K.I.D.S. Responds to Ever Greater Daily Disasters in 2011

Although K.I.D.S. was born in response to a natural disaster, throughout the country there are millions of children and families who are suffering from daily difficulties, including illness, economic hardship, abuse and homelessness.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 46.2 million people in the U.S. (15.1%) were living in poverty in 2010, up from 43.6 million (14.3%) in 2009; this is the highest level since 1993. More than 16 million children in the U.S. (1 in 5) currently live in poverty.

In 2011, over 90% of our donations were distributed to families in the United States suffering from daily difficulties. Over the past year, K.I.D.S. has expanded its efforts in the following areas:

• Increased partnerships with food banks which are overwhelmed with the growing number of families at their doorsteps and the greater range of products they require;
• Greater involvement on military bases where families are not only struggling with the absence of a parent overseas but increasingly with the return of veterans who are unable to find work;
• Increased response to homeless shelters because of the dramatic rise in residents and for stays that last longer periods of time; and
• Growing relations with afterschool programs that provide academic, social and sports activities to abandoned, abused or neglected children as well as to those with an absent parent in prison.