Kids First
Through Cultural Care Au Pair’s Kids First program, host families, au pairs, local coordinators and Cultural Care staff worldwide make a difference in the lives of children in the U.S. and overseas. Kids First provides children’s organizations with monetary contributions, necessary supplies and educational grants to benefit children in need worldwide.
Funds are raised through local events across the U.S., activities in many of our au pair recruitment countries, and through national campaigns organized by Cultural Care staff. 100% of all donations and funds raised go directly to children in need and are matched by Cultural Care.
Our first international campaign under Kids First focused on Orphanage #63, a Russian orphanage that is 
home to 56 children with little hope for adoption. Many efforts were initiated across the U.S. Au pairs representing ten different countries came together to record a CD of children’s songs to benefit the orphanage. Local childcare coordinators, staff, host families and au pairs contributed recipes for the Kids First International Cookbook. LCCs around the country have also spearheaded efforts in their own communities. One local childcare coordinator, who is also a fourth grade teacher, inspired her students to get involved. By organizing bake sales, talent shows and other fundraising events, her classrooms have contributed over $10,000 to Kids First. They have also created lasting bonds of friendship and exchange by creating a quilt and becoming pen pals with the children of Orphanage #63.
In March 2007, we purchased the biggest item on their wish list-a bus-that will provide an easier and safer commute to and from school and allow them to embark on educational field trips. The impact we’ve made on our friends at Orphanage #63 has inspired us to expand our Kids First program to reach out to even more children in need and to support three new organizations in three new parts of the world.
Ubuhle Babantwana is an orphanage and daycare center that cares for over 100 of the neediest children in a poverty-stricken township outside Cape Town, South Africa. Casa do Zezinho, in an area known as “the death triangle” in Sao Paolo, Brazil, is an after-school center that offers arts and culture programs to 1,200 at-risk children and teenagers. St. Mary’s Academy, located in the heart of New Orleans, opened its doors after Hurricane Katrina to children of all ages and means and despite operating out of temporary buildings and trailers, they are making progress on restoring the most basic classroom needs.
What makes our Kids First campaign so unique and rewarding is the incredible support it has received from our local childcare coordinators, host families, au pairs and staff both in the U.S. and abroad. Kids First will continue to raise money through local and national efforts to support all three of our new partnerships. In addition, Cultural Care Au Pair will support mission trips and outreach visits to each of the communities we are trying to help. Members of our office staff, LCCs and even host families and au pairs will personally deliver news of our progress, work side-by-side with our partners and witness first-hand the impact of our efforts.
Through Kids First, we hope to bring cultures together and invest in the growth and development of children. Your support of these projects will make an immeasurable impact on the lives of at-risk children in South Africa, Brazil and at home here in the United States. In the true spirit of cultural exchange, our Kids First program bridges us together in a shared desire to improve the lives of children throughout the world.
Find out more about Kids First by watching this video! Be on the lookout for events and ways you can help Kids First in the coming months.
A video update for Cultural Care’s Kid First project
Over 75 Cultural Care staff members recently visited one of our three Kids First partners: St. Mary’s Academy in New Orleans, LA. Our mission? To help establish their elementary school library. We did everything from cataloguing new books to decorating the walls, to hooking up their computers. Our favorite part of the day was the opportunity to read our favorite children’s books to the students. Thanks to our staff, local childcare coordinators (LCCs), host families and au pairs who have hosted and supported the Kids First fundraisers that have funded these efforts! Stay tuned for more Kids First updates before the end of the year.
Even a few bunk beds can make a difference…Update on Cultural Care’s efforts in South Africa
This is what Cultural Care Au Pair staff members and Local Childcare Coordinators (LCCs) learned when they visited the site of our Kids First partner in South Africa earlier this month.Kids First, Cultural Care’s own philanthropic program, raises funds for children in need worldwide, including many in a Cape Town community looked after by a woman named Mama Pumla.
Mama used $12,000 we sent last year to build a structure that would house the youngest children in her care, and our representatives visited in order to check on her progress. During the visit, we purchased even more supplies and gifts and met some incredibly special people. Whether you are already a Kids First supporter and want to know what kind of difference you’ve made or want to learn more about this program, watch our short movie.
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