Founded by Model Debbie Aquino, Kids Helping Kids Succeed is all about supporting a community of children from the inside out
As an adult, it’s so important to teach children the importance of giving back to their community and creating a positive impact on the world, and this is exactly what Kids Helping Kids Succeed is all about. Founded by former model, entrepreneur, and mother Debbie Aquino in 2012, Kids Helping Kids Succeed is a youth-led organization that works to provide children and families in underserved areas the necessary tools they need to succeed including school supplies, mentoring, group activities, art programs, and celebrating important milestones such as birthdays and graduations. They specifically and strategically focus on underserved children living in shelter facilities and school districts with less resources in the Kendall, Hialeah, Bay Harbor, Miami-Dade, and Broward counties of Florida.
Debbie was first inspired to create this organization after her son did a school project in which they found out the staggering statistic that nearly 50,000 children in Florida were living out of homeless shelter facilities. This sparked a passion in her to create a positive change in her community by providing for these less fortunate families. She teamed up with other moms and their families from local schools to further expand the program, especially once the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020.
Due to COVID-19 related school closures, Kids Helping Kids Succeed was contacted by local school social workers because of an urgent need to provide assistance for families with children with special needs who had lost their income. They started a grassroots movement of kids and their parents gathering together every week to collect and deliver basic supplies and nonperishable items. They have continued this effort ever since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. At first, they were delivering boxes of resources to about 30 families per week. Now, they have achieved the admirable task of delivering up to 150 weekly boxes to local families and children.
In addition to responding to the COVID-19 crisis, Kids Helping Kids Succeed has also expanded its efforts internationally. They recently began working to help children who have survived natural disasters. The goal is to provide food, clothes, and toys to children in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria and to deliver medical supplies for children in the Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian.
The youth-led program is organized and executed solely with the help of donations and weekly volunteers, which has shown just how powerful a passionate community coming together can be. It’s a truly inspiring organization that children and adults everywhere can learn from, and Kids Helping Kids Succeed isn’t stopping anytime soon.
As the Founder, Debbie hopes to create a youth center for children in the near future. In fact, she already has laid out the plans and found the land. Now all she needs is the funds from donations to break ground on the exciting project. If you would like to be a part of the positive impact and support the growth of Kids Helping Kids Succeed, you can send donations at kidshelpingkidssucceed.net.
Readers can keep up with Debbie Aquino on her Instagram and website.