Kids In Need Foundation
It is back to school time and the cost of all those supplies really adds up! I remember as a kid, going to the cheap store full of seconds to buy school clothes, then to the cheapest stores around to get the school supplies. I thought my mother just liked these stores. Now as a parent myself, it has become clear that the cost of providing for a child is pretty high.
For many families it isn’t just high, it is out of reach. Kids In Need Foundation estimates that 16 million kids come from families struggling with extreme poverty and cannot afford to buy their basic school supplies. Over the years, Kids in Need Foundation has:
- Distributed over $900,000,000 in school supplies to children who could not obtain their own;
- In 2016, provided 5.4 million children with supplies;
- Supported education in hurricane and other natural disaster areas;
- Provided supplies in support of over 200,000 teachers to shore up classroom instruction;
They have four main programs:
- Kids In Need National Network of resource centers: These centers house and distribute school supplies to teachers from low-income schools.
- Teacher Supply Boxes: Providing classroom supplies in support of instruction to teachers, supporting the classroom
- School Ready Supplies Program: Pre-assembled backpacks are filled with “essential school supplies”[1] for children who would otherwise go without.
- Second Responder: Working with local authorities and others, Kids In Need Foundation provides school supplies when natural disasters turn lives upside down.
Kids In Need Foundation has earned a four-star rating from Charity Navigator and BBB Wise Giving Alliance indicates they are fully compliant with the grading standards there. What I find interesting, too, is in this world of instant blast on the internet, a search of comments on Kids In Need Foundation returned only a single negative comment – from an ex-employee who obviously had issues with the Executive Director. Nothing else. Not a whisper.
To learn more about Kids In Need Foundation or to support this organization, go to: https://www.kinf.org
Additional information may be obtained at:
BBB Wise Giving Alliance: http://www.give.org/charity-reviews/national/education-and-literacy/foundation-for-children-in-need-in-arlington-heights-il-1517
Charity Navigator: https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=11577
Guidestar: https://www.guidestar.org/profile/31-1437587