Kids In Need Foundation

I was so honored to be asked to keynote at the luncheon celebrating the grand opening of the Teacher Resource Center in Minneapolis.  Kids In Need Foundation stocks warehouses full of school supplies for children all over the country.  Minneapolis is the newest warehouse and it is beautiful.  Before the luncheon began, I was lucky enough to be the inaugural shopper.  It was so fun to shop for goodies for our ECFE program. Teachers all over the state will benefit from the efforts of Dave Smith and Jeanne Mock and their staff as they work together to get supplies into the hands of kids and classrooms who need them. They have so much to be proud of.  Read more about the great work they do at 

http://www.kinf.org/

Before the luncheon began, I spotted the keynoter for the Kids In Need Gala to be held later that evening.  I met Zach Bonner.  When I asked Zach how it came to be that he traveled from Florida to keynote a Gala in Minneapolis, Zach began by telling me "Well, when I was seven, I started a foundation called Little Red Wagon Foundation, to help get school supplies to kids in need". Wow. When I followed up with a question about how he went about finding funding, Zach told me about walking across the United States of America to raise awareness and raise funds!!  This articulate, caring, generous young man blew me out of the water. His is an amazing story! I wish I could have stayed in Minneapolis to hear him speak.

http://www.littleredwagonfoundation.com

Instead, I traveled to Jackson Minnesota (I sang "I'm Going To Jackson" more than once) to meet with Education Minnesota members who live and teach in the area.  Here I am with teachers Rodney Rowe and Cheri Drever. I have met so many great teachers along the way.  They make a great audience at the end of a day. They keep me motivated to gather champions of childhood!