HOW KIDS GET INVOLVED

Raising Kindness 

Raising Kindness Colorado strengthens the greater Denver community by providing children the opportunity to learn about the importance of volunteerism, leadership, and community engagement. Events are organized to be impactful, inclusive, fun and engaging for all school-aged children, families and our non-profit partners.

​

At each Raising Kindness Colorado event, school-aged children create impactful hands-on service learning projects that benefit local non-profit organizations. The events are designed to engage children and families in the practice of kindness while fostering the development of empathy, gratitude and positive self-esteem. 

A theme is selected for each Raising Kindness Colorado event to connect children and families to community issues and populations. Events are geared toward elementary school-age children and their families. Examples of project themes include animal welfare, vulnerable families, food insecurity, illness, veterans and more. 

At each event, multiple stations are set up with activities that children and families can complete at their own pace. The items created are then donated to the non-profit partners. The non-profit organizations share a brief overview of their mission and how the projects will be utilized in the community.

MAKE AN IMPACT TODAY

How it works

The cost is $5 per participant to help cover supplies and administrative costs. We recommend that participants are elementary-age children. Adults can register as participants so they can complete the projects at each station themselves ($5) OR they can help their children (free). Younger and older siblings are welcome to register as participants so they can complete the projects at each station themselves ($5) OR assist siblings (free).

Success

Founded April 2019

450+ participants

2,750+ interactive projects 

2,200+ lbs of perishable items donated 

Benefiting 10 Denver Metro non-profit organizationsations

Team

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! 

Featured In