Closing this chapter – For The Children | Royal Family KIDS

Friends, volunteers, donors, supporters and partners –

As we mentioned in our last newsletter, our leadership team met this week to discuss our chapter’s future. The hard decision was made to close the doors to our chapter. It has become clear that our community simply does not have the capacity to fulfil the volunteer roles needed to sustain the ministry goals at this time.

We are immensely grateful for each and every person who has in any way contributed to the success we’ve had over the last several years. Whether you feel you played a large or small part … whether only recently … years ago … or since our inception … we were only able to accomplish all that we have because of each one of you.

We celebrate that our ministry has been able to touch hundreds of children’s lives, as well as their foster, adoptive and kinship families, since we first began its launch in fall of 2016. By summer of 2017, we were able to send a team to the week-long leadership training in Nebraska. And by July 2018, we were able to host our first week-long summer camp of our own, serving 24 children. It’s been an honor and privilege to get to walk alongside some of those same children from that first summer, all the way until our last holiday party in May. And we cherish each life we were able to speak into, if even for just a week one summer.

FUNDS AND SUPPLIES

As all of our donations received were intended for summer camp and mentoring programs for children who have experienced foster care, we will be reaching out to other Royal Family KIDS chapters closest to us (northern Oregon and throughout Washington) to offer them first dibs on the supplies in our storage area, as well as possible financial gifts. Once they have taken all of the supplies they can use, we will invite foster families and other local nonprofits that serve children in foster care and youth in general.

We’ve received six large donations since last December from various individuals and companies, totaling $27,175 and will reach out to those donors to ascertain their wishes for their donated funds, before bequeathing any monetary donations to other chapters.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

The majority of our supplies are currently filling 3 self-storage units in Longview, WA. We are working out the logistics of pulling everything out so that representatives from the Oregon and Washington chapters are able to select the items that could benefit their ministries. Please watch for a sign up form coming out soon to volunteer for a shift (tentatively scheduled for Friday afternoon/evening Aug 15, Sat, Aug 16 or Sun, Aug 17).

OTHER FOSTER YOUTH ORGANIZATIONS

There are a number of other organizations doing wonderful work in our community. Please consider joining us as we each individually choose another outlet for our service.

Serving children in foster care or trauma situations:

Royal Family KIDS Camps – you can still serve at camp with other chapters each summer! Click here to find other chapters world-wide!
Fosterful – Creating stability and belonging for children experiencing foster care. Options include a) sitting with children when they first come into the child welfare office and are awaiting a home, b) providing after-school care, transportation support, and essential companionship or c) providing essential support during school supply drives, holiday toy giveaways, or caregiver appreciation activities.
Cowlitz County Child Advocates (formerly: CASA) – a powerful voice representing the best interest of children who are subject to child welfare and court intervention due to abandonment, abuse, or neglect. CCCA strives to ensure each child has a volunteer Guardian ad Litem to advocate for the child’s unique physical, educational, cultural, and religious needs and to promote maintenance of familiar relationships and permanency.
Children’s Justice & Advocacy Center – serve children and families affected by child abuse and provide a collaborative and compassionate community response. The Multidisciplinary (MDT) Team Investigation is the heart of CJAC’s response to allegations of child abuse. The MDT allows for a prompt, sensitive, interagency response to reports of alleged child sexual abuse and serious physical abuse, as well as child witnesses to violence. The MDT also provides extensive supportive and follow-up services to children and their families.
YoungLives* (teen parents) – YoungLives is an outreach and mentoring program for pregnant and parenting teenagers, up to age 21.
Janus Youth Programs – Serving youth who are living on the streets or in other high-risk situations, have experienced abuse and neglect, are young parents supporting children with little or no resources, are incarcerated, have no access to higher education by providing shelter and housing, teaching young parents positive parenting and child-development skills, connecting youth with college scholarships and more.

Other programs open to all youth:

YoungLife* – show young people how much God cares about them by showing up in their world and sharing the message of God’s love through Jesus in ways and words they could understand and relate to through small group gatherings, mentoring and youth camps.
Children’s Discovery Museum – a free, child-friendly space in Cowlitz County where children and their families can engage in imaginative, interactive hands on learning of the arts, science, and social play. Exhibits include the nature niche (microscopes, bugs, and other cool science stuff), a farm to market equipped with fruits, vegies, a kitchen to “cook” in, and a dining area for serving up whatever their imagination has created! We have giant building logs, a doctor and dental office, dress-up, a bowling lane, our famous ping-pong shower, and much more!

*indicates Christian organizations

We know that the impact our volunteers had in the lives of each child we served was meaningful and eternal. Love is never wasted. Our children got to experience amazing moments with people who showed them the love of their Heavenly Father and learned that there are good people in the world. And our lives were changed for the better, as well. We will continue praying for these precious children and will always be thankful for our time with each of them … and with each of you.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 “For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven”

For the children, always,

Your Leadership Team
Ella Avalon, Angie Hall, Joyce London, Jess McCloud, Lisé Taylor, Tyler Tremain

The mission of For The Children is to transform our local community by interrupting cycles of neglect, abuse, and abandonment of children in the foster care system. Too often these children, who have experienced family-induced trauma, find themselves on paths to academic failure, drug abuse, teen pregnancy, sex trafficking, homelessness, and incarceration.

At our Royal Family KIDS summer camps – and other programs throughout the year – dedicated to changing the trajectory of these young lives, we strive to plant seeds of hope, happiness, and wholeness. By helping to heal the scars of the past, we hope to aid these children in transforming into resilient adults with the ability to overcome challenges and be successful and healthy members of our community.

Our non-profit organization runs 100% on generous donations from compassionate donors and is 100% staffed by volunteers.

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