Some of you might recognize Lindsay’s beautiful pieces from Bloom Jewelry, or even taken one home, from our fundraising events. Lindsay connected with IIK back in 2012 when she generously agreed to donate her hand-made jewelry pieces to our annual gala’s auction. Initially supporting IIK with in-kind donations from Bloom Jewelry, Lindsay shared that after attending the gala with Doug, “We decided, as a family, the importance of IIK and started donating personally.”
What first attracted Lindsay to the organization? It was seeing the value for both young mothers and their children in the NFP program. She says, “I understand that even with resources, education, and support having a child can be difficult and have always appreciated that NFP creates a support system for new mothers that can completely change the path for a family. We know first hand how hard pregnancy and parenting can be even with all the resources at your fingertips. We believe every parent deserves this care and support.”
Over seven years later, what inspires Lindsay and Doug to continue supporting IIK? There was no hesitation in Doug’s response. The issues surrounding early childhood health and prevention of later problems are incredibly complex and, to Doug, IIK has been impressive in addressing these complexities with each program undertaking.
“IIK has systems and infrastructure in place so that it can analyze issues, and then monitor and report on it’s programs’ work. Another thing is the ripple effect…By helping one mom and baby, or one group of kids in a classroom, the programs’ effectively create levels and layers of improvement with positive outcomes…” (Psst: This is what is known as a two-gen approach- addressing the challenges of both parents and children to break the cycle of poverty and improve social outcomes.)
Doug continues, “Organizational leadership is very impressive and engenders trust in the organization.” He says, “There is a lot of transparency in the way IIK does its work and that is huge… IIK can see the big picture and is focused on prevention rather than being reactionary to issues after they have already arisen.”
What do Lindsay and Doug wish everyone knew about IIK? Lindsay tells us, “I have always really liked the fact that IIK presents programs that are evidence-based, using data to make its impact, and that it is able to re-evaluate based on data it collects, and therefore adapt and change as needed.”
We are so grateful for Lindsay and Doug’s incredible commitment to Invest in Kids and for their philanthropy supporting causes they care about most: helping children!