Ahead of the holiday shopping spree that starts after Thanksgiving, one Dallas-Fort Worth nonprofit is ahead of the game! They have already gifted brand new necessities to hundreds of kids from low-income families in Texas.

Kid’s Matter

Kid’s Matter is a small nonprofit in Grapevine, Texas. Their mission is “helping children in need through programs that empower them and enhance their lives.” Their “Around the Block” program embodies their mission. In this community wide effort, they organize 3 different shopping events at a local Kohl’s store in the month of November for underserved families. The goal is for the children to have basic necessities, thus helping them build their confidence in school. The nonprofit utilizes local service and volunteer groups to “take the kids shopping” and keep the families within budget to purchase $100 of items at the store.  This includes clothes and shoes from Kohl’s, along with choosing a new book and brand new shoes.

Charities2Love

Charities2Love, a nonprofit that promotes volunteerism, eagerly joined Kid’s Matter with 30 volunteers at the Southlake Kohl’s location on November 4th, 2023.  The line of families waiting to enter the store to shop started before sunrise that morning.  Meanwhile inside the store, volunteers learned about their responsibilities by the awesome leadership team of Kid’s Matter.  Families registered as they entered the store, and then were matched with a volunteer who guided them and kept them on budget.

The joy of choosing what you want

The expressions of wonder and joy on the faces of the kids when they realized they could choose from so many new items was amazing to watch!  One adorable little girl was so excited to choose warm fuzzy boots that she had seen her friends have at school that she could hardly contain her excitement!  Her older brother fondly waited his turn to shop, while their parents tried to maximize the gift card amount down to the last cent.

More books and shoes to choose from outside

After their shopping in the store was done, the children went outside to the two tables set up to choose a new book and new shoes.  The latest fashion in shoes, with different styles and colors to choose from, was donated by a local shoe company called Twisted X who  have been participating in helping Kid’s Matter with this program for the last four years.  

Creating empathy in teen volunteers

It was equally gratifying to see kindness and understanding on the faces of the volunteers.  Many of the volunteers were high school students from area schools who do not face the challenges of choosing only a few items they want.  One young volunteer said it was eye-opening to him how many items the families squeezed in and managed to buy for only $100.  He was also shocked that  there were kids from his school in the shopping line, and wondered how that must have made them feel.  He said it definitely will make him more empathetic to the plight of some of the kids in his local high school.

Collaborations make the dream work

Charities2Love is grateful to have partnered with Kid’s Matter to volunteer for this inspiring program.  We are appreciative of all of the amazing volunteers who joined us to serve the community, including groups from The Food Lounge, Akshaya Patra, and the Lamda Theta Phi DFW Chapter.

Fulfilling kid’s dreams ahead of the holidays

What an incredible community outreach program by Kid’s Matter, a small but mighty local nonprofit!  While the holiday frenzy goes on through the rest of this year,  it is heartwarming to know that more than one thousand kids in Texas have had had their hopes, along with their shopping, already fulfilled.