The seeds for K is for Kids were planted in 2001 when a young sister and brother, Erin Clawson and Patrick Clawson Jr., began brainstorming ways to help other students at their school.
The kids had just moved to Naples, Florida, and enrolled at Laurel Oak Elementary School; Erin was starting second grade and Patrick Kindergarten. The youngsters often came home eager to share what was happening at school with their mom, Karen. The days were full of excitement as new friends were made and lessons learned. The kids also would tell Karen when there were things their teachers needed, and things that other students needed, too, but didn’t have. Budgets, Karen soon discovered, were tight for both teachers and parents. Asking Erin and Patrick how they could help, the kids were full of ideas, and were quick to suggest ways their classmates could get involved, too. Meeting with their teachers and staff, the kids’ ideas were discussed and plans put into place. It was long before Karen was volunteering full-time.
Erin and Patrick were both avid readers and loved checking out as many books as possible from their school library. The library was large but there was a great need for new books–Laurel Oak was one of the largest elementary schools in Collier County and it was challenging to keep up with the needs and interests of so many hungry young readers.
There was a big push to update technology at the school, to get computers in the classrooms and media center, but knowing the inventory of books also needed a boost, Karen spoke to the principal, Charles Frontz, about what might be done. Together they decided she would head a business partners initiative to help raise money to purchase new books for the library. A flyer was sent home to parents asking business owners to join their efforts. When families learned new books were needed, they asked how they could help, too. Now, with a handful of friends joining their efforts, Karen, Erin and Patrick began dreaming up ways to bring the community together.
Erin Clawson, a third grader, and Patrick Clawson Jr., a first grader, get a helping hand delivering books collected at the first Bring a Book, Bring a Friend Fun’raiser benefiting Laurel Oak Elementary School. At left is Dean Cherise Brummer and Principal Charles Frontz.
In 2002-03, Karen hosted the first Bring a Book, Bring a Friend Fun’raiser at the Clawson home with the support of friends and staff. It was an immediate success. Guests donated hundreds of beautiful new books along with funds to purchase new ones. After the event, Erin and Patrick helped Karen organize the books and deliver them to their school.
Erin Clawson and Patrick Clawson Jr. arrive at Laurel Oak Elementary School with books collected at the first Bring a Book, Bring a Friend Fun’raiser.
For the next three years, Karen recruited a new family in a different neighborhood to host the event as she helped organize and promote it behind-the-scenes. Erin and Patrick found fun ways for kids to participate in the event, too — students could select the book(s) that their families donated or deliver them personally. Kids also were invited to gathered for photos thanking donors and even went shopping at the local bookstores to help their librarian choose which books might be bought with monies raised.
As local newspapers picked up the story and the community rallied to help, the Bring a Book grew quickly. Funding increased as businesses began sponsoring the event, pushing proceeds to nearly $10,000 in new books and funds to purchase more books.
Second Annual Bring a Book, Bring a Friend Fun’raiser was hosted by families in Saturnia Lake. GL Homes became the first business sponsor for the event. L-R: Soon to be founder of K is for Kids Karen Clawson, Laurel Oak Elementary School Principal Charles Frontz, Assistant Principal JoAnne Grieco, Bonnie Winfield, Peggy Avalos and Media Specialist Lori Myers.
Erin Clawson (back row, fourth from left) and Patrick Clawson Jr. (sixth from left) join students in their school library for a thank you photo to donors.
Over the years, Erin and Patrick were busy helping to organize more activities for their classmates and school. They began with student-authored books that mom Karen would publish. Next they created (and Karen published) full-color class newsletters to send home to families where the students broke into teams of reporters and interviewed other students and staff, organized contests, and wrote “columns”. One year the kids also created teams of videotaped “on-location” reporters for their school’s morning show (read down below for more) promoting and covering school events.
Erin Clawson at far right and Patrick Clawson Jr. third from left as they served on the first team of “on location” reporters for the Morning Show at Laurel Oak Elementary School. When Erin’s fourth grade class was doing a play and classmates who auditioned were sad not to get in it, she were saddened they didn’t make it, she sought a way they could all do something fun. Teaming again with her mom and brother, and with the blessing of her teacher, students formed teams of “on location” reporters who promoted and attended school events. (Patrick, then a second grader, got to participate in the first team.) L-R: Erin, Matthew, Patrick, Danielle, Shelby and Samantha pause before their first interviews of students and staff at Laurel Oak’s Family Fun Night (hosted by Gulf Coast High). Photo by Karen Clawson
With mounting requests by other schools and nonprofit organizations asking if a Bring a Book fun’raiser could be held to benefit their children, toom Karen again turned to Erin, now in middle school and Patrick in fifth grade. Could they broaden their efforts countywide to help more students?
In the summer of 2007, Karen also had met with local leaders who encouraged her to establish a nonprofit organization and expand the Bring a Book fun’raiser. K is for Kids Foundation was created to serve as the umbrella for the family’s expanded efforts.
Erin and Patrick invited their friends and families to join their efforts, holding a meeting to map out ways students could volunteer. When older students expressed the need for teens to have more opportunities earning community service hours and applying their skills outside of the classroom, teens were placed in the lead of the foundation’s efforts. This would give its top student leaders broad experience in business administration or management or allow them to focus on specific areas in careers they might wish to pursue.
