World Connect Opens Online Voting for Kids to Kids Grants
Creates Platform for Kids Nationwide to Have a Voice in Where Funding Goes; Lead Up to National Kids to Kids Day on April 30
WALTHAM, MA (Vocus) April 6, 2010
World Connect, formerly Infante Sano, a non-profit that empowers local leaders in underserved communities to solve local problems, today unveiled its new online voting platform for Kids to Kids grants. Now, kids worldwide who join Kids to Kids can have a say in where the money they help to raise goes. The online voting determines which grant requests, submitted by local leaders looking to make simple but powerful changes to kids’ lives in different communities around the world, will be funded.
Kids to Kids, which was founded in 2005 by four middle school aged girls from Massachusetts, provides microgrants to fund arts, sports, education and environmental projects aimed at kids in underserved communities in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa and Asia. The grants are sponsored by Peace Corps volunteers and local community leaders who identify specific needs and support creative solutions on the ground in Belize, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mali, Morocco, Peru, Philippines and Rwanda.
In the last five years. Kids to Kids has funded more than 180 projects. Now, 56 projects, including “Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) 2010” and “Kicks for Kids,” are up for consideration. Voting will only be open until April 10, 2010.
“It’s been an eye opening experience to witness the progression of our projects over the years,” said Julia Haney, one of the four Kids to Kids founders. “We read and review proposals and try to picture the impact our funding will have. However, when the money gets into the community and we see and hear about the experiences of the kids involved, it goes so far beyond what we can imagine. With online voting we are confident that many other kids will become part of this exciting process and feel the direct impact of making hopes and aspirations a reality.”
The online voting is just a step in expanding the reach of Kids to Kids. April 30, 2010, will be the first annual National Kids to Kids Day. The event will be a coordinated effort around the globe to raise awareness and funds for Kids to Kids to support positive change in the lives of kids everywhere.
“Kids to Kids is a global community building program,” said Sarah Henry, executive director of World Connect. “In addition to raising much needed money and putting it into action to meet the needs of kids through these projects, Kids to Kids is connecting children across barriers of language and culture. National Kids to Kids Day is about building on this success and encouraging a new generation of leaders and global citizens.”
About World Connect
World Connect, formerly Infante Sano, is a non-profit that empowers local leaders in underserved communities to solve local problems, improving the health and well-being of women, children and communities around the world. Since 2005, World Connect has contributed millions of dollars through nearly 200 grants and in-kind gifts, supporting more than 150 communities in eight countries. World Connect has two giving channels: World Connect Grants, which connects mothers to mothers worldwide to support changemakers in health, education and income generation projects, and Kids to Kids, which funds innovative youth arts, sports, education and environmental projects. Visit World Connect's website to learn more about the long-lasting and transformational impact of its programs.
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