February 25, 2022 • 41 mins
Abilities in Motion welcomes Rachel Lippoff from the 'A Kid Again' organization. On this episode, Rachel discusses how she gives children and parents relief from the everyday stress and anxieties of living with an illness. She creates "adventures" to fun and engaging locations where families can escape and rediscover who they are.
Slip away from reality in our brand new episode of 'Disability Talks.'
Twitter: https://twitter.com/akidagain
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AKidAgainMidAtlantic/
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a-kid-again/
Website: https://akidagain.org/
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Intro (00:02):
Welcome to Disability Talks, a podcast produced by
Abilities in Motion.
I'm your host, Ed Granger.
Join us to encounter uniqueperspectives on accessibility
and independence, and to hearstories from everyday people
living their most independent,everyday lives, where essential
conversations find their placelet's talk.
Ed (00:24):
Welcome to Disability Talks, a podcast produced by abilities
in motion, a center forindependent living located in
Reading, Pennsylvania.
I'm your host Ed Granger.
I'm very excited about theopportunity to talk to today's
guest.
Rachel Lippoff is the ExecutiveDirector of the Mid-Atlantic
chapter of A Kid Again, whosemission is to foster hope,
happiness and healing forchildren with life threatening
(00:46):
conditions and their families.
But that mission statement onlyhints at what a cool
organization A Kid Again is,which is why Rachel's here to
tell us about it.
Rachel, welcome to the podcast.
Rachel (00:54):
Thanks for having me Ed.
Ed (00:55):
And I guess, uh, what I'd like to hear is kind of in your
own words, what A Kid Again isall about.
Rachel (01:00):
Yeah, well, as said so perfectly, we do bring hope,
happiness and healing tofamilies, raising children with
life-threatening conditions.
Our Mid-Atlantic chapter doesthis in New Jersey, Delaware,
the Eastern half of Pennsylvaniaand the Southern tip of New
York.
So we serve all of thosefamilies and enrolling is easy.
It's any child we're completelycondition-agnostic.
(01:23):
So any child with anylife-threatening condition birth
through age 20 can enroll withtheir family.
And what we do is we provideadventures.
We go to year round, cost freevisits to amusement parks,
sporting events, zoos, museums,we have holiday parties, we've
done drive-through adventures,anything that we can do to help
our families take a time outfrom illness.
Ed (01:44):
So what is your role there?
And, uh, how did you find yourway to the organization?
Rachel (01:48):
I'm the executive director and I was working with
a large healthcare organizationon the foundation side, uh, here
in New Jersey and south Jersey.
And, uh, wasn't looking to leave, uh, but A Kid Again came
across my computer one day and Ithought, what is this?
And I, I went onto the websiteand was just completely
captivated.
(02:09):
And I love the idea of gettingto build something from
essentially scratch.
Uh, and they were starting a newchapter, uh, building it out of
Philadelphia to cover this biggeographic region.
And, uh, I put my hat in thering and seems that they liked
me too.
And I actually started April13th, 2020, right in the midst
of, uh, quarantine.
(02:29):
So I call us the quarantinechapter.
We were, we were slow to, togrow because everybody was home
and nobody knew about us and weweren't doing in-person
adventures at first.
We were fully virtual and we didadventures in a box, which we
still do.
And, uh, we've just grown somuch in 2021.
We went from about 45 familiesto over 250 and we've grown
(02:51):
since then already.
Ed (02:53):
Wow.
That's amazing.
So talk a little bit about whatthe, what the challenges were
when you first got there.
And all of a sudden you'redealing with not only a new
position, uh, but a but a COVIDpandemic on top of it.
Rachel (03:03):
Yeah.
You know, it was, it was justslow to build.
And, and I think that'schallenging in the greater
Philadelphia area where ouroffice is.
We, we have a lot of nonprofits.
It's just, you know, it's, it'shard to break through and be
seen.
Uh, but also it was tough to, toget placed in the news.
