98. ‘Royal Family Kids Camp’ and Hosting Fun and Uplifting Summer Camps for Children in Foster Care (with Camp Director, Kenra Keddington)

Kenra Keddington has been a Camp Director for Royal Family Kids Camp for 22 years. These are week-long summer camps for 7 to 11 year old foster kids. Kenra says their main goal every year is to pour love and connection into each participant and give them the chance to just be a kid again. 

The camps are 100% volunteer run, with some of their volunteers being previous camp attendees who return as teenagers to help create those same experiences they enjoyed as kids. 

Kenra shares some really sweet stories in this episode and gives the beautiful reminder that anyone can do something to help uplift the most vulnerable in our communities.

Links mentioned in episode:

For the Children: Royal Family Kids Camps

Royal Family Kids Camp Salt Lake City

Royal Family Kids Camp Utah

For the Children Nonprofit

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Transcript

Melissa: Do you have fond memories of attending a summer camp growing up or do you send your own kids or grandkids to summer camps?

Well, a lot of good organizations use this idea of summer camps to help serve different populations in their communities.

And the group I'm featuring today, Royal Family Kids Camp,

they do this for foster kids each year.

This is a week long camp for 7 to 11 year old Foster kids and, and their goal at these camps is to really just create fun experiences,

let these kids have the chance to just be a kid again, and let the volunteers pour love and connection into each one of them. Kenra Keddington, who's directed these camps for 22 years,

shares some really sweet stories and gives some good reminders for all of us on how we can serve in ways that really can make a difference.

Welcome to the Do Something More podcast.

Melissa: The show all about service where we highlight the helpers who inspire us all to do something more.

If you're passionate about nonprofits or looking for simple ways to volunteer and give back to the causes that matter to you,

this is the podcast for you.

I'm your host, Melissa Draper.

Stick around and I'll show you all the many ways anyone can truly make a difference in our world today.

Welcome to this episode of the podcast.

And today I am featuring the Royal Family Kids Camp.

And I love, I did this last year with a camp and I love featuring these at this time of year because many of us are thinking of summer and our families, some of us are sending our kids to camp.

But I love these organizations that use the idea of a summer camp to serve and to help various populations. So we're going to get into that.

Today the Royal Family Kids Camp does a camp for foster kids and it's all over the nation. But today we are talking to Kenra Keddington, who is a camp director for one of those camps in Utah.

So, Kendra, welcome to the podcast.

Kenra: Thank you, thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to be here and just share a little bit about Royal Family.

Melissa: Absolutely. Well, first, why don't you just give us a little introduction of yourself and then we'll get into the basics of what Royal Family Kids Camp is and what they do.

Kenra: All right, well, I'm Kendra Kennington here in Utah and actually born and raised here in Utah. Been doing Royal Family Kids Camp for this will be my 22nd year doing it and I just have the heart for it.

First time I did it, I was mesmerized with it and loved doing it.

Melissa: Were you hooked?

Kenra: I was hooked. I was hooked and it was a wonderful thing. And I haven't stopped, so that's great.

Melissa: Well,

let's get into the basics of it. You serve foster kids with these camps, but what's, what's the whole premise behind it? What are some of the things that they do?

How do you get and find the kids that you have come, all of that good stuff.

Kenra: Okay, so what we do is it's a camp, as she said, for foster kids here in Utah. We actually have three camps here in Utah. We're the first camp that started and then the other two camps came along.

We take about 45 kids. We average 40 to 45 kids. And every year we work with Utah foster care department,

health services,

all of the foster care agencies. We work with them in getting the foster kids and having them come to the camp. It's a wonderful program to be part of.

We take the kids and we basically do a whole week of camp just loving on them, just letting them know they're not forgotten that we,

they do matter. We care about them. And they come ages 7 through 11 years old to camp.

It's awesome when you see them come. They come back every year. Once they have come back, they get to come back year after year.

And so we really get a connection with these kids. We believe consistency is important with them.

So we do that the week camp. Monday through Friday,

we have them.

It's a sleepover camp. So we sleep over and just are with them 24 hours,

speaking life into them and just giving the love that they so desperately are looking for.

Some of the stories you hear from these kids are horrific in foster care, and we don't dwell on that. We dwell on love. We believe that love will conquer all of it.

That's no greater gift than love. So that's what we give them. It's a Christian based camp.

We speak life into them.

They hear a lot of Bible stories. This year our theme is on Moses and how courageous he was, on being courageous and making right choices.

