Brock Carter, Owner of Safety Counseling, Inc. and President of Kids’ Chance of New Mexico (KCNM), remembers a time — not too long ago — when reviewing scholarship applications involved dozens of binders brimming with documentation. “We were bombarding the selection committee with paper — biographies, academic transcripts and grades, budgets and more,” he recalled.

It was a process with roots in the 1990s, when Brock and his colleague, Toby Wright, decided to raise scholarship funds for students whose families were impacted by workplace tragedy. When Wright passed away just a few short years later, the New Mexico workers’ comp community came together to carry on in his memory. “The Toby Wright golf tournament was born,” Brock said. “It was our way of celebrating someone who really championed kids who might otherwise never realize their dreams of a higher education.”

About five years ago, the Toby Wright Scholarship Fund aligned with Kids’ Chance of America to form Kids’ Chance of New Mexico. “I knew about Kids’ Chance and had heard that the organization was on the rise, but I had no idea how much it had grown,” Brock said. “It was exciting to be part of a movement to establish a Kids’ Chance presence in all 50 states across the country. It was a dream realized.”

It has been three or so years since KCNM incorporated the Kaleidoscope platform into its scholarship process. “We were one of the first eight or so state organizations to use Kaleidoscope,” Brock said. “Thirty-one states are using it now. It’s a very organized platform where all of the information you need about applicants is in one location, stored in the cloud. It works very smoothly.”

Brock also appreciates that Kaleidoscope makes the process more accessible for students. “Applying for a Kids’ Chance scholarship is much faster and easier now,” he said.

The time that the KCNM board and the four-member scholarship review committee save thanks to the streamlined process can now be devoted to building the Kids’ Chance brand. “Kids’ Chance is well known at a high level in the workers’ comp industry,” Brock said. “We want it to be recognized at the local level as well.”

Brock and the rest of the leadership at KCNM seek more than brand recognition and a user-friendly scholarship application: they want to make sure that they are reaching, and helping, as many kids as possible.

“The Kids’ Chance scholars I meet are extraordinary and inspiring,” Brock said. “They are so focused and hardworking, ready to take on the world – and to make life better for their families.”

“My favorite thing in life is working with these kids,” Brock added. “Every penny we raise goes into providing scholarships. I am very proud of the work we do here at Kids’ Chance of New Mexico.”