Serving the needs of foster kids for over 27 years.

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Fostering Hope in Michigan (FHIM) serves children and teens ages 7-17 who have experienced family-induced trauma serious enough to warrant protective intervention by the State. Most of those we serve have been, or currently are, in the foster care system.  Our summer camp and mentoring programs are designed to build safe, healthy relationships in a community that encourage kids and teens to heal and take steps in positive directions.  FHIM is a faith-based nonprofit and serves as the umbrella organization operating local chapters of For the Children (FTC) Royal Family KIDS (RFK) camps and group mentoring programs as well as local Teen Reach Adventure Camp (TRAC) programs. The organization is 100 percent volunteer, with volunteers donating 30,000 hours per year to confront abuse and change lives. These volunteers also fundraise a $120,000 operational budget each year.

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RFK is an international organization that provides summer camping and school-year mentoring experiences for children who are in, or have been in, state-supervised care. Locally, Christian Celebration Center was instrumental in bringing this ministry to Mid-Michigan in 1995. The first Mid-Michigan RFK Camp was in 1997, followed by the launch of a second camp in 1999 sponsored by Midland Evangelical Free Church. RFK Camp provides five days of positive memories for campers and five days of respite to families/foster families at no cost to the family. Each RFK Camp requires 60-100 volunteers to work in varying capacities. The RFK Mentoring Club was added in 2009 and became Group Mentoring in 2021. Children who have attended a RFK Camp are eligible for mentoring. Since 2009, Mid-Michigan RFK has been a yearlong ministry to children ages 6-12!

 

Teen Reach was founded in 2000 to provide continuity for children aging out of RFK. Teen Reach developed camping and mentoring programs specifically aimed at teens who are, or have been in foster care. Now T.R.A.C. programs can be found throughout the United States.  The first FHIM Chapter of T.R.A.C. boys and girls camps were held in 2018. That same year, FHIM Teen Mentoring was launched. Both were sponsored by the Midland Evangelical Free Church.

 

Just as the children move from Royal Family KIDS programs into Teen Reach programs, so do many volunteers. In 2019, Fostering Hope in Michigan was launched to provide the best possible leadership and resources on behalf of the children and teens we serve. Now there are year-round programs in Mid-Michigan that serve foster children ages 6-18!

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