I mean, what we do is so amazingand we're really unique, not
(03:27):
just because we're a conditionagnostic and we can bring these
families year, round year afteryear on these adventures, but
because we're here for the wholefamily.
So not just that enrolled child,but their siblings and their
parents, everybody gets to go onall of these adventures.
And, um, it was really tough toget that in the news because of
course COVID was the, the bignews for, it still is, but was
(03:50):
the main news for so long.
Uh, but we kept at it.
We have, uh, been building anamazing advisory board.
We have some wonderfulsupporters and, uh, we work with
social workers at local, well, Isay local in our regional, uh,
children's hospitals.
And we work with child lifespecialists and we work with, uh
(04:10):
, some disease specificorganizations to refer families
to us.
And now that we're, you know,rocking and rolling, our
families are referring otherfamilies to us because they're
having such a great time.
And, uh, we really overcome alot of those challenges.
Ed (04:23):
Yeah, that's great.
It sounds like you got the wordof mouth going after you were
able to sort of get yournetworks in place and, uh, you
know, there's nothing betterthan families sharing stories
with other families, which isgreat.
Do you have any, any specificstories that stand out to you
that you like to share?
Rachel (04:39):
I have so many, um, there's is one that I love to
share.
And, uh, there's we went toDorney Park.
We go annually to Dorney park,uh, in September.
And, uh, we had a, a mom whowrote me afterwards and said
that her child, um, has a, aport just, uh, on their, on
their chest just below theirshoulder.
(04:59):
And that not only was it thefirst time in so long that she
had seen her kiddo spend hoursand hours, you know, smiling and
being carefree and, and notworrying and, and feeling pain,
but that, uh, he wanted to ridethis ride.
And it was one of those likerollercoasters where you pull
the harness down from above youwhen it kinda sits on your
(05:20):
chest.
And she said, you know,"Honey,isn't that gonna bother you
where your port is?" And hesaid,"Mom, I completely forgot
about it." And, and that's whatwe do.
We, we want these families to beable to come out.
They don't have to plan a dayout.
We plan it for them.
They don't have to pay forparking.
They don't have to pay foradmission.
They don't have to worry aboutgetting a meal or a snack.
(05:40):
We take care of all of that forthem, thanks to our partners.
And they get a day to just becarefree and we try to do it
every month or every othermonth.
So they always have something toanticipate and then they get to
participate in it.
And then they have these familymemories to take with them.
Ed (05:56):
That's fantastic.
And I, you had mentioned that itreally is about the whole
family, so everybody gets to bea kid.
Again, it's not just about thekid that is enrolled it's the
whole family.
So share a little bit about thedecision or the idea behind
making sure that siblings areincluded and that they're
treated as, as important as anyother member of the family.
Rachel (06:15):
Absolutely.
So, uh, while our chapter isrelatively new, uh, A Kid Again
has been around for over 26years and we were founded in
central Ohio in Columbus.
And our three founders areactually still really involved
with the organization.
And what they did was theyfounded this organization for
families because they wereinvolved with other
(06:38):
organizations that were, youknow, wish granting
organizations, which arefantastic.
And they were granting, helpingto grant wishes for these kids.
And what they realized was asamazing as that was, they wanted
to keep granting, they wanted tokeep giving them this happy,
these happy days, and that theysaw these siblings who are these
kids' biggest cheerleaders andthey're also missing out on
(07:02):
life.
So many of these families, um,are isolated.
They were isolated long beforeCOVID was a thing for the rest
of us and the siblings, they,they need to feel like kids
again too.
And they need the chance to, tomake new friends and to have
those days out with their, withtheir brothers and sisters.
And, uh, they just decided thatthat was how we would, we would
(07:23):
run this organization.
So it was built from otheramazing ideas that are out
there.
And what we are is a reallygreat companion organization
for, for these otherorganizations that help these
families.
Ed (07:35):
So I'd love to hear, uh, about some of your favorite
adventures.
I mean, not, not just thatyou've done there in the Mid
Atlantic chapter, but maybefrom, you know, across the
country.
