Each year, Kids’ Chance Awareness Week uses every channel possible — print, email, social media, and more — to spread the word about its work to potential scholarship recipients and their families, as well as to those who might support its mission through contributions of time and financial resources.

In 2023, the Louisiana Bar Foundation (LBF) Kids’ Chance Scholarship Program took its Awareness Week message on the road with in-person events held in every corner of the state.

“The LBF is divided into nine districts covering the entire state of Louisiana,” explains Dee Jones, the LBF Communications Coordinator. “We host annual Pop-Up networking and education events in each district. This year, we decided to coordinate the LBF and Kids’ Chance Awareness Week schedules to include a Kids’ Chance element in each district event.”

The LBF gatherings provide continuing legal education (CLE) credits for the attorneys who attend, and the organization encourages every invited member to bring a guest. As a result, turnout is robust.

Whether a breakfast, lunch, or reception was being planned, Jones and her team used the opportunity to highlight Kids’ Chance. “Once we realized the timing would work, we thought creatively about how to use each event to amplify the Kids’ Chance mission.”

The typical LBF Pop-Up program includes a speaker, such as a judge, who talks about the impact of the LBF, which was created in 1969 to provide funding for civil legal aid. The 2023 programs added a Kids’ Chance scholarship recipient or family member to the line-up, to speak about the impact of Kids’ Chance in their lives.

“We had a Kids’ Chance representative at all nine Pop-Ups, including six former Kids’ Chance scholars and one current scholarship recipient,” Jones notes with pride. “Our New Orleans event was held at a brewery owned by one of LBF’s first-ever Kids’ Chance scholars!”

“It was wonderful to see the long-term impact of our Kids’ Chance program by showcasing the stories of scholarship recipients who have gone on to serve on our Kids’ Chance Committee and have had positive impacts on their community,” said LBF President Deidre Robert. “Their contributions to those regions can help raise awareness and accessibility for potential future students who may benefit from the program but are not yet aware of it.”

Since 2004, the LBF Kids’ Chance Scholarship Program has awarded 337 scholarships totaling $863,100. After reaching more than 500 law professionals and community leaders through in-person events that offered a personal glimpse into the importance of Kids’ Chance scholarships, Dee anticipates that their impact will grow.

“We kick off Awareness Week by sending Kids’ Chance care packages to our scholarship recipients,” Jones says. “This year we were able to provide each with more than $125 in gift cards.”

The 2023 Kids’ Chance Awareness Week - LBF Pop-Up collaboration points to the value of working with other community-based organizations. “We already had a close relationship with LBF,” Jones adds. “But after the success of our 2023 efforts — we made many new friends for the program — I would encourage every Kids’ Chance organization to take a look around to see what clubs, associations, or other networks might be willing to help educate their communities about Kids’ Chance.”

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