Kickstart for Kids provides breakfast & lunch for the 1,000’s of disadvantaged small Australian children who go to school hungry. YOU can make a difference in their day.
Before I sat down to write this post today I made sure my brain was switched on and fueled up by having breakfast – nothing flash, just some Weetbix with skim milk and a couple of cups of tea. Tragically, starting the day on a full belly is not an option for shocking numbers of the most vulnerable members of Australian society – kids.
Kickstart for Kids is a breakfast program which was started here in South Australia by Adelaide man, Ian Steel. He had been mentoring primary school children and found many of them had difficulty in behaving or concentrating on their work. After asking a few questions he found that thousands of young children were starting the day on totally empty stomachs and many often had no food provided for them during the day either. Obviously, these conditions impact negatively on the ability of children to learn, gravely affecting their future options and self esteem.
Ian started a breakfast program at three schools in 2009 and over the next seven years, he’s grown Kickstart for Kids to the point where, with the help of 500 community-minded volunteers, it delivers more than 40,000 breakfasts to more than 250 schools across South Australia.
As most of these children are sent from their homes every day without any lunch either, the program also provides 10,000 cheese and Vegemite sandwiches a week. The program has expanded to now co-ordinate a mentoring program for children who are at risk of disengaging from the education system, or need a significant adult in their lives, and will soon launch Camp Kickstart, a school holiday program to care for our most disadvantaged kids.
A couple of weeks ago Ian Steel was named 2016 EY Social Entrepreneur of the Year award winner for Australia’s Central Region for his outstanding and sustained work – a wonderful recognition for his efforts.
It is heartbreaking to think of how impossible a full day of school must be for little children with nothing at all to eat and it shocks me to think how widespread this is an a wealthy country like ours. We all know how cranky we can get when we’re hungry, but YOU can make a difference in the lives of these disadvantaged kids.
I’m urging all my readers to consider donating to Kickstart For Kids – either as a one-off or on a monthly basis. Or perhaps you’d like to consider volunteering to help these children.
To enquire about volunteering or to make a donation, please contact Ian Steel on his mobile (0400 005 880) or by email (ian@kickstarforkids.com.au).
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Such an important reminder, Amanda, and a great cause too. Thank you.
That’s a wonderful idea. Kids can’t be expected to learn if they don’t have basics like breakfast and lunch.
Such a terrific initiative. Breakfast is definitely the most important meal of the day!