Kids Matter International Gives Joy for the Holidays
By Rhonda Ross
In this land of plenty that we call north Texas, it may seembrdifficult to imagine but there are many who live below the poverty level. According to the US Census Bureau more thanbrthirteen percent of Tarrant County residents find themselves in thisbrpredicament. Unfortunately, Dallas County isn't faring well either with almostbreighteen percent of its population struggling to make ends meet. At the heartbrof these hard times are children who need help in order to break what oftenbrtimes is an endless cycle of poverty. And at the heart of the matter is KidsbrMatter International- a Southlake based charitable organization and theirbrannual “Around the Block” holiday shopping event. With this event, and othersbrthroughout the year, Kids Matter International aims to help children in need,brboth at home and abroad.
Traveling back in time more than five years ago Mike Kiselak,bra former Dallas Cowboy and Kids Matter International board member, was presentedbrwith an opportunity while at his local church. The church had been working withbrthe Kohl's department store in Irving on an annual clothing drive for childrenbrin need.
The well-known event became so popular stores in the areabrwho were neighbors to the Kohl's store sent their employees to help volunteer andbrmany stores sent checks as well. Despite the generosity of so many, Kiselakbrbecame aware that fifty children had to be turned away due to insufficientbrresources. Motivated to do what he couldbrto help make up the difference, he immediately called upon his fellow KMI boardbrmembers. A vote was taken and $5,000 wasbrdonated to help fulfill the needs of all the program's listed children.
In subsequent years KMI began to incorporate the successful clothingbrevent into their lengthy list of projects. brIn 2010, in conjunction with the Southlake Kohl's location the two teamedbrto hold an “Around the Block” holiday event. Sponsors joining KMI and Kohl's for thisbryear's event include Boston's Gourmet Pizza, Buckner International and the RyanbrPalmer Foundation. Together each has played a tremendous role in expanding the eventbrto serve even more children. The firstbryear “Around the Block” assisted 669 children, followed by 1,029 children thebryear after. Joe King, President and CEO of Kids MatterbrInternational announced, “In our third year we aim to help 1,400 kids whichbrmeans we need to raise $140,000 to meet that goal.”
“We couldn't hold this event without the wonderful supportbrwe receive,” King commented.
Thanks to Kohl's generosity with their facility and thebrsupport of our sponsors KMI's “Around the Block” program is able to ask for abr$100 donation from someone or even $1,000 to support 10 children and all thebrmoney is usable for the kids.
“Kohl's generosity extends well beyond just offering theirbrstore,” King adds, “Kohl's steps up their offerings with financial support andbradditional deep discounts on everything in the store making the entire event gobrso much further.”
“I am very proud tobrbe part of a company that takes giving back to heart,” said Robin Wilkins,brSouthlake Kohl's Store Manager. “Kohl's wants to support and touch allbrcommunities with Kohl's Care for Kids.”
The Kohl's Cares® Scholarship Program recognizesbryoung volunteers between the ages of six-18 who have made a positive impact onbrtheir communities. Wilkins explains, “Young volunteers are recognized at local,brregional and national levels.” To date, Kohl’s has recognized more than 17,000brkids and awarded more than $3.4 million in annual scholarships and prizes.
Kohl's further shows their Corporate giving spirit withbrKohl's Associates in Action providing their employees the opportunity tobrvolunteer their time and team spirit through participating in variousbryouth-focused events, like “Around the Block”. Robin told us, “Volunteeringbrallows Kohl's Associates to give back to the community and is enhanced bybrCorporate grants given directly to the charity.”
In addition to Kohl's the Buckner Foundation is anotherbrinvaluable partner to KMI. Buckner International is a foundation thatbradministers more than 100 million in charitable funds worldwide. Thebrcollaborative partnership with KMI helps provide shoes for each attending childbrat the annual shopping event in addition to assistance with various other KMIbrendeavors.
