02
Mar
2016
IA/IL QUAD-CITIES - For 25 years, Royal Family KIDS, Inc. has helped make a difference in the lives of children suffering from neglect and other forms of child abuse. Based in Santa Ana, California, the charity operates 190 camps nationwide for children ages 6-12 in the foster care system.
In the Quad-Cities, Wendy Bezotte, Co-Lead Pastor/Worship Director of Mercy Vineyard Church, Moline, has served as the Royal Family KIDS Camp Director for Rock Island County since 2014. Her husband Lee Bezotte, Lead Pastor at Mercy Vineyard Church, helped to establish the camp in the Quad-Cities. This year’s camp will take place in early July.
“Each year, we hope to grow the number of children we can serve by increasing our volunteer base,” Wendy said. “In our first year, we hosted 17 kids. In 2015, we brought 26 kids to camp, as well as 16 counselors and 19 other on-site staff members, providing a ratio of campers to adults that was greater than one-to-one. In 2016, our goal is to host 28 to 30 children.”
According to Lynda Carlson, who volunteers as Assistant Camp Director, the camp includes a lake, paddle boats, a row boat, bunk houses, a dining hall and an in-ground swimming pool. “The kids especially enjoy the group birthday party we hold for them,” she said. “Each child gets a present. We do this because many foster kids don’t get birthday parties or presents at home. We also have Camp Grandmas and Grandpas who listen to the kids and write encouraging notes to them.”
“This project is much larger than our church alone can do,” Wendy said, “and we are grateful for the assistance and contributions of other churches, organizations, and individuals in the community. They partner with us to provide a week of memories for these kids. We want to continue to spread the word and have even more join us, as we recruit volunteers and raise much-needed funds.”
Royal Family KIDS, a 501(c)3 charity, is seeking Quad-Cities area partners to help increase the number of children attending camp. If you would like to learn more or explore the possibility of being a counselor or volunteer, please contact Wendy Bezotte at (309) 269-7408 or contact@royalfamilyqc.org. To donate to Royal Family KIDS in the Quad-Cities, visit moline.royalfamilykids.org.
