Just to tell you a little about myself, my name is Lauren and I am thirteen years old. I live in Rhode Island and I attend Bay View Academy. Kids to Kids was my first charity project. I was recently accepted into the National Junior Honor Society. A big part of induction into the National Junior Honor Society is doing a charity project. I wanted to do something big that would help many people who were less fortunate than me. I have always loved kids, so when I heard of Kids to Kids, I knew that I had found the perfect project. After I had an organization to sponsor, I began to plan a jeans and sneakers day at my school. Every student who wanted to dress down instead of wearing his or her uniform would have to pay a minimum of two dollars to the charity. It was a big success!!! I raised six hundred dollars!!! I also received large donations from companies, friends and family. I wrote letters to everyone I knew and asked for donations. In the end, I raised about three thousand dollars and was able to sponsor six projects. I am very happy that I helped so many kids and gave them great opportunities that they will enjoy and remember forever!
Lauren’s Kids to Kids Experience
Wayland Middle School Dance
The Wayland Middle School Kids to Kids group (consiting of Sarah, Amelia, Annie, Chloe, Nina, Isabel, Louisa, and Molly) organized and hosted a dance party fundraiser at the Josiah Smith Tavern in Weston. We got donations from a bunch of people (including the owners of the place, the pizza guys, and the DJ) and we are so grateful! The party was a huge success! A lot of people came, many of whom made large donations (thanks!) We raised around $700 and had a ton of fun planning everything! Everyone was very generous with helping, donations, and interest in our cause. We hope to do another similar fundraiser soon.
Funky Aussies: Building a Library in DR
Kids to Kids Australia
Building a library in the Dominican Republic: Target $500
Fundraisers Funky Aussies are Mariah, Olivia, Samuel and Lucinda
On Sunday March the 28th 2009, the funky Aussies organised to have a stall at the Weerama Festival in Werribee, Australia, to raise awareness, and as a bonus maybe get a donation for Kids to kids. It was a very long but a very successful day. As people walked passed our stall, we grabbed their attention to tell them about our project and what Kids to Kids is all about. As we did this, people were very happy to donate and as a result we raised $500. With the help of Reclink, an organisation which rebuilds lives through sports and arts, the total amount raised was $1,000!
“I (Mariah) really enjoyed letting people know what kids to Kids was all about and seeing their reactions.”
“I (Olivia) really liked telling people about kids to kids and making the banner.”
“I (Samuel) liked counting the money and painting the banner.”
“I (Lucinda) loved talking to people about kids to Kids and Making the banner.”
How kids in the States are making a difference in the world: Highlighted Sponsor Event Platt HS soccer teams, Meriden, Connecticut Fall Olympics
Last fall a men’s and women’s HS soccer team in Connecticut put on a Fall Olympics and raised $500 to start a girls soccer team for orphans in Belize.
Here’s what their coach had to say: Upon hearing about the Kids to Kids project my team immediately became interested in supporting the girls from Belize. We worked to organize a fundraiser we called the “Fall Olympics.” Our athletes went to local businesses and restaurants to receive donations to act as prizes and teams raised money to “pay to play” in the Olympics. We had over a dozen teams competing representing countries from all over the world 
including, Italy, Brazil, Greece, and of course, Belize. The athletes competed in crazy events such as: blind-folded dribbling, crab-walk relay, shoe kick, and world cup. All of the athletes had a wonderful time competing , they were able to win unbelievable prizes and at the end of the day everyone felt great about supporting a worthwhile cause. Here are pictures of the athletes competing in their countries’ “uniform”.
It has been a pleasure working with Kids to Kids in such a worthy cause! Thank you for organizing the connections between us here in Connecticut and the girls in Belize. We look forward to working with you again in the future!
Kids to Kids gets Disney Grant
Disney and the Global Youth Service Day gave us a grant to support our work and to continue to engage kids around the US in global issues. Thank you!!
MPS Juggle-a-Thon Raises Money for KtoK
The state’s largest soccer club, Mass Premier Soccer, kicked off the first annual MPS/Kids to Kids Juggle-a-Thon this past Saturday, July 12th, with all proceeds going to Kids to Kids. We had a lot of fun and it was a huge success; raising awareness for our charity and helping more kids! Pictured: top an MPS player trying to win the juggling contest (and win tickets to an MLS game!). Above: Our Kids to Kids all star for the day showing off her shirt after some serious juggling. Bottom: Sarah and Morgan and the Cape Cod Crusaders mascot telling a fan about Kids to Kids. Much thanks again to Graham, Chris, and all the other great people at MPS!
Sarah’s Journal, 2007
Today we visited Espiritu Santo again. We took shifts going to three stations. One was beading, another was painting their new basketball court, and the last one was where they taught us the marrange (a traditional dance.) It was really fun! I am excited to see the finished court.
Emily’s Journal, 2007
This afternoon we went to the nutrition center. This is where Sister Katherine has started an organization where she feeds small malnourished todlers. Today, we brought bubbles, balls, markers, and paint to play with the kids. There was one girl who followed me around everywhere. I did all the activities with her and it was fun to get to know her.
Julia’s Journal, 2007
I think that the most memorable part of our trip to the Dominican Republic was playing with the children at the sand dunes. When we went to the DR I thought we would only interact with the kids at the schools that we were giving to, but it turned out to be so much more than that. There were sand dunes across the street from where we were staying, and one day we decided to head ove rthere. We met somer eally sweet little kids and played duck duck goose, tag, soccer, and baseball. It was amazing how even though we didn’t speak spanish we could understand what they were saying. We communicated not through our voices but our hands. When we came home people asked us, “How did you even talk to the kids though?” and I kind of had to think about it. We had no trouble understanding what the kids were saying. It was like we came up with a whole new language, one that everyone could understand.
Also, after thinking about it, I realized that what made the trip so important for the Dominicans was not that we gave them supplies (although they loved them.) The kids just loved meeting new people and getting to know kids who wanted to help them. Although sending supplies to the DR is thoughtful the expirience is not as powerful. I am so excited to go to the Dominican Republic next year!
Gen’s journal, 2007
One of my favorite trip memories was when we were at the dorms. It was after dinner and we had been invited to play a game of soccer with some of the kids from the town. Amelia and I hadn’t wanted to play so instead we had sat on the sidewalk adn watched. Soon a little boy who was around the age of 5 came over and sat down with us. Pretty soon a whole crowd of people had joined the group. At first we all just looked at eachother and Amelia and I talked. Then Amelia laughed and the kids thought her laugh was really funny so they imitated her and then started imitating everything we did. Pretty soon we were all laughing and having a good time. Then a few of the boys motioned to us to tell them our names. We did and then asked for theirs. then little by little we found out a way to communicate with them by using hand motions and both of our languages. We learned their ages, names, and who was related to who this way. We even learned that one of the boys was deaf. I will remember this as one of my favorite memories because by the end of the day I had almost forgotten that we weren’t speaking the same language. We had come up with our own special language. It was so cool!!
Chess Peace Initiative
