Volunteering with Kids in Need Foundation
Earlier this month, the Quirk’s staff organized a company volunteering session at the Kids in Need Foundation (KINF) to further support the Market Research Education Foundation’s (MREF) Backpack Challenge aimed to help children in the United States and Canada receive their required school supplies.
What is the Kids in Need Foundation?
KINF has impacted 7.8 million students and 316,900 teachers through its network and programs. KINF helps under-resourced students and teachers by supplying them with the materials they need to have a successful school year. Along with supporting with school supplies, KINF also provides supplies to students and teachers affected by natural disasters and are partners with the National Network of Resource Centers.
After arriving to the KINF headquarters in Roseville, Minn., we were given a quick tour of the space. The KINF members were in the process of finalizing the Teacher Resource Center, a store-like area filled with aisles of school supplies, school decorations and materials all free of cost for teachers. Teachers who qualify for the Teacher Resource Center must teach in a Minnesota school where at least 50% of its students are enrolled in the National School Lunch Program.
The volunteering session
After our tour, we were ready to start packing backpacks. The team split into three groups to work as efficiently as possible. The first group unboxed, opened and stacked the backpacks. The second group filled them with the assigned amount of martials including three folders, two notebooks, a package of markers, a highlighter and more. The last group organized the filled backpacks into boxes, ready to ship to children in need.
Our thoughts
Less than an hour later, we had packed the allotted supplies for the volunteering session! We were all impressed with how quickly supplies were packed and were proud of our efforts.
“Packing the backpacks reminded me how important getting new notebooks and folders were to me as a kid. The start of the school year is thrilling and scary, and I can only imagine how it would feel to be without the essential school supplies. I’m thankful to have had the opportunity to have fun with my coworkers while helping my greater community,” says Quirk’s Digital Content Editor Emily Koenig.
“Since its founding, one of the cornerstones of Quirk’s has been to give back to those in need, whether it be financial or in time and service. Volunteering at organizations like the Kids in Need Foundation is a great reminder to stay humble and connected to those less fortunate,” says Quirk’s President Steve Quirk.
Before heading out, we were informed that within the hour-long session, our group of seven had packed 216 backpacks full of $5,400 worth of school supplies. Quirk’s decided to take a Thursday morning to volunteer which resulted in 216 backpacks ready to impact children and prepare them for the upcoming next school year.
