Blog | For The Children-Mke

20 Years of Camp

Walk with us through 20 years of Royal Family!

Our 20th Anniversary Gala was such a special celebration of all that God has done in our last twenty years! Thank you to Jay Skoglund, our Gala photographer, for capturing so many memorable moments from honoring our founding members to hearing from one of our camp families who shared the incredible impact our programs and volunteers have made in their lives! You can access more photos by clicking on the link or scanning the QR code below. If you have special photos you are willing to share, please add them to our folder. We will be incorporating some of them into our 20th Anniversary book which we will share after our next camp! Thank you for 20 memorable years together!

You can see photos from the Gala here!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/7NSqBnSQe2rnXDW47

Year 11 - 2017

2017 was an incredible year! We welcomed 70 amazing campers and 99 volunteers, including our first former camper serving on staff! Salayia was an inspiration to all of our campers as she performed in the Drama and encouraged them at the Tea Party! We were so proud to have seen her go first through our camps, then on to Teen Reach and now to be serving on staff at RFK! What a proud moment for all of us! Our camp verse was “”Trust in the Lord with all your heart: do not lean

Mar 271 min read

Year 10! - 2016

In 2016, we reached the milestone of 10 years of camp, serving 448 children! We held a Legacy Dinner, featuring RFK founder Wayne Tesch. Wayne spoke of our “Decade of Hope” serving our community and said that along with the other Wisconsin chapters, we had reached six percent of all foster children in the state. We committed ourselves to trying to reach as many kids as possible and make “moments that matter!” Check out our 10 Year Celebration Video here: https://drive.google.

Mar 271 min read

Year 9 - 2015

When we found out we had the potential to bring 90 kids, this spurred us on to recruit more volunteers than ever before! We partnered with many different churches around the city. We ended up with 78 incredible kids and 93 amazing volunteers, our largest camp to date!

Mar 271 min read

Year 8 - 2014

2014 brought 62 amazing campers and 102 staff, our largest camp to date! Our camp was selected to participate in the “Hope Index”, a nationwide survey which compared how our campers experienced hope prior to and after camp. The results were astounding! Our kids felt significantly more hopeful in their lives after camp! There was another measure of hope that was increased as our dream for holding a camp for teens was realized! The first TRAC camp , led by Harold and Bev Reyna,

Mar 271 min read

Year 7 - 2013

Our Biggest, Best year yet! One day on the fishing pier, Thomas caught a small fish. He decided to leave it the water, hoping the small fish would attract a larger one. Boy did it ever! A huge fish took the bait, and it was so heavy that his pole fell into the water. Somehow Francis was able to scoop up the pole, and the fish, and give it to Thomas. When presented with his fish, it was as if an explosion of joy erupted in Thomas from the depths of his heart and the biggest sm

Mar 271 min read

Year 6 - 2012

In 2012 we hosted 47 kiddos, and in 2013 we reached the milestone of 50 campers! Camp SOTO: During his show for our birthday party, our performer “Bubble Man” was struggling to make a square bubble. Isaiah called out from the audience, “You can do it, Bubble Man!” Later he called Isaiah to the stage to encapsulate him inside a full size bubble. Afterwards, Isaiah touched his heart and said, “I feel something different…I feel hope.”

Mar 271 min read

Year 5 - 2011

In 2011, our excited volunteers welcomed 34 kiddos to camp. The theme that year was “The Journey” and the kids received a shirt which showed how God directs our steps as we trust Him to lead us and develop faith, perseverance and forgiveness along the way. Who could have imagined the journey ahead for two of our campers? Tamara and Twanyae came to camp and had the time of their lives! 14 years later, as grown adults, they became our guest speakers at the RFK 20th Anniversary

Mar 271 min read

Year 4 - 2010

In 2010, we had 34 wonderful campers and our theme was “The Royal Court.” Our scripture verse was 1 Peter 2:9 which in part says that we are chosen to be God’s very own people and his special possession. Our campers learned that they are children of the KING, and we treated our campers like the royalty they are! Camp SOTO: Two boys were walking through camp and a returning camper put his arm reassuringly around the shoulders of a new camper and said, “Bro, this is the sweet l

Mar 271 min read

Year 3 - 2009 (Staff Superheroes!)

In 2009, we moved to a new campground in the Lake Geneva area which we are still using today! Our theme that year was “Superheroes!” Our campers made their own capes and braved an outdoor water slide called the “Black Banana!” We also held our first Mentoring Club that year as the new Royal Friends Club was launched across the country. We were thrilled that we no longer had to wait a whole year to see our kids again!

Mar 271 min read

Year 2 - 2008

We moved to a new campground and Lisa and Shawna became the new directors. It was our first Olympic Year theme, and we ordered personalized medals for all our campers a tradition we continued for years afterwards!

Mar 271 min read

Year 1 - 2007

Our first camp consisted of inexperienced, yet eager volunteers and 22 amazing kiddos! With God's help, we had a beautiful camp led by our first directors, Tom and Jackie Hoover. What a legacy they have helped to create!

Mar 271 min read