Young Girl’s Memory Lives on Through Camp Diva

Camp Diva is celebrating it’s fifth anniversary as a Richmond non-profit that helps African-American girls learn skills that will help them be responsible adults and lead more rewarding lives. The organization is named after a young girl named Diva who was killed while handling a gun in her Richmond home.

By Jaclyn O’Laughlin

The legacy of a five-year-old girl named Diva, who was killed while playing with a gun at her Richmond home, continues to live on through this area non-profit.

Camp Diva is celebrating its fifth anniversary, thanks to founder and executive director Angela Patton. Her main vision for the organization is to prepare young African-American girls to be responsible adults and to live a more rewarding life.
“Camp Diva prepares girls for the passage into womanhood,” Patton said.

The Organization’s Vision

Initially, the organization was only going to be a two-week camp for girls. But, Diva’s death inspired Patton to expand the program, which at that point lacked a name and a strong mission and vision.

According to Patton, Diva’s mother Clover Smith, named her daughter after researching the meaning of the word “diva” and finding that it was an appropriate fit for a young girl, since it means a woman whose mind, body and soul are in balance.

After Diva’s death, Patton’s focus became clear and the program became geared towards teaching African American women between the ages of 11 and 17, “everything a woman would encounter in life,” Patton said.

Patton and her volunteers have worked with more than 275 girls in the Richmond area and have taught them a wide variety of subjects including financial management, how to have healthy relationships, critical thinking skills, career development, community outreach, and parenting skills.

The Camp’s Evolution

Ashlee Miller, a camp volunteer, has seen the program evolve substantially over the years to include an after school program, summer camp and entrepreneurship classes.

“I love it so much,” she said.

Camp Diva helps ease the transition into adulthood by teaching teenagers’ life skills and sex education information.
Richmond resident and parent Jackie Pryor, who is a firm believer in the club and has enrolled her daughter Asia Rather in the program, likes that the club teaches the participants sex education.

“It teaches them that ‘abstinence’ is a good word and how to love themselves,” she said.

The club has also taught Pryor’s daughter how to interact with other girls.

“They talk about issues as opposed to lashing out at each other,” she said.

Diva Club participant Kandia Shabazz, 12, has also benefited from interacting with fellow club members. She has applied that knowledge to a recent problem with a girl at school.

“I have learned to be mature and ignore her and live life,” she said.

As Camp Diva matures and grows along with the girls in the program, 17-year-old LaShae Christian serves as an example of Patton’s Diva Camp success.
Christian came to the camp not excelling in academics, but that has since changed.

“I wasn’t making good grades at first and now I am,” she said.

The program has helped her see all the opportunities that are available to her.

“I want to go to college and become a lawyer,” Christian said.

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