About Us
In 2005, Faith Assembly Christian Center in Pasco, Washington became the 142nd home for Royal Family Kid’s Camp. Royal Family is a one-week resident camp for children 7-11 years old in the foster care system in Benton, Franklin, and surrounding counties.
Royal Family Kids' Camp is the nations leading network of camps for abuse, neglected, and abandoned children.
In Benton and Franklin counties there are over 450 children in foster care.
A child is eligible to return to camp (even if they are returned home or adopted) through 11 years of age. We begin actively registering Campers beginning March 1.
Our Leadership
Since 2005, our local camp has been led by husband and wife directors, Steve and Valerie Burnett.
We learned about Royal Family Kids' Camp through Valeries's parents, Walt & Loretta, who were Counselors & Grandparents at the Newport-Mesa Camp in California. When "Grandpa Walt" died in 1999, Valerie began attending the camp with her mother. It didn't take long for the Royal Family dream to become a reality in their hearts. 2005 was the first year that a Royal Family Kids' Camp took place in Eastern Washington. It was a huge but rewarding task to launch this first camp. It would not have been possible without all of the volunteers and behind the scenes support that we received.
38 children and 65 volunteers attended our first camp. It was a life changing experience for all of us. We came back with new vision and hope for the forgotten children in our area. We have reached maximum capacity at this campground with 64 campers and 75-80 Counselors and Staff.
Our enthusiasm for Royal Family continues to grow as time goes on. We are anxious to see that Royal Family Kids' Camp continues to grow in Eastern Washington so that more children can have this positive experience. If you would like to know more about starting a Royal Family Kids' Camp at your church, contact us.
History of Royal Family Kids
In 1985, a pastor 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 37 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.
More than at any point in the organization’s history, our volunteers have provided wraparound services to foster families and children in need-- from providing shoes, backpacks, to being a friend and mentor or even providing temporary shelter for a child. While our main office has always acknowledged this work, trends around the needs of these children and families have come to the surface and extreme gaps in fulfilling these needs remain-- providing an incredible opportunity for our organization to step in more wholly.
Royal Family KIDS Camp will always remain the cherished and premier program, alongside yearlong mentoring, however in order to address the systemic issues surrounding child welfare, the organization had to evolve.
As of November 2020, the Royal Family KIDS National Office, officially became For The Children. This change has allowed expansion into advocacy, awareness, fostering and adoption, volunteer engagement and more. Our staff and volunteers will continue to serve foster children through our RFK Camps and Mentoring but are encouraged and eager to place additional focus on the systemic issues facing our children around the globe.