This week I have been getting ready for the Royal Family Kids Camp birthday party. Several churches in town come together to put on a camp for kids ages 6 to 12 who are in foster care. All the campers come to camp through Social Services. The main purpose of camp is to provide these kids with a week of positive memories in a Christian environment. Each camp counselor only has 2 campers, plus there are numerous support staff that are always around. I spend my time baking for the birthday party where every camper get their own personal birthday cake. Very often this is the first cake they have ever had that has been personalized just for them. I started participating in this portion of the camp 10 years ago when it first started here in Santa Barbara. So here we are 276 campers later...276 lives changed for the better. I love to hear the stories of these kids lives have had such a positive impact from a week of camp, how attitudes and behaviors change for the better, and how for a week, these kids have a safe place to be where they don't have to worry about how there lives are back at home. I wish we could do more, but I am also glad that I can do something to make a difference in the life of a child.
Our camp website: http://santabarbara.royalfamilykids.org/
The main website for Royal Family: http://www.royalfamilykids.org/
I made sugar cookie surf boards for all the kids, personalized with their names on them.
Here's the finished assembly. Beach cupcake, complete with fish sprinkles in the water, and a palm tree with a monkey. I wrote Happy Birthday on each plate and set the surfboard in front of each cupcake.
I also made cupcakes for the staff and put them together for a beach theme.
