KidsGiving News

Growing a Love of Philanthropy

June 2022

· Announcing the KidsGiving Fair ·

Saturday, December 3rd 10am-Noon

Mark your calendar for our first ever KidsGiving Fair on Saturday, December 3rd from 10am-Noon, hosted Arlington Science Focus School! 



We are thrilled to invite our entire community to come learn about local nonprofits, enjoy hands-on activities for the entire family, and support our KidsGiving partners through your donations this holiday season. Kids can make personal donations to local organizations' coin collection jars, and for every donation, you can decorate a holiday card to give a gift on behalf of a loved one.

We hope you can join us for this special event! Contact Dena Porter if you'd like to get involved or learn more, and stay tuned for more details this fall!

NEW! KidsGiving Welcome Packet

For schools interested in launching their own KidsGiving program, we have a brand new KidsGiving Welcome Packet! Filled with info to help you get started, including sample docs and your very own KidsGiving car magnet, please contact VP Outreach, Christa Mansur, if you would like to learn more.

April 2022: EcoAction Arlington

ASFS KidsGiving families worked together to clean up Hayes Park, right across the street from Arlington Science Focus school, and also had a chance to learn about invasive plants and how to protect our Arlington environment.

May 2022: Doorways for Women and Families

ASFS KidsGiving supported Doorways with a donation drive, and 5th graders had a chance to learn about Doorways and enjoy an outdoor neighborhood walk to show their support. In addition, KidsGiving members worked together to donate and assemble herb planters for families in Doorways shelters.

June 2022: KidsGiving Coin Collection

ASFS hosted a Coin Collection Drive to support Aspire! Afterschool Learning, Jennifer Bush-Lawson Fund, and Phoenix Bikes during the first week of June. Students made personal donations in the collection jars set up before school, and raised over $160 in coins and bills to support these three local organizations.

ASFS KidsGiving End of Year Wrap-up

Congratulations to the 42 ASFS students who earned their KidsGiving philanthropist certificates (and t-shirts!) this year, and to all 105 KidsGiving members for all of their support!

This year, ASFS KidsGiving:

• We donated 482 pounds of cereal and canned food to AFAC to support families in Arlington.
• We collected and sorted bags of fall and winter clothing for The Clothesline for students in our community.
• We made cat toys for the Animal Welfare League of Arlington, and hosted an animal supplies drive for their annual Stuff the Sleigh event.
• We made 206 healthy snack bags for Real Food for Kids to donate to local housing shelters.
• We raised over $1100 for R.E.A.D. (Read Early and Daily) through our ASFS KidsGiving Read-a-thon, enough to purchase 222 new books for babies and young children.
• We donated and assembled 176 hygiene kits, made over 100 bookmarks, and donated books for Comfort Cases backpacks for children in foster care.
• We worked together to clean up Hayes Park in partnership with EcoAction Arlington.
• We held a donation drive and neighborhood walk for Doorways for Women and Families, and made herb planters for Doorways family shelters.
• We raised over $160 through a coin collection drive to support Aspire! Afterschool Learning, Jennifer Bush-Lawson Fund, and Phoenix Bikes.

Contact KidsGiving Lead, Dena Porter, for more information about KidsGiving at Arlington Science Focus School.

April 2022: EcoAction Arlington

For April, over 40 KidsGiving Taylor kids and adults worked together to clean up the trails leading to Zachary Taylor Park, including a playhouse and even a kitchen sink!

May 2022: Doorways for Women

For May, KidsGiving and the Taylor community collected diapers and wipes to support Doorways. We collected 20 boxes of diapers and many packages of wipes that will help benefit families living in shelters in Arlington. Linley Beckbridge from Doorways talked with KidsGiving students about how they help families in need in Arlington and read a book about homelessness to the students. The kids also decorated a "thank you" sign for essential staff at Doorways to show appreciation for their tireless work helping others in our community. 

Taylor KidsGiving End of Year Wrap-up

Congratulations to the 31 Taylor KidsGiving students who earned their KidsGiving philanthropist certificates and KidsGiving t-shirts this year!

This year, Taylor KidsGiving:

• Collected 900 pounds of food for Arlington Food Assistance Center
• Raised over $800 (mostly in $1 bills!) on Giving Tuesday, supporting 6 local nonprofits
• Collected 20 boxes of diapers, totaling over 2,500 diapers for families living in shelters in Arlington
• Made 215 snack bags stuffed full with health snacks for children attending after school programs at affordable housing sites
• Collected hundreds of pieces of new and gently used kids clothing for economically disadvantaged students in Arlington
• Painted 100 canvas bags that will be gifted along with baby board books for uninsured new moms
• Collected over 400 books for a book fair for at risk youth in Arlington for kids to bring home books to build their own home library
• Cleaned up the Taylor school grounds and surrounding parkland, collecting many bags of trash, including a laundry sink and broken kids playhouse.

Contact KidsGiving Lead, Mary Sanders, for more information about KidsGiving at Taylor Elementary School.

Jamestown Highlights for 2021-22

Thanks to the generosity of Jamestown Elementary School families for donating to philanthropic efforts this school year to support many local organizations, including AFAC, Sunrise Assisted Living, Comfort Cases, and more. Jamestown is looking forward to officially launching their KidsGiving program this fall!

Contact Jamestown ES KidsGiving lead, Molly Wolff, for more details.

About KidsGiving: KidsGiving is an organization designed to teach students the importance of philanthropy through a partnership with local nonprofit organizations in Arlington, Virginia. The goal is to work with many different types of non-profits so our children learn about the numerous and unique needs of our community, as well as the positive impact they can make.