ABOUT US
Raising Kindness
Raising Kindness Colorado strengthens the greater Denver community by providing children and families the opportunity to learn about the importance of volunteerism, leadership, and community engagement.
In 2019, Raising Kindness Colorado organized events for school-aged
children to create impactful hands-on service learning projects that benefited local non-profit organizations. Previous public and private event beneficiaries include Cat Care Society, Colorado Pet Pantry, Covenant Cupboard Food Pantry, Family Tree, Jewish Family Service, Mount Saint Vincent, Rocky Mountain Children’s Health Foundation, Veteran’s Health Administration, There With Care, Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, Cherry Creek Schools Foundation and BeyondHome.
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Raising Kindness offered virtual and remote opportunities for children to volunteer safely.
Created artwork for healthcare heroes
Packaged snack packs for students in the Cherry Creek School District
Assembled hygiene kits for Colorado Coalition for the Homeless
Participated in a holiday toy drive organized through Covenant Cupboard Food Pantry
Organized a diaper and wipes drive for WeeCycle
Painted kindness rocks for the community
Assembled child and adolescent activity kits and child and adult hygiene kits for BeyondHome
Created activity kits for those affected by the Marshall Fire
Pandemic projects:
GOING FORWARD
Future projects
Raising Kindness Colorado continues to monitor the pandemic and plan events and volunteer opportunities accordingly. We plan to organize smaller in-person events in outside venues and provide more opportunities for children, families, and self-organized groups to create projects independently and remotely.
Success
Founded April 2019
450+ participants
2,750+ interactive projects
2,200+ lbs of perishable items donated
Benefiting 12 Denver Metro non-profit organizationsations
Team
![IMG_1347[472].jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c99602_0cb4e7de092d4c2eb802ea7de6129a25~mv2.jpg/v1/crop/x_0,y_42,w_2914,h_3055/fill/w_52,h_55,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/IMG_1347%5B472%5D.jpg)
Kareen Shapiro, MSW, LCSW
Kareen Shapiro, MSW, LCSW co-founded and co-directs Raising Kindness Colorado. She also works as a social worker in the fields of adoption and surrogacy. She spends her summers as a camper care specialist at an overnight summer camp in the Midwest. Prior to her current work, she practiced social work in Chicago and worked in the fields of mental health and child welfare. She is married and has two children, ages 10 and 13. Originally from the Midwest, she has lived in Denver for the past thirteen years. Kareen has a Master of Social Work degree from Loyola University Chicago and an undergraduate degree from Miami University. She has been working as a licensed clinical social worker for the past 20 years.
Jenny Emerson, CPA
Jenny Emerson, CPA co-founded and co-directs Raising Kindness Colorado. She graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Masters and Bachelors in Accounting. Jenny started her career at Deloitte & Touché in the Audit practice in St. Louis. She switched gears and was a professional recruiter for 8 years for national, and boutique firms in St. Louis, Boston and Denver. Jenny has two children, Courtney(10) and Billy(9). She is an active volunteer in her community. She was awarded Cottonwood Creeks’ Elementary Schools ‘Volunteer of the Year’ in 2017-2018 and Girl Scouts of Colorado 'Volunteer of Excellence' in 2020. She is is currently serving as her daughter's Girl Scout Leader and Cookie Manager, and her son’s Cub Scout Leader. Jenny recently served on the Cherry Creek School Districts’ Parents’ Council Board and participated in the Leadership Cherry Creek program in 2020. Currently, Jenny is pursuing her MA in Counseling at the University of Colorado-Denver!
Testimonials
“I love being able to engage in my community with my children and to teach my kiddo about volunteering and giving back.”
2019 participant results survey
"Very well organized. Not over-crowded, lots of help. I want my children to see serving the community as being an obligation of living in a community. I want it to be part of their lives on a regular basis. "
2019 participant results survey
"I loved that the kids got to be a part of community service and connect with kindness for the greater good!!! This was incredible!"
2019 participant results survey
Interested in becoming a non-profit partner or sponsoring one of our events?
Let's talk!
Stay up-to-date on our upcoming events, news and more!
Thank You!
Thank you to Clara Carpenter, of Carpenter Designs, for your expertise in redesigning the RKC logo!
Thank you to Becca Cooper, of ShuBu Creative, for all your ongoing assistance with the RKC website and other marketing materials!
Thank you, Annie Harmon, of Harmony Design, for creating new coloring cards for our next project!