K is for Kids’ student co-founder Erin Clawson (back row, second from left) leads the first team of teen volunteers at the foundation’s first Bring a Book, Bring a Friend Book Fair & Book Drive, Barnes & Noble, Naples 2008. Co-founder of K is for Kids Teen Fashion Show Ali Martin is shown at top right, second from right.
Erin headed efforts as the first Teen Advisory Team was formed. The top student leaders would serve as members of this special council and would oversee all teen volunteers and their activities for the foundation. Two goals thus emerged, one focusing on giving kids in need new books to read, and the other giving teens new opportunities to apply their skills outside of the classroom in a real world setting.
In recognition of the students’ efforts, Governor Rick Scott, the Mayor of Naples Bill Barnett, and the Commissioners Collier County and the Mayor of Bonita Springs proclaimed K is for Kids’ “Bring a Book, Bring a Friend for Children’s Literacy” month. (This was first held in October but moved the following year to February when community leaders and schools asked it be held at the height of Naples social season.)
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Under the foundation’s Readers and Leaders program, teens were able to propose, create and manage programs that future volunteers could continue to develop.
Ali Martin and Erin Clawson co-founded the annual K is for Kids Teen Fashion Show in their senior year at Gulf Coast High School (2011-12) as a fun way for students to earn volunteer hours and learn more about the foundation.
In 2011, Erin Clawson and Erin Clawson, senior students at Gulf Coast High School, joined together to create what quickly became the foundation’s most popular teen charity fun’raiser — the annual K is for Kids Teen Fashion Show. Hosted at Barron Collier High School, the fashion show is a countywide student community event drawing in more than 100 students of all ages from Collier and South Lee Counties. The show garners broad community support and draws in kids of all ages. Up to 80 models have walked the stage promoting literacy and leadership for the foundation, showcasing fashions and accessories from a dozen local retailers.
The teen fashion show is unique among the hundreds of charitable fundraisers held during Naples busy social season, being the only one organized and run by students, and featuring a reception, silent auction and talent acts. [Search “teen fashion show” on this website to read more.] Both onstage and behind the scenes, high school student leaders apply their skills coordinating the talents and activities of 120-plus student volunteers. Erin and Ali had their hands full that first year, and continued to serve as consultants to the show’s new student co-chairs each year following.
The inaugural K is for Kids Teen Fashion Show was created by [shown second row, far left] Erin Clawson, a senior student at Gulf Coast High School, and Alexis “Ali” Martin, also a senior at GCHS. Hosted by Barron Collier HIgh School, the popular event enjoyed widespread community support, gathering students over one hundred students from across Collier and South Lee Counties. The teen charity fun’raiser was unique in that of all the events held in Naples, this was the only run organized by students and featured a reception, silent auction and talent acts. Business teacher Kelly Wilson partnered with Karen Clawson to guide the students.
In 2014, not to be outdone by his older sister after she graduated and entered college, Patrick Clawson led the top student leaders in co-chairing the annual teen fashion show, and re-launched the Teen Advisory Team as DOSA-Directorate of Student Agenda.
K is for Kids Student Co-Founder Patrick Clawson Jr., a junior at Gulf Coast High School stands with student leaders and the 2014 Teen Fashion Show Co-chairs Marina Moussa, a dual-enrollment student at Gulf Coast High School and Florida Gulf Coast University and Jessica Cederquist, a Barron Collier student in the early admissions program at FGCU.
Under Patrick’s urging, DOSA also launched the K is for Kids Club on high school campuses (also called Operation: Outreach) to help students have more leadership opportunities and earn more community service hours. When Karen approached the team about creating a new event for students who dreamed to start their own business, Patrick and DOSA members launched the inaugural K is for Kids Young Entrepreneur Scholarship Competition or YES Comp. The latter gave high school students the opportunity to pitch their business start-up ideas to a judging panel.
Craig Bouchard, CEO and New York Times best selling author congratulates K is for Kids Young Entrepreneur 2014 Nicholas “Nick” Nolan.
“If Erin and Patrick hadn’t come home wanting so keenly to help their friends, and bursting with ideas what to do, K is for Kids might never have been born,” said Karen. “From the start, children’s voices have led our efforts, and our programs remain as much as possible by the kids, for the kids and with the kids. Even after my two left for college, their friends’ younger siblings continued to come to me, keen to take the lead and prove what they could do. And they continued to help the foundation reach new milestones and raise the bar ever higher.”
When K is for Kids’ own student leaders are asked what they value most serving as volunteers and/or interns for the foundation, the “young execs” cite helping children; building community; giving teens opportunities to boost resumes, earn community service hours and apply their skills in the “real” world, getting to have an “extreme leadership experience” — all while having fun with their friends and meeting new people. “What is most humbling to me,” said Karen, “is that they say what they value most is discovering their mission in life.
As young elementary students, Erin Clawson and Patrick Clawson Jr. could never have guessed the impact they, with the help of their mom, would have on so many children, nor will they or their friends who joined their cause ever know how many more children will fall in love with reading and choose to take the lead.
Today, Erin and Patrick Clawson continue to serve on K is for Kids’ College Student Advisory Council, helping Karen to brainstorm current solutions to meet the ever changing needs of students. Scholarships have been awarded in their honor to the foundation’s top performing student leaders.