So they'll. He'll hear all that this year.

Melissa: 7 to 11. That is a fun age.

Kenra: It is.

Melissa: My youngest is in that age and I'm just like, oh, I love that age group. They're fun. They're a little more independent. You can do fun things with them, but they also just kind of soak everything up still.

Kenra: Oh, oh, yeah. And they are just. It's such a precious age with the kids, so a lot of fun with them.

In addition to the camp, we do mentoring. I don't know if I mentioned that.

Melissa: No.

Kenra: Yeah. You can talk mentoring once a month after camp is over,

starting October, we meet with them every month because we believe consistency is so important in their life. So once a month we get with the kiddos and we just have a lot of fun with them, spend a day with them,

make sure they're doing okay if they need anything. And we work closely with the foster parent or foster care and making sure the kids needs are met.

Melissa: So it's not just that week long camp. You're doing this all throughout the year, building these relationships.

Kenra: Correct, Correct.

Melissa: Yeah. And I think I agree with you that structure for any child is important,

but I'm sure, especially for these kids that have had a lot of turmoil and changes in their lives.

Kenra: Yeah, yeah. That's the one thing we really feel strong about, is the connection.

That's really what it's all about, is making a connection with these kids because they've lost connections in their life, in their family.

And so we want to make that strong connection with them. And we believe that takes the consistency and love that we give them.

Melissa: We always love to hear good stories on the podcast.

So do you have any of those to share either from your own experiences or the volunteers and other staff members at the camp or even what you. The feedback you've gotten from some of these kids as well?

Kenra: Oh, my goodness. I don't know if I. You may have to stop me on that. One.

Melissa: Isn'T long enough for all of the good ones, right?

Kenra: Yeah,

it's awesome. So at camp, when they come, it's so awesome to see them. They come Monday morning and we have the camp set up all decorated in this theme and we have signs that are welcoming them.

Each one has their own little sign and they come in and we're just hooting and hollering and it's so fun to see the kids just come running in and come up to the counselors and staff, especially when they've been from year to year.

Melissa: And then some of them, they recognize them.

Kenra: They do.

And then those shy ones, it's so precious when you see,

we start singing and we dance and they hear the. We do a drama and all that and they start to warm up. And these shy ones that are in the back, all of a sudden they're up front on stage singing with us and dancing.

And it's so precious to see them become a child again. You know, they've got so many hesitations and they just open up and become a child.

We had one little boy that I'll Tell a story with two stories here that just mixed so much to me. A little boy. He was his first year at camp,

very shy, very quiet,

not wanting to come. And the foster parent was really encouraging him that this is going to be good for you. You need to come to camp. And wanted her, wanted him to go.

And he sat there and was a little hesitant, crying and saying he didn't want to go. And he looks up at me with these tears, huge tears in his eyes.

He was about nine years old,

has these big tears in his eyes. And he looks at me, says,

is this just another therapy camp?

Oh,

broke my heart because I thought how much therapy they have gone through and behavior classes and all of this and therapy,

trying to deal with their trauma. And,

you know, we're not there. We can't fix it all in one week,

but we can make a difference in one week. And that's where I just looked at him. I said, no, this is not a therapy camp.

This is a camp where you get to come and you just get to have fun. You get to be a kid.

Because they go through all of these sessions of rehearsing a lot of the trauma and talking about it.

That's not what we do. We let the therapist do that. We actually just love on them and let them have fun and be a.

Melissa: Kid, which is just as important, too, I think, in the whole.

Kenra: Exactly, exactly. But when he came to camp,

he sat back for two days of trying to be the tough kid and not going to get up and participate or anything. By the time camp was over,

he was up there performing on stage.

He was talking to his counselor, not wanting to go of, can I see you again? And then we got to tell him about mentoring and have him come back every month.

I mean,

that's the difference it makes.

It was so awesome.

The other story, a little camper, her name was. For the sake of confidentiality, I'll just call her Ava.

Melissa: Okay?

Kenra: She was the cutest little girl. She came to camp,

and at camp, she.

We do lice check and everything before they come. And her hair was matted down and had not been taken care of. And it was really hard to have her come to camp because they couldn't tell if she had lice or not.

And so we had to go through does she? Does she not?

I made the decision to let her come to camp, and we would take care of it at camp, of just giving a treatment so everybody would be safe and protected.

And that was probably the best thing. It was either that or she don't come.

