Your donations and support can impact the lives of children and families who need it most
If there’s anything that we have learned as a society from 2020, it’s that it’s essential for people to come together in times of unprecedented change and unexpected challenges. COVID-19 left millions of people across the country (and the world) without jobs or income to support themselves and their families. With school closures and unemployment skyrocketing to new heights, families who live in underserved areas were hit especially hard by the coronavirus crisis.
Luckily, there are organizations like Kids Helping Kids Succeed that have been there to help those in need every step of the way. Founded by Debbie Aquino in 2012, Kids Helping Kids Succeed is a youth-led charity that provides children with the necessary tools to succeed including school supplies, mentoring, group activities, art programs, and celebrating important milestones such as birthdays and graduations. The organization specifically provides these resources to children who live in homeless shelter facilities and underserved school districts in the Kendall, Hialeah, Bay Harbor, Miami-Dade, and Broward counties of Florida.
Debbie originally got the idea to create Kids Helping Kids Succeed when her son had a school project in which he learned that nearly 50,000 children in Florida were living out of shelter facilities. With this heart-shattering statistic came her passion for helping others and dedicating her time to giving back to children in her local community. Since the launch of Kids Helping Kids Succeed, it has expanded to new heights and has managed to continue operating despite the negative circumstances created by COVID-19.
In March 202, when the Coronavirus lockdown began, the charity was contacted by local school social workers because of an urgent need to provide assistance for families with children who have special needs, many of whom had lost their income. They started a grassroots movement to collect and deliver weekly basic supplies and nonperishable items. They have been delivering these essential items ever since. At first, Kids Helping Kids Succeed was delivering 30 boxes of necessary resources to families in need, and they now deliver up to 150 boxes to families in the community.
In addition to assisting with problems directly caused by COVID-19, Kids Helping Kids Succeed has been involved with recovery from other national and international crises as well. They recently expanded their work to help children who have survived natural disasters. Their mission is to provide food, clothes, and toys to children in Puerto Rico after hurricane Maria and to deliver medical supplies for children in the Bahamas after hurricane Dorian.
All of the charity’s work is entirely dependent on volunteers and donations from the community. If you want to be a part of the positive impact too, you can sign up to volunteer or to donate resources to Kids Helping Kids Succeed at kidshelpingkidssucceed.net. Debbie and her organization have many plans to continue expanding their work and impact on families in the community, so any support is greatly appreciated.
