MANSFIELD – Child abuse knows no boundaries.
An estimated four million reports of child abuse are taken annually in the United States, involving 7.2 million children, according to the American Society of Positive Care for Children. Locally, Richland County Children Services conducted 2,054 assessments of alleged abuse, neglect and dependency during 2016.
That abuse has led to a dramatic increase in the need for local foster care. The number of children coming into RCCS custody has doubled in the last five years, according to the public child welfare agency.
Three years ago, a local church congregation expanded its local mission and made itself part of the healing process for Richland County child victims.
Storyside Church of Bellville, formerly CitiChurch, partnered with Royal Family Kids, an international organization, to sponsor a free local summer camp for children ages 6 to 12 who are or have been in the care of Richland County Children Services.
A 5K run/walk Saturday morning in Mansfield’s Woodland neighborhood will raise money for the effort, which is expected to serve more than two dozen children this summer. The camp director, Crystal Harris, hesitantly left her own family to attend a week-long Royal Family Kids camp in Alabama four years ago and has been dedicated to the local effort ever since.
“I was approached by a local couple at church who knew my husband and I were thinking about fostering and said they knew the perfect ministry for you,” Harris said. “I wasn’t crazy about leaving my husband and our own 2-year-old son for a week of training, but when I got there and met the children, I realized my son was home with a parent who loved him, and safe and loved. The kids who were there needed me.”
Harris and a team of volunteers give up a week each summer to staff the camp, supported by fundraisers and Storyside Church. In the local camp’s first year, Harris was an assistant to an experienced RFKC director and assumed those duties herself going forward. She has since been moved to become a licensed foster parent for Richland County as well.
“When you meet the kids once and learn some of their stories, especially attached to what we know about kids who experience that kind of trauma, you’re sold on helping for good,” Harris said. “These kids don’t always get to go to camps and get these opportunities, and that first day just clicked.”
Saturday’s race is at 9 a.m., and registration begins at 8 a.m. at the playground pavilion in front of the Richland County Children Services building, 731 Scholl Road, behind the Mansfield Area Y.
The race begins and ends across the street from the Mansfield Area Y at Overlook and Crescent roads and travels through Woodland. Participants can register early online at Runfortheirlives.org to get a race T-shirt. It is $30 to run and $20 to walk. There will also be a silent auction Saturday morning.
The camp is staffed by volunteers. Each approved and trained counselor is assigned no more than two children and, with the addition of support staff, the camper-staff ratio is nearly 1 to 1.
If you want to help sponsor a life-changing experience for a foster child, but are unable to attend Saturday’s 5K, there will be another fundraiser from 5 to 9 p.m. June 13 at the Chipotle Mexican, 2470 Possum Run Road, Mansfield, near Interstate 71 and U.S. 13.
To receive a flyer, e-mail Harris at crystall997@aol.com. She is also seeking camp counselors and volunteers, who will need to participate in training next month. There will also be rummage sales to raise money for this summer’s camp.
For more information on Storyside Church, 541 Ohio 97 West, Bellville, call 419-886-2484 or visit www.storysidechurch.com.
Royal Family Kids has been offering free, week-long summer camps throughout the country since 1985. Each camp is sponsored locally. To learn more about RKF, visit RoyalFamilyKIDS.org.