And so we went to camp.

And at camp,

we have a little tea party on Tuesday night where the girls get to get in their princess dresses and they escort it in, and we just see how beautiful they are and call them in by name and just really lift them up.

And while all the girls on the one side of the room is picking out these gorgeous dresses and painting their nails,

this little girl was in the other room getting her hair washed and cleaned so she could participate and stay at camp.

And she cried and cried. When we washed her hair, it was so matted,

her scalp hurt to even touch it.

And it broke my heart because she would cry and we'd tell her how brave she was,

that she's strong and how beautiful she is.

Fast forward. We got all of the washing done, everything taken care of, and we have hairdressers that come up and do the girl's hair when they come. And this hairdresser was looking at the hair, and still it was matted a little bit.

And she actually,

bless her heart, she had to cut some of the mat out,

cut some of her hair, but she styled it and got it. So beautiful.

Melissa: Oh. So.

Kenra: And just treated this girl to the top. And this girl, after she got done,

the hairdresser actually gave her a little care kit for her hair to help her take care of her hair. She had the coarse African hair that's really hard to take care of.

So she gave her a little packet just for her hair.

Melissa: Wow.

Kenra: And at the tea party, they had made a little frame with their picture in it,

and she got to pick specific words to describe how she was feeling.

Her words that she put on there was beautiful,

precious, brave.

And the words we were doing as she was watching.

Melissa: Yeah. The things that she'd heard.

Kenra: And that whole week, she wore her princess dress all week long. And she actually carried her brush around. And she would brush her hair, just brush her hair, because her hairbrush could go through it.

And she said,

I can brush my hair now. And it was just so precious. It was. She. She was beautiful inside and out. And she knew she was after all that.

Melissa: Right. And it wasn't just the physical. It was all those positive, good interactions she was having.

Kenra: For sure.

Melissa: Yeah. There was a couple things I thought of you mentioned, like you check for lice or things like that. I'm sure a camp like this,

you're wanting to put the safety of everyone in many different ways a priority. How do you navigate all of that? What are some of the things that you do to make sure that, that I'm sure that's a big part of the work that you do.

Kenra: It is a big thing. There's a lot of work that goes on behind the camp when I mean we're already at camp season and starting strong between getting the volunteers and everything.

So our volunteers, we take about 75 every day. We have a volunteer staff. Nobody gets paid.

Melissa: Wow.

Kenra: I don't get paid. It's all by volunteer based.

So all the money does go to the kids, which I admire that. I love that, that it, it's all about the kids. And so at camp we do training.

Every volunteer has to have a background check every three years. Even if they've come back from year to year, every three years we do a background check.

Every new volunteer, we have to interview them and then there's training that's required. We have Training for everyone 8 to 12 hours.

12 for new, 8 for returning volunteers.

And so they go through a lot there,

the expectations. And then at camp we always have two adults with the child.

So no adult is left alone with the child to protect us and the child.

Right, That's a big one. There's like I say, no child's left alone.

No one on one with the child unless they're in visual. You know, if we're having a conversation with someone that's in an open area. Yeah, open area where they can be seen.

We also have a nurse there 247 that stays at camp and we have a social worker that is at camp all the time 24 7, just in case anything ever happens.

And you know, thank God they've been there because we've utilized them a couple times. And all of those are put in place for a reason in doing camp. Right.

The reason why we're called Royal Family Kids Camp is we believe in treating them with royalty. We don't spare, we don't go cheap with the kids.

We treat them with royalty. You know, they, they're always getting leftovers. We, we don't do that. We bless them when they come and they have very little clothes. We're going to go and get them things that they need.

New clothes, not used clothes, give them a new bag every year and shirts and that. So it's a big one. We treat them with royalty.

Melissa: Yeah, that's, that's so great.

And, and yeah, as you said, it's important that these organizations that we have the opportunity to work with children, that we do it, as you said, the right way and in the end then that becomes a great, good, safe experience for everyone.

Involved.

The other thing I thought of from that story you told of her is you shared that little tea party activity, which. That sounds amazing.

Do you have any other favorite activities that you do with them?

Kenra: Oh, my gosh. We. So while we're doing the tea party, the boys get to do a gym mining class,

which the boys love. The gym mining class. They actually go. We have a little. I don't know what you would call it. It's pipe that brings water out and they get their little sand sifter and they get shark teeth fossils and they think they've found the treasure and they do that.

