Rent One Director of Real Estate Steven Carrico serves on the board for KidSmart, a nonprofit organization that provides free school supplies to more than 90,000 students in St. Louis area, helped develop its first Young Friends Board. Larry and Sharon Carrico’s Great Expectations Foundation also aided in the necessary funding to launch the young friends board in 2017.
Below is the article KidSmart released announcing the Young Friends Board. You can also read it in its original format by clicking here.
Great Expectations Foundation provides seed funding for KidSmart Young Friends BoardFounding Co-Chairs Ashby Owens and Lauren Wendell are excited and eager to make a difference in the St. Louis community by starting KidSmart’s first young friends board. The very generous support from the Great Expectations Foundation provides the necessary funding to launch the young friends board in 2017. KidSmart opened the doors to what remains Missouri’s only Free Educational Supply Store 15 years ago. The Free Store equips tens of thousands of St. Louis area kids with items such as: paper, pencils, markers, glue, and crayons… items every child must have to succeed in school. Each and every child has a hope and dream… they have the desire and ability to achieve those dreams. They simply lack the essential tools critical for success. KidSmart kids are our kids… they are tomorrow’s doctors, teachers, engineers. It is the continued support from the entire St. Louis community who has donated their dollars, time, and school supplies that have truly the real difference in the education and lives of so many local kids. KidSmart’s Young Friends Board will help the organization expand in 2017 by bringing an awareness of the need in our neighborhoods and getting support from St. Louis young adults looking to make a direct impact on our future generations. “I’m excited to be a part of KidSmart’s Young Friends Board because I feel there is a need that people rarely see, especially young adults like myself. Being able to help kids with such basic needs is something I really feel will help them succeed in the their future. I think many young adults want to see our youth succeed, but are unaware of how to help.” -Lauren Wendell The Young Friends Board Members will collect school supplies and help KidSmart deliver the items directly into the classrooms with KidSmart’s On the Go! Truck. Each week The On the Go! Truck deliveries $15,000 in free school supplies to students in high poverty schools. “I want everyone on the young friends board to feel the excitement a child gets by receiving pencils to use or book to read! Our goal is to raise awareness of how many kids in the St. Louis area cannot afford to buy school supplies to learn. KidSmart is such an incredible organization and I cannot wait to be a part of its growth.” – Ashby Owens. The partnership with the Great Expectations Foundation and continued support from Steve Carrico of Rent One provides KidSmart’s Young Friends Board with a fun and exciting way to network and make an impact on the St. Louis community. WAYS YOU CAN GET INVOLVED:
- Make a donation at www.kidsmartstl.org/donate or by texting “kids” to 314-207-2448
- Schedule a time to volunteer with your company, friends, or even by yourself
- Host a supply drive in your company, church, etc.