And, and what are some thingsthat you haven't done yet that
you think you might like tooffer?
Rachel (07:48):
Such a cool question.
So, um, I love Dorney Park.
I know I've already mentionedthat, but I mean, I love a good
rollercoaster and, uh, we havesome families who don't get to
do that otherwise.
And to be honest, I really loved, uh, I mean, I love all of our
adventures, but I loved theresponses we got from our
families when we went toJohnson's locus hall farm, which
(08:09):
is in Southern New Jersey.
And we took them apple pickingand pumpkin picking, and it was
part of our capes and crownsadventures.
So everybody came rest assuperheroes or, you know
princesses, I, and, um, we hadother princesses and superheroes
there with them and just pickapples and pick pumpkins and
take hayrides.
And what I never had thoughtabout before is how lucky my kid
(08:35):
is that I can just take her onhayrides to go pick strawberries
or pumpkins or whatever, reallywhenever we want.
And we have families who'venever been able to take their
kids to do this and somethingthat seems so simple and easy
for someone like me was a reallybig deal for these families.
And, um, at the farm, they hadramps for the, the kids who
(08:55):
needed it to get on and off thehay rides.
They just made it so easy forour families.
And, uh, everybody went homewith free apples and pumpkins,
and it was just like, it wasjust the best day.
So, you know, it doesn't have tobe a big, huge, you know,
amusement park rides.
Sometimes it's, it's the thingsthat you would think would be so
simple.
Um, some of our other chaptersthat have been around for, you
(09:17):
know, 20 years and have athousand plus families, um, have
been partnering with, um, someof our other amusement park
partners for, for all that time.
We're nationally affiliated withthe Cedar fair amusement parks.
So here it's Dorney Park, inCincinnati we've been partnered
with Kings island pretty muchthe entire time that our
organization has been inexistence.
(09:39):
Um, we, have Cedar Point that'sout of Cleveland, all sorts of
amusement parks.
So I think that's a fanfavorite.
Um, we've done dream night atthe zoo in Columbus for many,
many years.
And, uh, that's another one.
And, and we're looking to beable to do something like that
here in our region as well.
And then another thing that'sreally cool is that we have an
(10:01):
eSports team now for our A KidAgain kids and that that's
something new.
And our executive director inthe Indiana chapter started us
on this streaming for adventuresand eSports road and is just
taking us in so many coolplaces.
So now we have kids who are, youknow, we do adventures for those
(10:24):
kids who are on that team andit's national, it's from all our
different chapters and ourmarket, uh, because the other
thing is while we have sevenchapters right now, uh, we
actually have families that weserve in 44 states.
So we're hoping to cover all 50and move into Canada and become
an international organizationany day now.
Uh, but, but this way, you know,when we can do fun national
(10:45):
programming like this eSportsleague, which is really because
we have this grant from AT&T,nationally, uh, that we, we can,
we can bring kids together fromacross the nation and they meet
each other and they get to builda community.
And that's really what A KidAgain is all about.
Ed (11:02):
So you're, you said you've been around for 26 years, so
you're, you're humming along andbuilding the organization.
All of a sudden COVID comesalong.
And that leads to the adventuresin a box, which I think is
another really cool thing and areally creative idea that
enabled you to, uh, to find aworkaround for the fact that you
couldn't always, uh, begathering in person and having
(11:24):
that, uh, face to faceconnection.
So, uh, share a little bit moreabout how the adventures in a
box came about and how that kindof took off.
Rachel (11:31):
Definitely.
So, uh, with A Kid Again, the,the staff at A Kid Again, right
when I started had, had alreadybegun, you know, this all
started what March, 2020, um,they'd already begun pivoting,
like right away.
Uh, you know, everybody knowsthat A Kid Again, for some of
our kids, we don't know whichadventure may be their last, and
we don't have time to stop andwait for in-person adventures to
(11:54):
start again.
