Twenty years ago, Fullerton Free’s very own Connie Hutchinson responded to the Lord’s invitation to be His hands and feet to children in the Foster Care system by hosting Royal Family KIDS Camp (RFKC). That choice has led to hundreds of children’s lives being impacted through RFKC, a year-round mentoring program (RFKC Club), our teen camp (TLC), teen mentoring program (Chosen), and OC United’s THRIVE housing program for aged-out foster youth. Pretty remarkable the difference her saying “yes” to Jesus made!

This year we were hoping to celebrate this 20-year milestone but instead found ourselves in the midst of the COVID pandemic unable to host camp. Undeterred, our amazing team got together to figure out how to let our precious foster kids know that they were not forgotten. If there is one word that any of us have had to learn in our years of participating in Royal Family, it is FLEXIBILITY!

Together, our team assembled a RFKC Camp-in-a-Box that was hand-delivered to each one of our 60 campers on the day we would have been starting camp together. Each box included an MP3 player with the camp songs, Bible Story, and Drama; an RFKC Happy Birthday mug with a mug cake in it, an individualized birthday present purchased by their counselor, and cards. Lots of cards. Many of our staff took the time to individually write each one of our campers, reminding them of God’s love for them and of our memories at camp together.

Following the delivery of the Camp-in-a-Box, one caretaker wrote: “My girls absolutely loved the Royal Family Kids Camp in a box! They listen and sing the songs on repeat all day and I have found my daughter in bed reading all the letters she has received with tears in her eyes on more than one occasion. She says she loves reading their encouraging words and remembering them and camp! Not having camp this year was a huge bummer but the connection that this camp in a box brought during this season where connection is hard was priceless. Thank you!”

Although it looked much different this year, the legacy of Royal Family Kids Camp continues. Thank you Fullerton Free for continuing to bless children in the foster care system over the years and for making it possible for our team to tangibly provide the hope and love of Jesus to them!

Amy Gaw