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ROYAL FAMILY KIDS CAMP

About For The Children and its Royal Family KIDS Programs

When a child comes into foster care because of abuse or neglect in a family relationship, the hurt is deeper than any physical wound. Relational trauma impacts a child's ability to form healthy relationships with others, changing the way they view and respond to the world around them. Ultimately, these responses result in inter-generational cycles of harm for children, families, and our society.

With the conviction that God cares deeply for these precious children, For The Children mobilizes the local church to intervene. For nearly 40 years, our Royal Family KIDS programs have created life-changing moments for children between the ages of 6 and 12 through our network of church-led chapters.

Our five-day summer camp is where kids get to be kids - often for the first time in their young lives. They hear about God's love, and they experience God's creation through outdoor adventures. Using Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI), a framework focused on connection as the basis of transformation, more than 10,000 volunteers provide nurturing care to help children heal and thrive.

Learn more about For The Children and its Royal Family KIDS programs.

The East Ohio Conference aims to:

• raise awareness to the 17,000 (over 3,000 now in Cuyahoga County) children in Ohio’s foster care placement system.
• strengthen and diversify the existing camps within the boundaries of the East Ohio Conference.
• widen the reach and increase the number of children who can experience the healing of God’s love at camp.
  • by increasing and strengthening staff at the four existing camps.
  • by potentially increasing the number of churches and participants involved, eventually seeing new camps being chartered through partnerships.
• broaden advocacy of the number of adults who know the devastating numbers impacting individuals, communities, and society in general about the pandemic horror of child abuse and neglect.
• identify a camp site which would allow children and volunteers more prime weeks in the summer to gather in an affordable space.

Get Involved

Caring United Methodists are invited to start small by attending leadership team meetings, committing to a day of training, visiting camp for a day, or attending a week of camp with the kids. Think about attending a fundraiser to learn more about our current camps, invite a speaker to your church on a Sunday morning for a brief mission moment or to a midweek group. We would be so thankful for you to begin to pray about being in partnership with a current East Ohio Conference church or to begin a camp in your own church or a cluster of United Methodist churches working together in covenant with God for these amazing kids. There are so many meaningful and practical ways to get involved offering a child in our foster system a moment of Christ's love.

Summer Camp

Reach out to the contact person below for questions or more information:

Director: Jen Comella, Northampton UMC, E-mail
Camp Dates May 30-June 3, 2025
Training Dates TBD

Co-Directors: Brian and Chris Sheetz, Strongsville UMC, E-mail
Camp Dates July 14-18, 2025
Training Date July 13, 2025

Co-Directors Jen and Francisco Gonzalez, Willoughby Hills UMC, E-mail
Camp Dates June 6-11, 2025
Training Dates TBD

Speakers

Speakers are willing to travel to your church midweek or Sundays. Sue Puffer (former camp director), Glenn Michalski (camp staff recruiter), Lisa McGreal (camp counselor volunteer staff), Matt Stone (director of Strongsville UMC Camp Confidence teen boys camp), Jen Phillips, (director of Camp Confidence teen girls camp). E-mail Rev. Cindy Patterson or Rev. Dave Scavuzzo to schedule a date for a speaker to visit your church

Resources