Kids2 Global Team Participates in Day of Service for Universal Childrens' Day

Kids2 hosted its second annual Global Give Back Day on Universal Children’s Day, 11.20.2019.

The program was first introduced by a group of Kids2 global team members wanting to take our foundational focus on community to “give back” and expand across our global offices. 

Kids2’s Global Give Back Day is filled with opportunities for Kids2 team members to donate our time, energy, and skills to local organizations that provide tiny wins for bright futures for all families, regardless of where they live, how much money they make, what language they speak, what faith they practice, and what goals they pursue. We believe bright futures should be in reach for every family. This includes families and organizations working to overcome difficult situations, focusing on those affected in many different areas.

To achieve this, our Global Kids2 Krew reached out to their local community and made today possible. Over 375 global team members participating in over 2,200 volunteer hours at 20 different charitable activities around the world! Check out how each global office created thousands of tiny wins on Universal Children’s Day in 2019: 

Atlanta had 161 volunteers working across eight activities at different organizations around the city.

• 1. Helping Mamas (www.helpingmamas.org) sorted and repackaged 45,000 diapers, plus sorted and bundled children’s clothing and other items, saving the organization $24.14 per hour per volunteer.

2.  Habitat for Humanity - North Central Georgia (www.habitat-ncg.org) builds affordable homes for purchase and performs critical home repairs for hardworking, low-income families. This group helped work on the exterior of a home for a local family to finish the project before the holidays!

3. The Covenant House (www.CovenantHouseGA.org) has helped transform and save the lives of more than a million homeless, runaway, and trafficked young people offering housing & support services to 80,000 boys and girls every year. This year, volunteers helped prepare the property for the annual sleep out fundraiser.

4. Foster Care Support Foundation’s (http://www.fostercares.org) mission is to strengthen the ability of foster families to meet the needs of their foster children by implementing a community-based resource. Volunteers helped sort donations, size, and restock the center for easy selection by foster children to "shop!"

5. The Donna Center for Women and Families with Mary Hall Freedom House (http://www.maryhallfreedomhouse.org/newpage1) offers a 24/7/365 emergency housing for women, children, and families. Volunteers organized the donation closet, set-up bookcases, and organized the family library.

6. The Atlanta Children’s Shelter (www.acsatl.org) volunteers helped in the childcare early childhood education center for an organization that offers families experiencing homelessness social services for the parents, housing assistance, weekly clinic visits, mental health services, and healthy meals.

7. Community Connections (www.c-connections.com) creates bright futures for foster families by offering a free opportunity for foster parents to "shop" for all children ages 0-12 in their foster care program. Volunteers in their Donation Center helped sort and organize clothes and other donation items for families.

8. Baby Einstein believes in curiosity for all – and we helped ignite curiosity in the hands of our local community by donating Baby Einstein books. Volunteers organized Baby Einstein Books for donations to local organizations like Our House, Atlanta Mission, Foster Care Support, Little Free Libraries, and more to show the importance of reading at an early age. 

Hong Kong will be volunteering with the Hong Chi Association supporting people with intellectual disabilities to help them reach their full potential by decorating their gymnasium wall with Baby Einstein characters promoting discovery & play plus other activities for their active programs and early childhood development centers.  

The Zhongshan Team divided 120 team members into six groups working together with Huiling and the Stars Youth Development Center at two community projects in China. 

• Five groups volunteered with Huiling hosting activities for children at different age groups with mental disabilities introducing the older children to different job skills at their youth training center and shelter workshops plus helping decorate classrooms or cleaning the farm.

• David She from the Shanghai office participated with our Zhongshan office in their activity for Global Give Back Day.
• The sixth group collected over 500 books donated by our team members to ship to rural primary schools and community public libraries in underdeveloped areas throughout China through Stars Youth Development Center, a registered educational non-profit organization based in Guangzhou.

 

It was the first time our new team members at our China factory joined Global Give Back Day. The team went to Jiujiang Children’s Welfare Home and spent time with the children in their classroom and helped with gardening and maintenance at their center.

Our Minneapolis team volunteered at the Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery preparing and feeding a snack for the kiddos in the center and also donated products to Salvation Army or Toys for Tots.

Cheryl Hascup in New Jersey spent the day serving at Saint Peter’s Haven Food Pantry providing supplemental food to those in her community experiencing hunger. The organization is currently serving over 800 persons each month.

Carolyn Campbell in Canada returned to volunteer with CP24 Chum Christmas Wish Center again helping to sort & wrap donated toys, including some of our own for Baby’s 0-12 months.

Arkansas continued its community partnership with The Sunshine School, a local organization in northwest Arkansas that helps provide programs for families to help integrate children with developmental delays into the classrooms.

Our Mexico team visited Home House for Single Young Mothers to spend time with the families and donate Kids2 Toys and Gear items. The House takes care of 29 mommy´s with precarious life situations and their babies providing shelter, food, medical assistant, and studies to help young moms and their babies have a better life. 

The UK office cleaned out their warehouse and donated products to Keech, a charity that provides free specialist care for adults in Luton and South Bedfordshire, and children from Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, and Milton Keynes, who have life-limiting and terminal illnesses. 

The Australia team spent the day gift wrapping toys for the Kmart/Salvation Army Wishing Tree, encouraging the power of giving since 1987, creating Tiny Wins for less fortunate families this holiday season.

Satoshi in Japan donated products to families that live in the local community outside of Tokyo at the Machida-city’s event space in front of Machida station.

Last but not least, the Amsterdam office cleared out their storage room and donated toys to an organization that provides daycare services to smaller groups focused on infants. They also took the time to give back to their community at a local Animal Shelter in Amsterdam sweeping the paths where the animals walk, cleaning out their rooms, and helping the caretakers focus on taking care of the animals. 

Thank you to everyone for participating in our second annual Global Give Back Day in recognition of Universal Children’s Day!

ABOUT:  United Nations Universal Children’s Day (from United Nations’ website)

Universal Children’s Day was created to serve as a day when kids ’take over’ high-visibility roles in media, politics, business, sport and entertainment to shine a light on the most pressing challenges faced by their generation.

United Nations Universal Children’s Day was established in 1954 and is celebrated on November 20th each year to promote international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide, and improving children’s welfare.

• November 20th is an important date as it is the date in 1959 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. It is also the date in 1989 when the UN General assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
   
• Since 1990, Universal Children’s Day also marks the anniversary of the date that the UN General Assembly adopted both the declaration and the convention on children’s rights.
   
• Mothers and fathers, teachers, nurses and doctors, government leaders and civil society activists, religious and community elders, corporate moguls, and media professionals, as well as young people and children themselves, can play an important part in making Universal Children’s Day relevant for their societies, communities, and nations.
   
• Universal Children’s Day offers each of us an inspirational entry-point to advocate, promote, and celebrate children’s rights, translating into dialogues and actions that will build a better world for children.
   
• It’s an extra way we as an organization live our Purpose creating tiny wins for bright futures for families everywhere!  
  
  Information from Website:  http://www.un.org/en/events/childrenday/background.shtml