~In a world where you can be anything BE KIND~

7 year old Lila arrived at a A Kid’s Place to drop off backpacks and as she approached the front door, she asked “Who is the lady in the statue? We have the same birthday.”

It could not have been a better moment when we all realized that she and her twin sister shared a birthday with our founder Dottie Berger McKinnon. Much like Dottie, Lila has a passion to help children in need.  Read More As we toured a A Kid’s Place she asked very mature questions for a 7 year old and described us as a “sanctuary” for children in need.

What started out as a class project of Lila explaining what she would do with $101, she expressed a desire to help homeless people and kids. When mom, Julie, realized Lila was willing to work to make this a reality, she shared it on Facebook. What became known as JOY in a Backpack raised $600 in donations to stuff 26 backpacks for our kids.