BOISE, Idaho — Another camp has been canceled for the summer due to the coronavirus. Royal Family Kids Camp has been around for 28 years and serves foster kids in the state. Although camp has been scratched the nonprofit is reaching kids in a different way.
"If you saw the comments and heard the comments from the kids that were going to camp and now can't, their hearts are broken," said Wendy Atkinson, who is the director of Royal Family Kids locally. "They look forward to camp all year long."
Atkinson says they take about 50 Idaho foster care children to camp every year into the mountains for a week.
They've been doing it for decades.
"They have the time of their lives. They have a lake, a zipline, archery, and about a million games and a fishing pond," Atkinson said. "Our camp is a little different too because we buddy up our kids with a counselor so it's one-on-one and it's just to give them the most wonderful time possible. They just really need time and attention."
So when the decision was made to scrap the camp due to health concerns Atkinson says they still had to do something for the kids.
"We decided to put together camp in a box and actually try to reach every foster child in the state of Idaho," Atkinson said. "It started with just a couple hundred and then we thought why not reach every single one, whether they're in Salmon, Idaho Falls, Lewiston, or Caldwell. "We're delivering camp in a box with games, and ideas to do each day."
The boxes will be dropped off at the foster homes. There are about 900 foster homes in Idaho serving approximately 1,800 foster children.
"It's good to remind them we're still here and we still love them," Atkinson said. "We haven't forgotten about them."
The hope is camp can start up again next year. Atkinson says they're goal is to also continue doing the boxes, or something similar, for all foster kids in Idaho.
Royal Family Kids is a nonprofit. If you would like to learn more about how you can help with fund or with your time head to their website.
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