Youth Support

Both the Royal Family KIDS Camp and Mentoring programs are rooted within a local church. If you think this would make an impact in  your community, start by connecting with church leadership to see if this is the right fit for the church's mission. It’s also important to consider the commitment and costs involved in launching and sustaining these programs long-term.  

Once a church decides that it is interested in launching a Royal Family KIDS Camp and/or Mentoring program, it identifies 3-5 volunteer leaders to attend training. (See more details in the dropdown titled ‘Do you offer training?’). The church continues to provide oversight and support to this volunteer leadership team.

Royal Family KIDS Camp is held for 5 days during a chosen week in the summer. Some churches utilize their own camp facility or a denomination camp to host this week. Other churches seek a camp or retreat facility in their area similar to what they would use for other youth activities.

Royal Family KIDS Mentoring is held during the school year, with once-a-month ‘club-like’ gatherings at the church and paired volunteer mentors for each participating child. 

These programs can be implemented in tandem, offering continued support for campers throughout the year, or a church can determine which of the two best suits their capabilities and the community’s needs.

Children currently in or recently impacted by the foster care system are the best place to start when identifying potential campers or mentorship participants, but there are likely many other families in vulnerable situations in the community who would also benefit greatly from the support of camp and mentoring. This process of identifying potential campers is covered in more detail during training.

Training is the initial investment to launch a camp or mentoring program. Cost varies based on program type and the number of people attending the training (3 trained volunteers minimum per program), with total cost ranging somewhere from $1,050 to $3,625. 

Ongoing costs are covered entirely by the host church through fundraising – families don’t pay to send their child to camp or mentoring. The following are estimated costs to host the camp or mentoring programs, which scales depending on the number of children served:

• Royal Family KIDS Camp: Approximately $750 per child. Churches using their own or a denomination-affiliated facility will typically see this cost reduced significantly.
• Royal Family KIDS Mentoring: Approximately $150 per child. Typically, the annual program cost for most churches is $3,000. 

The cost to run these programs is meant to be fundraised outside of the church’s regular budget. The For the Children team provides extensive training in fundraising and budgeting to help your chapter build a program that's fully funded by what you raise.

An overseeing pastor from the host church needs to be involved and give approval to implementation of the Camp and/or Mentoring program. 

A trained leadership team of volunteers (3-5) is necessary for the implementation of the Camp or Mentoring program. This team should anticipate meeting together approximately once a month for the 10 months leading up to a camp (September to May if camp is held in June or July). 

Additional volunteers will be needed for the various needs that come with hosting the Camp or Mentoring program.

Social services, local agencies, foster parents, and caregivers of campers will need to be connected with and communicated to approximately once a month from January to August in the year that the camp is held.

The Camp program takes about 10 months of planning in advance of holding the camp, whereas the Mentoring program takes about 4-6 months of planning. 

Initial training for the volunteer leadership team is offered each year in two formats: In-person at a camp for a week, or virtually for 4 days (each day includes all-day training). 

Ongoing training and resources are also available virtually, through online videos, and at the annual leadership training conference. Each host church is assigned a ‘Chapter Success Representative’ who is available to answer any questions and meet with regularly.

Yes, For the Children is a CAFO member organization.