We've had cowboy roundup with them. I think my favorite has been the Indiana Jones treasure hunt with the boys that they do. So the boys do their own party, the girls do the tea party one.

And then we have laser tag that the kids love. We actually did that originally just for the boys and come to find out the girls like it too.

Melissa: So you want to do that one too? Yeah.

Kenra: We have a birthday party for each child on Wednesday. We celebrate their birthdays. We just celebrate them.

And so we recognize each individual of their birthday month. And then we do a bunch of blow ups. And we have a huge field where we take these blow ups and we just four or five blow ups.

Obstacle course, a bungee jump. And these kids play for two hours, two, three hours.

It's kind of like a carnival event. And then they get a special birthday gift for them, birthday cake. And then we actually give them a play away.

They love the playaways. It basically is all of the camp songs, all of the camp stories for that year. So they actually get to take that home and listen to it throughout the year.

Melissa: Yeah.

Kenra: So.

Melissa: And I'm sure as you're building those relationships with them, have you seen the kids build those friendships and connections with each other as well?

Kenra: Oh, yeah, yeah. In fact, I have to tell you one more story.

Melissa: Okay, let's hear it.

Kenra: Had two sisters.

They were in foster care, but they were in separate foster homes. So they had been split for quite a few years.

And they started to come to camp and the first one came and then the second sister came this.

The other sister came the second year.

And to see them two come every year and they would meet up with each other and. Oh, I love it. It was so precious to see them connect and just meet up with each other.

And every year they look forward to that because that was kind of their special time of being together.

We've also had where a lot of the campers,

they're they're looking for their friends and that. But then a lot of them have come back as volunteers.

So I'm just going to add a little bit there of how they have come back as volunteers and they have connected with the other volunteers as they've gotten older and stayed connected.

You know, they have a special connection because they've been through that foster care. They, they know they can relate with each other so well. It's been fun to watch them as they connect with each other and then as they come back and they speak into these kids of I know what you're going through.

Melissa: So are some of them teenagers that are coming back and volunteering?

Kenra: Yes, we had about five last year.

We're about three to five. Every year of campers coming back, they have to be 16 or older to volunteer.

So when they graduate, they graduate at age 11.

And I'm always getting a call, am I old enough to come back? Am I old enough to come back?

So I can't wait till they're 16.

But speaking of that, we actually are trying to hopefully this year or next year we're doing a teen camp. So we want to add a teen camp to this.

Melissa: That would be so great.

Kenra: Yeah. To where? From 12 years old to 20 years old,

as long as they keep coming. We are going to do a three day camp for the boys and the girls. And that teenage time is such a difficult time that we believe we get something formed.

So we're working on that one.

Melissa: Yeah, those connections are. Can be so crucial during that time as well.

Kenra: Yeah. Yep.

Melissa: Well, as I mentioned at the beginning of the podcast,

Royal Family Kids Camp is a national organization.

As you plan and do these camps, are you all following the same pattern or do they kind of give you some more independence as a camp director on what direction you go?

How does that all work? Just for those that are curious how it might work where they live.

Kenra: Yeah. So it's, it's a national camp started in California back in 1985. And it's. I think we're over 250 wow. States that we're here now and they actually give us a curriculum to use every year.

So we do have guidelines. We have to report to the national office that we followed all of these guidelines. They have training that is required for me as a director that I pass down to the volunteers.

And they have certain criteria that we need to. We make sure we provide the kid, the kiddos, they get a bible of the story, the play away,

all of that that the national office actually has and so they kind of put that curriculum together every year. So.

Melissa: Nice.

Kenra: It's really nice to have a national office that helps and supports us and keeps us in line also.

Melissa: Right. Get. Keeps you on point with your goals and everything you want to accomplish.

Kenra: Yeah, and they're. They're pretty adamant between the two deep. And, you know, each child, their own individual bed,

visual sight and everything. They.

They're really big on that, and we have to answer to them on that.

Melissa: Yeah, that's great.

Well,

as I mentioned, we've got listeners from all over,

and I always love to ask near the end of a podcast any general advice that you have. So in all these years you've had putting your love into these foster kids, what general advice would you give for those that maybe aren't feeling the call to be a foster parent,

but they want to support foster children and foster families?

What are some ways or advice you would give for that?

Kenra: My advice is do something.

You know, I honestly, I would love to have been a foster parent. My husband was not supportive of that, and I understand that not all of us can be a foster parent, but I wanted to do something,

and so it was, what can I do?

