Students at each of Berthoud four public schools will be working together in the days ahead to assist in seeding funding for the Berthoud CARES Kids Helping Kids grant program which, once funded, will supply grant funding to those children/families in our community who are in need of support. 

 

 

The Berthoud CARES Kids Helping Kids Fund has been developed with the belief that even small amounts of money, carefully used, can have an important effect on someone's life. The Kids Helping Kids program will provide assistance for children and/or families within Berthoud, CO, who need to get through short-term crisis situations and who have needs that are not met by other public or private programs.

 

 

This Kids Helping Kids grant fund will allow for emergency one time grants only.  The goal is to contribute to the well being of individuals.

 

 

 

A Berthoud CARES Kids Helping Kids fund committee is being developed within the structure of the Berthoud CARES organization.  This committee will consist of one representative from Berthoud CARES and one student representative from each of the Berthoud schools.  Once established, this group will meet throughout the year to review grants and award grant funding.  “By having student participation on the oversight committee, the program will live up to it’s name of Kids Helping Kids,” explained Martha Simmons of Berthoud CARES.  “We are hopeful that the youth participants will help our organization in adding new insight into the needs of our community.  This group, appointed by each school, will then have the role of presenting the grant applications and logging their votes on what grants should be funded throughout the year.

 

No formal applications are available for distribution until the initial fundraising will be completed.  Once funding is collected, Berthoud CARES will assemble the grant committee for the initiation of the program.

 

Grant applications will be distributed to each Berthoud school.  Requests for grant support must come through a Berthoud area school and forwarded to the Berthoud CARES Kids Helping Kids office.  Individuals may not apply on their own behalf.

The Berthoud CARES Kids Helping Kids grant program will only issue payments to qualified vendors of applicants.  Checks cannot be made directly to individuals.  Grants will be awarded between $100 and $300.

 

Turner Middle School has led the way in working to seed the funding for the Kids Helping Kids grant program by donating a percentage of their proceeds from their 2008 Bob Turner Classic Run/Walk and organizers will be doing the same in 2009 with the goal of increasing Turner’s donation to this community program.  Principal Bill Siebers presented a check for $600 to Berthoud CARES from the 2008 Bob Turner Classic with the goal of motivating other schools to become involved with the Kids Helping Kids grant program.  “Turner Middle School hopes to exceed their initial funding to the program following the 2009 Turner Classic,” explained Siebers. 

 

 

Students at Berthoud Elementary, Ivy Stockwell Elementary and Berthoud High School will be coordinating their Kids Helping Kids campaigns during the week of February 9 -13.  Each school will work to encourage donations from their students with the goal of raising additional funding for the program.  Donation canisters will be placed at each school the week before Valentine’s Day and each school will be appealing to its students and staff  to drop their spare change into the canisters with the goal of adding to this community campaign that help other children/families in our community.

 

 

Berthoud High School will be running special activities during the week and designating specific teachers to head special canister drives.  Those teachers collecting the most funds in their designated canisters will then be selected to perform a variety of entertaining activities in front of the student body.  “Raising funds for others can be turned into entertainment for the students,” explained Simmons.  “We hope that this year’s campaign is the first of many annual campaigns coordinated by the youth of our community for the Kids Helping Kids program!”

 

 

“We are hopeful that this will become an annual community campaign,” explained Simmons.  “We are delighted at the response from the school administrations and anticipate equal response from the students and families within our community.”

 

 

Anyone else interested in supporting the Kids Helping Kids campaign may drop off donations at the Berthoud Community Center, Hays Market or Home State Bank during the week of February 9 – 13 or donors may send their tax-deductible contributions directly to Berthoud CARES, P. O. Box 869, Berthoud, CO 80513.

 

 

For more information on the Berthoud CARES Kids Helping Kids program, contact Martha Simmons via email to mjscolorado@aol.com.