This past November, the Kids’ Chance community came together to celebrate Awareness Week. State organizations, partners, and volunteers from Washington to Maine leveraged social media and professional networks to highlight the Kids’ Chance mission and educate new audiences on the importance of accessible education for the children of parents injured on the job. 

Strategies to create buzz and spark engagement varied from state to state. Many state organizations leveraged social media templates provided by Kids’ Chance of America (KCOA) to share their scholarship recipients’ inspiring stories, as well as photos and personal ‘thank you’ videos from board members expressing their gratitude. Others held fundraising events to increase community participation while raising money for scholarships.

Our partners and leaders in the workers’ comp industry also participated in the efforts. Rising Medical Solutions, myMatrixx, Association of Workers’ Compensation Professionals (AWCP), Paradigm Corporate, and Merge Investigations, Inc. all heeded the call and promoted the Kids’ Chance mission on their corporate social media channels.

“The outpouring of support and participation seen from across the country during this year’s Awareness Week underscores one of our core beliefs,” said KCOA Director of Program Services Cheryl Doucette, “that our voices are strongest and create the most lasting impact when used in unison to spread the Kids’ Chance message.”

Here are some of the ways state organizations celebrated Awareness Week across the country: 

• Kids’ Chance of Nebraska (KCNE), Kids’ Chance of Texas (KCTX), Kids’ Chance of Montana (KCMT), and the Louisiana Bar Foundation’s Kids’ Chance Scholarship Program received executive proclamations from their state governors commemorating Awareness Week
• Kids’ Chance of Washington (KCWA) led a fundraising campaign with the goal of funding one full scholarship by week’s end
• Kids’ Chance of Georgia (KCGA) held their 31st Annual Charity Golf Classic tournament
• Kids’ Chance of Oklahoma (KCOK) and Kids’ Chance of Maryland (KCMD) showed off their student care packages on their social media channels
• Kids’ Chance of Virginia (KCVA) hosted their 6th Annual DC Dash 5K run
• Kids’ Chance of Maine (KCME) held a raffle and awarded its $5000 prize to State Senator Anne Carney — who donated her winnings back to the Maine community 
• Kids’ Chance of California (KCCA) hosted a virtual popcorn fundraiser 
• Kids’ Chance of Delaware (KCDE), Kids’ Chance of North Carolina (KCNC), Kids’ Chance of Kansas (KCKS), and Kids Chance of Pennsylvania (KCPA) used their social platforms to promote the Planning for the Future initiative 

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On the national level, Kids’ Chance of America Executive Director Joe Mancini and Planning for the Future Chair Jennifer Wolf spent Awareness Week visiting Kids’ Chance partner Safety National, a leading specialty insurance and reinsurance provider. Together they engaged the members of the Safety National team so they better understood the Kids' Chance mission and how they can help advance it.

Thank you to all who participated in Awareness Week. Every action brought us one step closer to reaching every eligible kid.

Photo: (from left) Chuck McCauly (Kids' Chance of Arkansas President), Scott Willhite, Karen McKinney, Christina Johnson, and Amanda Dinwiddie.