God is a God of restoration and He desires to restore their wonder.
Why Restore The Wonder?
There is something sacred about the wonder of childhood—the freedom to dream, laugh, play, explore, and simply be a kid.
For many of the children we serve, circumstances beyond their control have interrupted some of that wonder. Trauma, loss, instability, and broken trust can force a child to carry things they were never meant to carry. We know we can’t undo everything a child has been through in one week.
But we also believe that if God created the world in six days, He can change the life of a little boy or girl in one week.
That’s why we call it Restore The Wonder.
For a few unforgettable days, kids get the opportunity to simply be kids again. They are known. Celebrated. Cheered for. Surrounded by safe adults who intentionally show up for them. And most importantly, they are reminded that there is a God who sees them, loves them, and has not forgotten their story.
We don’t pretend one week fixes everything. But we’ve seen what God can begin in one week.
And sometimes, one week can become part of changing a lifetime.
What We Believe About Kids
We believe every child has incredible value.
Their circumstances don’t define them.
Their trauma doesn’t define them.
Their placement doesn’t define them.
And the hardest chapters of their story don’t get to determine how the story ends.
That’s why we don’t build our camps around what children have been through. We build them around who they are and who they can become.
We want every child who comes through Restore The Wonder to experience what it feels like to be safe, celebrated, encouraged, and genuinely known.
Not because we feel sorry for them. Because we believe in them.
National Support. Local Leadership.
Restore The Wonder is a local chapter of For The Children, a national organization that has been serving children who have experienced foster care for more than 40 years.
Through this relationship, Restore The Wonder operates within an established model of training, policies, child protection, resources, and organizational support.
At the same time, Restore The Wonder is locally led and deeply invested in the communities we serve in Southeast Missouri and Kansas City.
It gives us the opportunity to combine the heart and relationships of a local ministry with the experience and support of a national organization that has been doing this work for decades.
Our Commitment to Safety
When a parent, foster parent, caseworker, or agency entrusts a child to Restore The Wonder, we take that responsibility seriously. Many of the children we serve have already experienced broken trust. We want Restore The Wonder to be a place where trust is protected. Every volunteer who works directly with our campers goes through an intentional screening and preparation process.
Our child-protection practices include:
Written volunteer applications and individual interviews
National criminal background checks
Required initial and ongoing training
Sexual abuse prevention training
Clear expectations regarding appropriate boundaries and interactions
Practices designed around visibility, supervision, and accountability
Training for leadership in volunteer screening and child protection
Clear procedures for recognizing and reporting concerning behavior
Age-appropriate conversations with campers about safety, boundaries, and speaking up
Continued evaluation and strengthening of our policies and procedures
Our camps are built around a one-to-one counselor model, giving every camper a trained adult whose focus for the week is encouraging, celebrating, and showing up for them. One-to-one attention never means isolation. Our camp environment is intentionally designed around community, visibility, supervision, and accountability.
We Take the Privilege Seriously.
We get to do some incredibly fun things at Restore The Wonder. But behind every activity, every celebration, every gift, and every adventure is something much more important: A child has been entrusted to us. We will never take that lightly. We will continue to train our people, strengthen our safeguards, and do everything we can to create an environment where children are cared for with excellence. Because before we can help restore the wonder of childhood, we have to create a place where a child feels safe enough to experience it.