Pat and Janice Busick needed a lizard - quickly. Each of the 24 foster children at the Royal Family Kids' Camp, held in Hinton, Okla., received a wish during their weeklong stay. One boy wanted to find a lizard...and no one was able to find one. A camp counselor - a volunteer enlisted by the Busicks - drove to town, bought a lizard and the boy "found" it on his last day of camp.
Janice learned about the camp from a co-worker at the school where she teaches. She presented the idea to the pastor at her church, who willingly accepted the idea. The Busicks, of Noble, attended training in North Carolina. They learned what goes into creating a week of memories, as well as how to recruit lots of volunteers.
"We had an awesome staff," said Janice, the mother of two adult children. "Thirty-five adults, mostly from our congregation, helped out."
The camp included swimming, kite flying, arts and crafts activities, tea parties, a talent show and a surprise birthday party for all the kids. Children received handmade quilts and a stuffed toy as their own, as well as a memory book full of photos, a cassette of songs sung during the camp, a cassette player and t-shirts commemorating the event.
"What made it all worthwhile," said Janice, tears rolling down her cheeks, "was seeing the kids get off the bus, looking so sad, not knowing if they could trust us. Then seeing them smile and have fun and knowing they wouldn't have had this without us."
A monthly average of more than 7,000 Oklahoma children lived in foster care during fiscal year 2005. OKDHS staff, foster parents and communities partner to offer foster children opportunities for hope, health and healing. Staff, foster parents and community partners hold birthday parties, take children bowling, have holiday parties, raise funds to help children participate in prom, buy yearbooks or class rings and take trips.
Children are placed in foster care because they have suffered severe trauma or a life-threatening situation. The children come from all types of families; one-parent families, two-parent families, low-income, high-income, families of all religious faiths, families who have no religious faith and families of all ethnicities.
Many children stay with relatives while in foster care. More than 45 percent, though, live with families, not related to them, committed to helping.
Royal Family Kids' Camps, a national network of camps for abused, neglected and abandoned children ages 7 through 11, has joined with three Oklahoma faith communities to offer OKDHS foster children a week of fun and love.
Faith communities agree to host the camp, accommodating 24 children, during the summer for a week. The camp is offered at no cost to the children or their foster families. Volunteers raise money to pay for the campsite, all meals, activities, as well as any extras, like t-shirts. Royal Family Kids' Camps offers training, fundraising suggestions and camp curriculum.
- A monthly average of 2,620 lived in family foster care homes in fiscal year 2005
- A monthly average of 3,100 lived with relatives
- A monthly average of nearly 2,500 children ages 1 through 4 lived in foster care