So we actually immediatelystarted doing virtual adventures
first before the adventures in abox, and that we did, um, we did
a, a, a huge magic show withmagicians from around the world.
We've done, um, dance partieswith, uh, Slider.
Who's the Cleveland Indians, uh,their mascot, we've done arts
(12:16):
and crafts.
We did a behind the scenesaquarium tour and, uh, of their
shark tunnel.
We've done all sorts of things.
And at our chapter, we, weplayed a lot of virtual bingo.
Our families really likedvirtual bingo.
And I'm actually thinking ofbringing that back, uh, just
every once in a while, we'vesend a bingo card home to each
of the houses and for thefamily, with the bingo markers
(12:37):
or candy pieces.
So that's always fun, I believein candy.
And, uh, and we send some funsnacks and stuff like that, and
we all get on and we play bingotogether.
And then we send prizes.
I mean, who doesn't love that?
Uh, but what we realized is wewanted to be able to do more.
So somebody up with the greatidea of doing an adventure in a
box, and the first one we didwas summer 2020, and, uh, each
(13:01):
chapter does it a little bitdifferently.
And the way our chapter in theMid-Atlantic region does it is,
uh, we did the summer box waswith mini adventures.
So we had, uh, outdooradventures.
So there was, um, you know,sidewalk chalk and bubbles and,
and a scavenger hunt and seedsto plant, uh, and a shovel and
all sorts of things and, uh,arts and crafts.
(13:22):
And there was a 4th of July partof it with the mini adventure.
So there was, um, some 4th ofJuly recipes, some crafts there,
some of those crazy red, white,and blue flag, you know,
sunglasses that have the splitsin them that give me a headache,
but that are super fun forpeople.
Um, and we had, uh, a game nightmini adventure in there.
So there were cards and dominoesand microwave popcorn and
(13:45):
lemonade mix and more candy.
And, uh, it was just really fun.
And I actually got to deliversome of those boxes to some of
the families and for me, becauseI was brand new and the chapter
was brand new, it was my firsttime getting to meet some of our
families.
And it was just incredible.
And I got to watch some of thesekids open their boxes.
We did it again that fall.
(14:06):
We did another adventure in abox, very seasonal.
And then we started getting evenmore creative.
We've done a tie dye dventure ina box where we sent our
families, every kid in thefamily gets, uh, a white A Kid
Again t-shirt and then thefamily gets a, a tie dye kit,
and we got such cool picturesand those kids still wear their
tie dye shirts to adventures.
(14:26):
We did, uh, a baking challenge,like nailed it kinda thing, uh,
with the spring bunny cake.
And we sent them, you know, the,the baking mix and the icing and
the candy, again, the, the themeof candy and the baking tins
that they would need, um, torecreate this cake and then
said, go, you know, go forth andrecreate the cake and show us
what you come up with.
(14:47):
And that was really fun.
So this year and this summerwe're gonna do another baking
challenge.
I haven't, haven't decidedexactly the theme, but it's
gonna be something fun.
So I can't wait to see whatpeople come up with.
Ed (14:59):
So you're, you're coming up with ideas all the time and then
trying to put them into, youknow, translate them into
reality.
And I know from your bio thatyou're a somewhat creative
person yourself.
Uh, you do some art and how, howmuch does it mean to you to be
able to bring sort of yourcreative side?
Cuz I can hear that coming outin what you're sharing about how
those boxes are put together andyour resourcefulness in making
it happen.
Rachel (15:20):
Thank you.
Yeah, I do.
I love, I love the artsy craftsyand I love, I love to be
creative.
And um, I will say that eachchapter has a program
coordinator that works with theexecutive director and, um, I'm
hiring a new one actually thisweek and that person is
responsible actually for thecreation and putting on the
adventure.
(15:41):
So we work together to, to dothe creative bit and we work
with our advisory board with ittoo.
So it's not just me, but Ireally love it.
I love that, you know, we cantry new things.
We did a, um, we did a Minecraftvirtual adventure that was fun
and that we will tweak and dosomething like that.