There's many things that you can do for these foster kids.

You can be part of camp.

That's the best thing I've done.

You can volunteer to be part of any of the camps, not just our camp, a camp that's in your area,

be part of that and support them. You can volunteer, whether it be for the whole week,

for a day, for a night,

you can help with that. Even if it's behind the scenes. You can help financially.

You can pray for them. You can do something. I believe it is something we all have, especially for children, to do something to help them.

And even though it be a little piece,

it's something.

And so I would suggest,

don't just think about it. Do whatever you can. Because there's so many avenues to help,

whether it's a check, whether it's time. Time is the most valuable,

sometimes the hardest to give.

But again, it could be a day, a night, a week that you can give or just pray, praying for our camp. Sometimes that's all we can do.

And there's nothing more important than prayer for these little children and for camp.

Melissa: Absolutely.

Well, I love that you are an example of that, of you obviously felt called to work with these kids, and you've found this beautiful and unique way to do it that fits your heart and your skills and everything you have to give.

Kenra: Thank you. I I love doing it. I love doing it. I. I may do it my whole life, I don't know. But until God tells me to not do it, I'll be doing it.

Melissa: Yeah, you're in for the long haul.

Kenra: Yeah.

Melissa: Well, do you want to share how people can get involved with your camp specifically, or the ones here in Utah, or how.

How you can become a volunteer or any of those things?

Kenra: So I will share.

As I said, there's three camps in Utah. There's one in the northern area,

one in the Sandy, and we are the Salt Lake area. All you need to do is Google Utah Salt Lake Royal Family Kids, Camp Sandy Royal Family Kids or Northern Royal Family Kids.

You can also look at our national site, which is for the chief children. For the children actually has all of the state locations. So if you go to.

For the children,

they will. You can go to locations and you can find in your own state camps that are there,

and you can see how you can volunteer and help them.

And as I said, it's many different ways. It may not be a whole week of camp. It could be just financial,

day, night, or just praying for them.

There's many ways to be a part of it.

I would definitely look us up for the children or just Royal Family Kids camp in Utah and our three camps will come up.

Melissa: Yeah, I'll go put those website links in the show notes as well for those that want to learn more.

Kenra: Yeah.

Melissa: Well, Kendra, it has been a pleasure talking with you and feeling the good heart for the good work that you do. Any final thoughts that you want to share as we close up today?

Kenra: Just again, it would be to do something.

To do something, because these kids have gone through a lot, and, you know, unfortunately, it's getting worse.

I think with all the stress and all the things in the world here, the drugs, the domestic violence,

Foster care has been inundated with kids, and you hear more and more stories of abuse.

And it's heartbreaking to me to hear those stories and to help them to do something, even if it's to protect them.

And, you know, we want to help. We don't just help the child,

help the parents in getting better. There's always something we can do to help make the world a better place.

And so I would say whatever you can do to help the world make a better place, do it.

Melissa: Absolutely. That goes right along with our podcast, do something more.

Kenra: Amen.

Melissa: Well, thank you so much, Kenra, for coming on today.

Kenra: Thank you so much. I sure appreciate it, and God bless you.

Melissa: That concludes my interview with Kenra Keddington,

who is the camp director for Royal Family Kids Camp in Salt Lake City.

And I really appreciated those sweet stories that she shared.

Some of the kids who have attended their camps and the difference that she is able to see,

they've been able to make.

For many of the attendees that have come over the 22 years that she has volunteered to do this,

that's really impressive.

One quote that I love that she shared, I wanted to share again.

She said we can't fix it all in one week,

but we can make make a difference in one week.

I think that is such a beautiful reminder that sometimes our role, when we're feeling inspired to help or assist in a certain way, is not to fix it.

It's simply to step in and make a difference where we can.

And Kenra is definitely such a beautiful, good example of that.

I will leave links to the websites that she mentioned, the camps themselves, and also the organization that oversees them.

Kenra: So.

Melissa: So that if you want to learn more or donate or even volunteer for maybe some of the camps they have coming up this summer,

you can find more information there.

And I like to give the friendly reminder that if this episode touched you or there was something that stuck out to you that you want to share with someone you know, please share it with a family member, a friend,

and let them know about the good that Royal Family Kids Camp are doing for foster kids.

And also you can leave the podcast a review or a five star rating.

Those always mean so much to me.

And as always this week, I hope that you can find a way to do something more to help lift, inspire, or make a difference.