About
In 1985, Pastor Wayne Tesch saw a need to provide hope to local foster children in Costa Mesa, California. The result — a week-long summer camp was held in the mountains. The goal — to create moments that matter for foster children ages 6-12.
From 1990 to 2008, the organization steadily grew, serving more and more children each year and equipping more leaders from churches around the world to be able to serve children in foster care. Royal Family KIDS was well on its way to realize that its ultimate mission — to serve every foster child, ages 6-12 — could be possible.
In 2011, the Core Team for the Lewiston Royal Family KIDS Camp went to training to learn how to start a camp. The first Lewiston Camp was held in 2012, after a year of preparation and fundraising. Between the years of 2012 and 2023, 503 Royal Family KIDS Camp volunteers made a difference in the lives of 307 under-privileged children from our area.
As of November 2020, Royal Family KIDS officially became For The Children. This change acknowledges the broad reach of many of our chapters in advocacy, awareness, fostering and adoption, volunteer engagement and more. In nearly every U.S. state and in locations across the globe, For The Children chapters discover these opportunities as they implement Royal Family KIDS Camp and Mentoring models.
Same Heart, New Name, Bigger Impact
We are now For The Children and here's why.
For 30 years volunteers, churches, businesses, local municipal partners, and Royal Family KIDS staff have dedicated their time, talent, and treasures to help transform the lives of vulnerable children across the US and the world.
While Royal Family KIDS has formally overseen our camps and mentoring programs, the breadth of our work has evolved far beyond these two programs. Today, our different chapters may provide anything from direct trauma intervention to advocacy, fostering, adoption, support to parents, and other crucial wraparound services.
While we acknowledge the expansion of our work across our 252 chapters, COVID-19 has profoundly increased the needs of children and families. Extreme gaps in fulfilling these needs cannot be overstated.
In order to address the systemic issues surrounding child welfare today, our organization must respond.
Consequently, as of November 2020, the Royal Family KIDS national office was renamed For The Children. This transition sought to bring clarity to new opportunities from providing laptops and shoes to needy children, to assisting overburdened social workers, to providing temporary shelter.
The teaching and example of Jesus in caring for “the least of these” will remain our motivation. As For The Children we are eager to focus on the systemic issues facing children around the globe.