Again, really, really anythingthat you can think of that would
be fun for families.
(16:02):
We, we get to try and do.
And, and it's just such apleasure to, to be able to, to
be fun and creative and to knowthat you're changing people's
lives by doing it.
Ed (16:13):
So now you have somebody or will have somebody that you can
send to the Dollar Store to pickup all those things that you're
gonna, surprises that you'regonna include in those boxes
that people can't wait to openwhen one lands on their
doorstep.
Rachel (16:23):
That's right.
I, I will admit that.
Um, I miss when, when I, I, andI had a wonderful program
coordinator before who, who hadto move on for great reasons,
but I do miss when I don't getsto be the one to go to the
Dollar Store and do those kindsof things.
So, uh, every once in a while Itry to tag along, but yeah, but
it's really fun to, to work as ateam and really, and really do
fun things like this forfamilies.
Ed (16:44):
And I know that some, at least some chapters have done
hybrid events.
So the adventures it's kind of acombination of being in a box,
but also with kind of thatpersonal touch, can you share a,
a little bit about, or give anexample of one of those?
Rachel (16:55):
So we actually did it last year for Valentine's Day
2021.
Originally I was hoping that wecould do a Valentine's Day party
in person and it just, you know,we, we thought we, we thought
the best of 2021 and it justdidn't happen.
So we pivoted as we do.
And, uh, it changed it to aValentine's Day adventure in a
(17:16):
box.
So there was all sorts of funstuff in there for, for the kids
and for the family to do athome.
But there was a second portionof it where we were having a
virtual Valentine's Day party.
And so what we did was we playedvirtual bingo because again, I
love it and it involves candyand prizes and we did arts and
crafts together.
And, uh, just got a chance tosee each other face to face,
(17:38):
even if it was, you know, overZoom and just had a really good
time.
So that's always, that's alwaysreally fun to be able to, to
have the dual part.
And we had some families thatjust did the adventure in a box,
and we had some families thatdid the box and also came, you
know, came online and did theparty with us.
Ed (17:56):
And I know in addition to, um, your staffing and you do
have a, sounds like a small, butmighty staff there in
Philadelphia, you know, you'realso relying on volunteers quite
a bit.
So how, how do you find thosevolunteers and how important are
they to making these thingshappen?
Rachel (18:10):
So we could not do what we do without our adventure
guides.
And that's what we call ourvolunteers, their adventure
guides.
And they are, they are the heartof, of making this happen.
You know, you can have a great,great staff, but without some
added help to welcome thefamilies, to help guide them
(18:32):
through adventures, to answerquestions, our, our adventure
guides are our photographers.
They help us with our socialmedia at adventures.
They really do all sorts ofthings.
They help us pack up theadventures in a box.
They help us deliver some of theadventures in a box cause
shipping can get expensive.
And so it's really fun to givethat personal touch to people as
(18:53):
well.
And, uh, we just, we couldn't doit without them.
And every chapter is like thatas well as our, at our national
office, we all have volunteersand, uh, and we really rely on
them and they come back formore.
They really, they really have agood time at the adventures and
meeting these families and, andgetting to see your hard work in
action is so much, it's just somuch fun and we're always
(19:15):
looking for more adventureguides and, uh, you can always
sign up to, to volunteer with usand, you know, pick your
adventures that you wanna helpwith.
And it's just, it's such a greatteam effort.
Ed (19:26):
So how do you get a sense for kind of what, what
adventures might be hits?
How do you, how do you, youknow, you're coming up with
ideas, where do you get yourideas from and what kind of
input from your families do youhave for that?
Rachel (19:38):
So we always love to have input from our families.
I'm a big kid at heart.
So if I think it'll be fun forme, or if I have an 11 year old
daughter, if I think she wouldhave fun, I, you know, we try to
do that kind of thing, butthere's also the fact that our
families have children again,age birth through 20, uh,
including the siblings and, youknow, there, we always want it
(20:00):
to, to be something foreveryone.
