In 1985, Pastor Wayne and his wife Diane Tesch saw a need to provide hope to local children in foster care in Costa Mesa, California. The goal was to create moments that matter for 37 children ages 6-12. A week-long summer camp was held in the mountains, and a movement was born.
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 serve children in foster care. Royal Family KIDS was well on its way to reach as many vulnerable children as possible.
In 2008, Royal Family KIDS expanded to include a school year mentoring program. Together with camp, our mentoring program allows children to experience life-changing moments year-round.
In November 2020, the official name of the organization became For The Children allowing greater emphasis on our programs, Royal Family KIDS Camp and Royal Family KIDS Mentoring. This change also acknowledged the broad reach of many of our volunteers in fostering and adoption, advocacy, awareness and more outside of our programs. In nearly every U.S. state and in locations across the globe, For The Children chapters continue to discover these opportunities as they implement Royal Family KIDS Camp and Mentoring programs.
