the 50 structures at Camp Rancho Alegre, which served as both a camping destination for the Boy Scouts of America and a unique educational experience for schoolchildren at The Outdoor School for more than 50 years.
The camp’s reconstruction effort is showing progress with elements to be reintroduced in phases, but critical funds are still needed to complete the $18 million project.
“The donation from the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians has been very impactful,” said Carlos Cortez, scout executive and CEO of Los Padres Council, Boy Scouts of America.
“Not only is it helping to bridge the gap in terms of the funding we need in order to rebuild, but it has also inspired others to contribute because it shows that someone else wholeheartedly believes in what we’re trying to accomplish here,” he said.
The funds donated by the tribe were raised during the 2019 Chumash Charity Golf Classic, a two-day tournament that benefitted the Los Padres Council, Boy Scouts of America capital campaign and the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Foundation’s Technology in Schools Program, which is aimed at fulfilling high-tech needs in Santa Barbara County classrooms.
“Rancho Alegre has been a special place where generations have come here as youths to learn valuable lessons in the great outdoors,” said Kenneth Kahn, tribal chairman of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. “We’re looking forward to seeing the camp operating at full capacity once again, and we’re proud to support the fundraising efforts for the reconstruction project.”
The mission of Los Padres Council, Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people in all of our communities to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law.
For more information on the Camp Rancho Alegre rebuild project and how to make a donation, visit https://www.lpcbsa.org/rancho-alegre-reconstruction/.
Since its inaugural event in 2005, the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians’ annual golf tournament has raised $1.6 million for local charities and nonprofits. Past beneficiaries include the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation, Dream Foundation, Court Appointed Special Advocates of Santa Barbara County, Lompoc Family YMCA, Unity Shoppe, local schools and museums.
The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians has donated more than $25 million to hundreds of groups, organizations and schools in the community and across the nation as part of the tribe’s long-standing tradition of giving.