The Kids’ Chance community gathered in Chicago for the 2024 Kids’ Chance National Conference, hosted by Kids’ Chance of Illinois (KCIL). The three day event brought together volunteers, scholarship recipients, donors, and staff members, all connected by their passion for our mission.

And what a group of leaders we have. Kids’ Chance of America (KCOA) President Dana Genheimer opened the conference by thanking the conference planning committee, KCIL for hosting, and the conference’s generous sponsors. She also thanked our two new national partners, Mahathi Infotech and Ametros.

Dana also hosted the President’s Circle breakfast, where several past Kids’ Chance of America presidents shared their advice on how to approach capacity building services for the 50 state organizations in our community because it will take every organization operating at their best to reach every kid.

In fact, incoming Kids’ Chance of America President Jennifer Wolf gave a touching and motivational speech about the tremendous growth in impact we face to serve the more than 1,300 kids in our applicant pipeline.

As part of cultivating sustainable state organizations, the conference provided state volunteers and staff with the opportunity to learn from a variety of speakers and each other. The keynote speaker, Cheryl Procter-Rogers, opened the conference by exploring the power of servant leadership. 

Longtime advisor and scholarship expert, Kim Stezala, reviewed a list of potential applicant referral sources and covered the recent changes in the FAFSA application. When asked to share successful strategies for increasing the number of referrals they received over the past year, Kids’ Chance of Maine (KCME) and Kids’ Chance of NY (KCNY) attributed their success to the addition of both administrative help and Kaleidoscope, a scholarship application platform that Kids’ Chance of America helps to fund.

And Kids’ Chance of America COO Debbie Mason, CFRE, APR, CPRC, Fellow PRSA highlighted the many ways volunteers are motivated to serve, the different ways volunteers want to be approached and want to give, as well as tactics to track participation and measure success. The people in the room valued the conversation so highly that Kids’ Chance of America plans to create a video of the presentation so these leaders can stimulate conversations with the rest of their boards. 

Not all our leaders are volunteers. Ambassador Michaela Graf introduced the newest class of Kids’ Chance Ambassadors at the conference. This year’s class includes Karen of KCME, Marco of Kids’ Chance of Alabama (KCAL), and Hannah of Kids’ Chance of Nevada (KCNV). KCIL scholarship recipients Tailah, Heidi, and Jazmin also shared how Kids’ Chance has made a difference in their lives. Jazmin is not only a KCIL scholarship recipient, she was also the 2023-2024 Jim Hudak and Sally Silvia Scholarship recipient.

And it was Jim Hudak, himself a past recipient of the Robert M. Clyatt Distinguished Service Award, who introduced this year’s awardee, Kevin Turner.  Kevin has made significant strides to grow Kids’ Chance and its impact throughout his tenure. We’re thrilled that he remains engaged as a leader in our community. 

Looking for ways to get involved with Kids’ Chance? With a presence in all 50 states and an increasing number of kids to reach, we seek leaders to advance our national community and mission. Read our recent coverage in Risk & Insurance for three ways you can become a leader.