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"What do you want to be when you grow up?"
When this question is directed at a child you will probably hear answers like astronaut, firefighter, or ballerina. A teenager or young adult may answer more specifically, such as an elementary teacher, corporate accountant, or pediatric nurse practitioner. As adults, with more life experience, the answers to this question may become abstract - When I grow up I want to be happy, successful, or stable.
Young Caring for Our Young, the non-profit foundation established by the Young Automotive Group, wants to help people both young and old to be happy, successful and stable, and they are doing it by being kind through the KIND Fund. The KIND Fund is a clothing resource for Kids In NeeD, in grades K-12.
The primary purpose of the KIND Fund is to empower students to dream big and reach their goals and succeed in school by making sure they have adequate clothing and shoes. The KIND Fund relies on educators to recognize those students in need, and then submit a request on their behalf. That is where the work begins. The request is then matched with a volunteer who is given a $150 gift card and a list of the child's needs. The volunteer shops for the clothes and returns them to the educator, who then gives them to the child.
Since its launching in 2022, the KIND Fund has served more than 1,400 students. The KIND Fund receives multiple requests for clothing every day, and they have already helped more than 300 kids since Jan. 1, from Davis, Weber, Ogden, and Cache County school districts.
To illustrate the urgency and need for the KIND Fund, here are a few stories from recent requests:
From one educator: "I have a 17-year-old boy in my class who wears the same clothes every day, and who could use a warm pair of boots since he walks to school every day, and then walks three miles to work and back, seven days a week to support his family."
On seeing this request, the KIND Fund provided several outfits for him for school, along with warm boots, and a monthly bus pass. They also took it one step further and helped him find a job closer to home with career opportunities.
Because an educator took the time to submit a request and invest in this student's future, and because a company truly cares about kids, the trajectory of this young man's life has changed forever.
From another educator: "I have two brothers in my classroom and they never come to school on the same day. I was confused about why we couldn't string multiple days together for either child. When I asked one of the boys why they weren't ever at school together, he told me that they only had one pair of shoes to share. These kids need shoes and clothes that enable them to be present and able to learn in my classroom."
Unfortunately, these two examples are not unique, and they are not specific to any community. There are kids across the state of Utah in need of the resources the KIND Fund can provide, and Young Caring for Our Young hopes to be able to expand its reach and serve even more kids in the future. They need donations to keep providing clothes to kids, and they need volunteers to help fulfill the high number of requests.
The work that Young Caring for Our Young does with the KIND Fund is extremely important, and it couldn't be accomplished without the support of the community through donations and volunteers.
There are several companies who have partnered with Young Caring for Our Young and have sponsored groups of kids in need, and then involved their employees as volunteer shoppers. They've shopped as a team-building activity focused on service, and they are seeing an increase in employee morale as they give back to their community. These companies and their employees are exceptional examples of kindness, and everyone is welcome to become a KIND Fund donor or volunteer.
With the number of KIND Fund requests coming in each week (300+ this year!), you can see that the need for donations and volunteers is great.
No matter what you want to be when you grow up - an astronaut or ballerina, a teacher or an accountant, and happy and successful - start by being KIND today and help Young Caring for Our Young help Kids In NeeD.
A video explanation about the KIND Fund can be found here.
To donate to the KIND Fund click here.
To become a KIND Fund volunteer click here.
