Improving Lives of South Dakota's Foster Children

Posted on Jan 15, 2017

The Rotary Club of Downtown Sioux Falls went on the road Monday, January 9, to the Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science, to hear a presentation about the South Dakota foster care system. Amanda Barton, committed to improving the lives of foster children and break the cycle of abuse and neglect, is founding director of Royal Family KIDS Camp/Sioux Empire. Barton, mother of four sons, fitness instructor and active community volunteer, was awakened to the needs of the foster care community when she and her husband became foster parents in 2011.

Program Highlights

Royal Family Kids Camp—The SD Foster Care System/Royal Family Kids Camp

There are 400 children in foster care in Minnehaha and Lincoln Counties. The average child makes 7 moves until a permanent home is found. It takes a toll on the children: 74% of prison inmates are foster kids; 80% of death row inmates are foster kids.
The Royal Family Kids Camp is a national organization started 25 years ago, in California. It is for children ages 6-12.
SD has 3 camps---8-10 camps are needed to cover all the foster kids in the state.
Amanda's camp has been operating since 2012. The stay is a week. It takes 75 volunteers to operate the camp of 52 children. The kids learn to problem solve, make friends, broaden their view of the world, build self-esteem.
Contact info: 605-582-2409; siouxempire.royalfamilyKIDS.org rfkcsiouxempire@gmail.com

Next Week’s Program

Governor Dennis Daugaard—State of the State Address

January 9^th, 2017 meeting attendance

62 out of 303 members or 20%
43 out of 62 members in attendance were Paul Harris Fellows or 69%
2 Junior Rotarians; 8 Guests