“There were days I used to go to school wearing the same shirt every day, and there came a time when I was so embarrassed and bullied that I just stopped going to school,” said Ron Fitzsimmons, executive director and cofounder of Alice’s Kids.
In the 1960s, right outside of Long Island, Ron and his sister Laura Fitzsimmons Peter grew up in a single-parent, low-income household. In their community, they came to be known as “the welfare family.” Their mother, Alice, worked hard to keep them in their middle-class neighborhood, but financial struggles affected them socially and made them feel different because they were unable to afford the same things and experiences as their peers.
“Every once in a while, she would make a few extra dollars ironing, washing clothes or cleaning houses, and she’d come running home very excited,” Ron said. “She would say, ‘Hey kids, let’s go to E.J. Korvette and get you those new Converse sneakers,’ and we were so excited to just go shopping and pick out the shoes and run home.”
“We wanted to get on that school bus so fast to show our friends. To this day, we remember that, and my mother being so proud that she was able to do that for us.”
In 2011, Ron and Laura started the nonprofit named Alice’s Kids, in memory of their mother, with the mission to replicate this memorable experience and empower families who are facing similar struggles. Based in Alexandria, Virginia – though now grown nationally – Alice’s Kids provides targeted, short-term financial assistance for children.
Through a simple process, any teacher, counselor, social worker, etc., can submit a request for a certain amount of money for a child to buy new shoes or cleats, go to summer camp, pay for their graduation cap and gown or whatever else they might really want or need. Once that request is approved, they receive an electronic gift card to give to the child’s parent or guardian. That parent or guardian is then able to take their child to the store for them to pick out their own items.
Anonymity is an intentional and essential part of Alice’s Kids’ process that stems from Ron’s personal experience.
“Lots of well-intentioned charities would come to our doorstep with boxes of clothes or food or whatever it might be, and they’d hand them to us, and we would get embarrassed,” Ron said. “We appreciated it, but then they would take our pictures, put it in their newsletters and then, there’s the welfare family again. So, accepting charity can be very shameful.”
Through its tactful use of social media and coverage in national publications, the organization quickly garnered attention and grew beyond its local community. The organization has built a large network of supporters and donors. Last year alone, they served around 10,000 children from across the country.
In response to the recent devastating Eaton fires that affected the greater Los Angeles area, Alice’s Kids covered the cost of all prom tickets for senior students in six high schools.
“I saw a request to pay for a prom ticket for a kid who lost their home in Altadena, California,” Ron said. “I thought, there must be so many kids. We usually do one kid at a time, but I went to the board, and I said we had to do something here.”
Via a personalized video, actor and supporter of Alice’s Kids, Steve Carell, announced the donation to the students at the schools.
“I want to get to the point where we’re serving 100,000 kids. Unfortunately, we’re not even at the tip of the iceberg,” Ron said regarding the future of Alice’s Kids. “We get statements from teachers and social workers about the impact that we’ve had, and the goal, quite simply, is to get bigger. Get bigger to reach more and more children every year.”
To support its mission and learn more, visit www.aliceskids.org/.
