Amy Bowling's Fundraiser - Help Me Help Our Kidz!

Did you know?

• Nearly 200,000 children in Georgia have an incarcerated parent
• Georgia's prison expenditures total more than $1 Billion annually
• Up to 70% of children of inmates may one day become incarcerated

Our mission is to break the cycle of incarceration by providing stability, opportunity, and a safe community to children of inmates. We accomplish this by helping them rise above their circumstances, empowering them to become  leaders,  and providing a  life  of hope through intentional, faith-based  programming in a loving  environment.

Our  10-year  program  continuum  is  designed  to  cultivate  long-term,  supportive relationships,  beginning  with  children  at  age  eight  and  serving  them  and  their  families  through  young adulthood.  We  believe  it  is  only  through  this  long-term  commitment  that  can  we  truly  end  generational incarceration. 

OUR NEED

Kidz2Leaders' Board of Directors adopted a three-year strategic plan focused on creating a new scope of work involving a deeper evaluation of the organization's past accomplishments and challenges, as well as a targeted and thoughtful approach to future growth.  Initiatives to increase volunteer and participant retention, grow number of new children and volunteers each year and increase the level of support for children and families will require significant investment in capacity building in 2022.   

2021 In Review:

• Camp Hope – We were so excited to return to in-person camp for 2021!  Two sessions of Camp Hope were held, serving over 130 campers. Additionally, we were able to host our Camper2Counselors on a wonderful Beach Retreat over Labor Day to provide training and fellowship.  
• Interns4Tomorrow – After a year of Zoom training and a virtual Capstone project, our interns were happy to return to in-person training and three-week internships.  Eight interns completed a day of mock interviews, followed by assignments at four business partnership locations.  Recruiting for 2022 interns is underway and we look forward to a great year ahead.
• Family Support – Our primary focus in 2021 continued to be the support of our K2L families.  Financial assistance as well as connecting families with other food, housing and employment resources, continues throughout the year.  Bible studies on Zoom continued in 2021 as well as a Spring picnic and individual check-ins both via phone and in-person.  Many families took advantage of our Back-to-School event in August.  And we were able to hold an in-person, overnight Fall Family Retreat in October!  We are looking forward to once again hosting our annual Hope4Christmas party in person.
• Alumni Community – We were excited to complete our first session of OnPath, new program for Kidz2Leaders Alumni, in partnership with Thomas Cotton – Camp Hope pastor, board member, and friend to our alumni.   In 2020, he taught his curriculum during 18 sessions, through a combination of virtual and “distant” but in-person settings, to a small group of 8 alumni.  With training completed, Thomas provided extensive one-on-one coaching to participants, helping them re-focus on their goals for their futures as Christian leaders in their communities.  We are in the process of launching our second session in late 2021/early 2022.
• Fundraising – After cancelling this event in 2020,  Kidz2Leaders’ Annual Golf Tournament benefiting Camp Hope returned on April 12, with 96 golfers enjoying a beautiful day on the course.  Thanks to our faithful supporters, we raised over $40,000.  In September, we held our Big, Big Party with both new and old friends.  Rally4theKidz Motorcycle Rally is October 21-24!

Moving forward in 2022:

• Camp Hope – Our dates are set for in-person, overnight camp:  July 9-15 for our Cornerstone campers and July 16-22 for our Leadership Training Academy.  
• Interns4Tomorrow – New Intern recruitment has already begun and all look forward to in-person training and employment placements during the summer of 2022. 
• Family Support – With faithful support of our staff, donors and volunteers, we will continue to serve our families with physical, emotional, spiritual and financial support.  We also are launching our Student Support programming for long-term mentoring of our children and families.
• Alumni Community – In addition to alumni gatherings and resource support as needed, we will continue to offer scholarships to our college students who qualify, and our ON PATH programming will continue into 2022.  
• Fundraising – We look forward to our Annual Golf Tournament April 25, 2022, as well as our second annual Big, Big Party in the fall.  Our Annual Rally4theKidz Motorcycle Rally is on the books as well for late October and GAGives Day in November.  We hope to add at least one major fundraising event to support our capacity building initiatives in 2022-2023.

YOUR GENEROSITY WILL ALLOW CHILDREN OF THE INCARCERATED TO EXPERIENCE STABILITY, OPPORTUNITY, AND A CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY THROUGHOUT 2022.