By Janet | Student Volunteer
Dear Friends,
Happy New Year! It is time for our quarterly report, and for us to once again extend our thanks to you for your generous donations to Kids 4 Afghan Kids. We would also like to take this opportunity to express a special thank you to those who also volunteered their time and efforts to support our cause.
This year at the Alternate Christmas Fair, we are pleased to report that $1040 was raised in total. We sold a diverse set of items, from our classic chocolate covered pretzels, to woolen hats, and corked bottle necklaces. This year, we also organized a fundraiser at Hillside Middle School, where we raised $240 dollars. We sold our holiday themed chocolate covered pretzels, K4AK stickers, and fabric bookmarks, along with a few watercolor ones. 100% of the profits went directly to K4AK.
Currently, we have 56 new male students and 48 new female students that are enrolled for first grade, bringing our student totals up to 680 male students and 280 female students! We have had 31 students graduate in December of 2019! The students have already taken their finals, and the schools are now closed for the winter.
The wonderful place this organization has reached today makes me feel so very proud to play a role in this change. I would have to take this back to third grade, where K4AK Founder, Mrs. N, introduced my class to K4AK, which intrigued me. As a child, it was one of the first times I have ever paid a large amount of thought to children in less developed countries, struggling with things that I had taken for granted, such as education, healthcare, or even a sturdy roof over my head. It really made me think about how lucky I really was, to be able to pursue any career or hobby without major drawbacks. This completely changed the way I look at the world, and encouraged me to pursue any major opportunities that come my way.
Back then, I definitely would have given up on my somewhat mediocre artistic abilities, but I kept pushing through by telling myself how fortunate I am that I get this opportunity, and finally found my true passion in both art and criminology.
Now years later, I can see how K4AK has changed me in so many positive ways as a person, and I would not trade this experience for anything else in the world. That’s why I was so excited to be able to organize a fundraiser at Hillside Middle School, in the days before and after Thanksgiving. This gave me the opportunity to spread word of K4AK, and also build connections with other students, who helped when they could, and staff members, like Mr. T, and Mrs. S, who have previously worked alongside Mrs. N, and who were kind enough to volunteer their morning hours to act as supervisors for this cause, and the wonderful Mrs. B, who, despite not knowing about K4AK prior to this fundraiser, was open to this cause and volunteered her lunch hours to supervise our stand.
If it wasn’t for Kids 4 Afghan Kids, I would definitely not be in the position I am today, with a cause that I grew up alongside, and the mutual support between both sides. It feels great to be able to make crafts, and spend time working for an organization that truly makes a change in somebody's life. I owe so much to Mrs. N, and everyone who has been involved in this organization.
By Kathi Kuehnel | Project Leader
By Kathi | Parent Volunteer
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