When PGA golfer and Westlake resident, Ryan Palmer firstbrheard about the program from his friend and KMI chairman Coye Conner, he jumpedbrat the chance to become a partner as well. A homegrown Texan, Palmer grew up inbrAmarillo and played college golf at the University of North Texas beforebrtransferring to Texas A&M. After graduation from Texas A&M in 2000 he thenbrjoined the professional golf circuit.
Through the Ryan Palmer Foundation, the three-time PGA Tourbrwinner and his wife, Jennifer, lend their support by providing backpacks forbreach child at the spirited holiday event. In total, the foundation has given awaybrmore than 18,000 backpacks.
KMI and their supporters believe in the program and the factbrthat by providing new clothing, shoes and accessories to young children in needbrthey are instilling personal confidence while letting each of them know that therebrare others outside their own families who care for their well-being.
It Takes a Village
The old adage, “It takes a village to raise a child” couldbrnot be more accurate when describing the logistics of running an event of this magnitude.brEach year the event at Kohl's would not be possible without a host ofbrvolunteers. “It takes at least 500 volunteers to help run things,” King said.
A sponsor since the beginning Boston's, The Gourmet PizzabrRestaurant and Sports Bar not only puts on an annual golf tournament where 100%brof the proceeds go to help fund “Around the Block”- on the day of the actualbrshopping event, Boston's also offers a number of volunteers from their workbrforce.
Volunteers from Boston's, Kohl's, and throughout thebrcommunity are put to good use by event co-chair Johanna Keene. An integral part of the volunteer network,brshe helps in staffing tents and logistically running the event. Volunteers are even needed to accompany eachbrfamily member as they go shopping. “Johanna is the glue that holds everythingbrtogether,” King said, “We couldn't do it without her, both her talents and herbrdedication.”
Each family is given a scheduled shopping time and isbrmatched with a volunteer. On the evening itself both families and volunteersbranxiously await the opening of the department store as it marks the beginningbrof a fun and rewarding experience.
In addition to the shoes donated by Buckner, the backpacksbrfrom the Ryan Palmer Foundation, each family has $100 to spend on clothing inbrKohl's. The wide smiles of the children as they leave the stores with theirbrlarge shopping bags stuffed to overflowing with shirts, pants, sweaters, andbrcoats are all the payment any volunteer could ask for. “I enjoy watching thebrkid's faces light up when they come in to shop,” said Wilkins. “Most of thembrnever get that opportunity and they are treated like royalty that day. It's abrtrue rush and pleasure for myself and my associates to watch the kids shop.”
Children are chosen to participate by Kids MatterbrInternational working in conjunction with middle schools throughout Dallas,brDenton, and Tarrant County but the majority of the children come from our localbrarea of Northeast Tarrant County including Hurst-Euless-Bedford, Southlake,brGrapevine, Colleyville, and surrounding cities. Although KMI works primarilybrwith middle school age children, any child is eligible for the programbrregardless of age as long as the child is enrolled in school. Up to fourbrchildren per family may participate and with the help of school guidancebrcounselors the list is prioritized and families notified. “None of the familiesbrwe serve measure up to the poverty level and we try not to duplicate thebrservices of another organization,” King said. “We want to spread our resourcesbrout to help as many as possible.”
Since the inception of Kids Matter International, thebrmission has remained the same, to help kids in crisis locally and around thebrglobe. What began in 2006 with six local gentlemen trying to make a differencebrfrom their own homes has become a locally staffed organization with officebrspace that is creating a difference on both a local and global scale.
Globally KMI focuses on bringing hope and healing to orph aned, abandoned or disadvantaged children in a variety ofbrways. In 2008 they answered a need inbrRoaton, Honduras working with Buckner International, to establish abrtransitional home that provides at risk young women with safe and securebrsurroundings. The girls are provided with medical care, counseling, education,brand job training to help them on their road to recovery bringing them hope andbrhappiness.
Not losing focus on children closer to home “Around thebrBlock” is held each November just in time for the holidays. This year it willbrbe held on Tuesday, November 13th beginning at 6:00 pm and morebrvolunteers are always welcome. Visit Kids Matter International for morebrinformation.
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