About Us

The Riverbend Ranch Charity Carnival is the family project of the Eric Kjeldgaard

family. In 2007, desiring for their children to have a practical way to help those in need,

Eric and Lisa came up with the idea of the carnival to raise funds for orphans and widows

around the world. James 1:27 is the guiding verse for the carnival,

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans

and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

Aside from raising money for worthwhile charities, the carnival desires to create a day of

Old Fashioned fun in a safe, God honoring environment.

A group of businessmen have joined together each year to match the funds raised by the carnival allowing the event to donate even more money.

In 2007, over $8000 was donated to Acres of Hope, an orphanage and relief organization working in Monrovia, Liberia.

In 2008, over $16,000 was donated to the Davis Family Educational Fund administered by Central Valley Presbyterian Church to help the newly widowed Heather Davis and her children.

2009 witnessed yet another rise as $20,000 was raised on behalf of Agape Children's Ministry of Modesto and Seeds in His Garden Ministry of Monterey. Each organization works with children in Kenya and received $10,000 form Carnival donations

In 2010, we were blessed by God in fundraising more than any previous year. Over $22,000 was raised for Drawn form Water, a ministry based in Roseville, California, whereby children in Ethiopia are beings rescued out of the tribes that fear evils spirits. The tribes only solution to appease the evil spirits is to drown certain children in a nearby river. The rescued children come to live at an orphanage staffed by Drawn from Water missionaries. Find out more at drawnfromwater.org.

The carnival wouldn’t be possible without the dedication and hard work of so many friends who give lots of time and energy to make the vision of the carnival become a reality. Friends from Oakdale and the congregation of Central Valley Presbyterian has been especially instrumental!