Nearly 200 Royal Family KIDS Camp programs open this summer, and a former camper who found her adoptive family through the program has joined For The Children's board of directors

SANTA ANA, Calif. - Nearly 200 Royal Family KIDS Camp programs will open this summer across 45 states and 10 countries, welcoming thousands of children in foster care for five days of camp focused on safety, trust and belonging.

For The Children, a nonprofit headquartered in Santa Ana, equips churches to host five-day summer camps for children in foster care ages 6 to 12. Each camp is volunteer-run, offered at no cost to children or caregivers, and built around consistent relationships with trained adult counselors.

This year’s camp season also brings a first for the organization: Samantha Orr, Ed.D., a former Royal Family KIDS camper who met the family that later adopted her at camp, is now serving on For The Children’s board of directors.

“Camp was where I found my family,” Orr said. “It was one week that became the rest of my life. I know what it means for a child to walk into that place and feel, maybe for the first time, that they are safe, that they are seen, that they belong. Every child in foster care deserves that experience.”

Orr attended Royal Family KIDS Camp in Missouri for the first time in 2002 after entering foster care at age 8, following severe abuse and neglect. She met a volunteer at camp who began fostering her on weekends and later adopted her. Orr went on to become valedictorian and student body president of her high school. She earned a doctorate in education and now serves as a middle school assistant principal. She recently became the first Royal Family KIDS Camp alumna elected to For The Children’s board.

Royal Family KIDS Camp uses Trust-Based Relational Intervention, or TBRI®, a trauma-informed, attachment-centered model developed at the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development at Texas Christian University.  TBRI is based on the understanding that children who have experienced early relational trauma heal through safe, consistent and caring relationships.

At camp, each child is paired with a trained adult counselor whose role is to be present, steady and consistent throughout the week. Activities, meals and daily interactions are guided by TBRI principles that help children build trust with safe adults.

“Royal Family KIDS Camp is more than just a week spent at camp,” said Wendy McMahan, president of For The Children. “It is trauma-informed care delivered through ordinary moments: meals, games, birthdays, bedtime routines and a counselor who stays close all week. For a child who has had to question whether adults are safe, that consistency can be life-changing.”

Founded in 1985 by California pastor Wayne Tesch and his wife, Diane, For The Children has grown from a single camp of 37 children in the mountains above Costa Mesa into a global network of more than 200 chapters. The organization has served more than 179,000 children and partners with more than 21,000 volunteers each year.

Each chapter follows the same model: A local church recruits and trains its own volunteer team, partners with local foster care agencies to identify campers and hosts a five-day camp at no cost to children or their families. For The Children provides training, the TBRI-based curriculum, safety framework and ongoing support.

A year-round mentoring program, Royal Family KIDS Mentoring, extends the relational work started at camp by connecting children with consistent adult mentors throughout the school year.

Royal Family KIDS Camp is available at no cost to children in foster care and their caregivers. Social workers, foster parents, resource families and caseworkers can find the nearest chapter and register a child at forthechildren.org/locations.

Learnmore at forthechildren.org.

About For The Children 

For The Children is a national nonprofit that equips churches and communities to create safe, trauma-informed programs for children who have experienced abuse, neglect or relational trauma. Through more than 200 chapters in 45 states and 10 countries, the organization provides Royal Family KIDS Camp, Royal Family KIDS Mentoring and Bridge to Belonging. These programs help children build trust, stability and long-term connection. For more information, visit forthechildren.org.