And, and sometimes it is.
And sometimes it isn't, we hadthat, that Minecraft adventure,
we actually had mostly siblingswho opted into that.
And that was, that was who, whoattended it.
And that's okay because we arehere for the entire family.
And if the kiddo who's enrolledwith A Kid Again is sick the day
(20:20):
of an adventure and mom or dadcan still bring the sibling,
then the sibling and, and theparent can come.
So we do, we do all sorts ofthings that way.
And I think I've forgotten thequestion.
Ed (20:31):
That's okay.
You, you can take them whereveryou want them to go.
I'm just here to, to tap intowhatever you want to share.
So I know you also mentionedthat your organization provides,
uh, I guess I'm quoting from thewebsite here, comprehensive,
practical support.
So can you share a little bitabout what that looks like?
Rachel (20:47):
We actually, last night had a really good example of
that.
We had a wonderful gentlemannamed Jerry Wade, who is
donating his time to ourfamilies in this chapter.
And he held a workshop for ourfamilies and it was a webinar
and it was, this one was, youknow, 10 basic steps that
guardians and and parents cantake to ensure the financial
(21:08):
and, and healthy future of theirdependence.
And it covered all sorts ofthings.
It was an overview, uh,workshop, and it was, he made it
very interactive.
The parents got to ask a lot ofquestions.
Some of'em were very personaland specific to them.
And some were questions that,that, you know, if I had been
able to see everybody they'd benodding their head, all of that.
So I learned so much and, uh,and it was a hit and Jerry's
(21:32):
gonna come back and do a wholeseries of webinars for our
families.
And they're gonna be things like, um, one will focus on the able
act.
One will focus on, uh, settingup a special needs trust and
what that means.
We'll do some that have to dowith, with certain benefits that
, that are important.
One about guardianship becauseour parents have it.
(21:52):
There's no one stop shop forinformation.
When your child is diagnosedwith a life threatening
condition and you at yourchildren's hospital, the
families have amazing socialworkers that they work with.
They have, uh, child lifespecialists, they have their
doctors.
Um, there are family supportgroups out there.
(22:13):
There's so many things, but youjust, you never get all of the
information cuz there's so muchout there.
And I think what I found withworking with, with Jerry is that
one of the pieces that that teamseems to be missing for a lot of
our families is that financialcomponent and making sure that
your child will be secure afteryou, after you've passed.
(22:33):
And so as tough as it is tothink about something like that,
we wanted to hold theseworkshops and it's it, our
families were just so happy tohave the opportunity.
So it's a pleasure to work withan organization that, you know,
thinks in broader strokes thanjust the, you know, the
amazingness of an adventure.
And really we can, we can lookand see the needs of our
(22:56):
families beyond that.
So we're always open to newideas.
We ask for surveys after ouradventures and annually for, uh,
not all of our adventures, wedon't, we don't inundate them,
but we do offer for, um, somesurvey risk from our families to
get ideas about new adventures,to get ideas about new services
they may want.
We do try to stay in our lane.
(23:18):
There are organizations thatprovide other services, and they
do it so well, and we, we wannapartner with them and let them
do that.
And they'll let us do this.
And we can give everybody a moreholistic, comprehensive life.
Ed (23:32):
Sure.
And I, I know too, from like, asa center for independent living,
when we're looking at, uh, youknow, trying to support people
and becoming more independent,um, and advocating for
themselves, I noticed that onyour website, you talk about one
of the goals is to increase theresolve and the resilience of
the people that you serve, makeit just that bit easier for them
to face all the medical stuffthat they have to deal with.
So can you share a little bitabout how you, how that impact
(23:54):
is seen in the results or yourinteractions with the families
that you serve?
Rachel (23:59):
Absolutely.
We have a great majority of ourfamilies who have told us that
the services provided by A KidAgain attending these adventures
have made them feel more likethey're in a community, uh, less
isolated.
They feel like they are a partof something.
(24:19):
I think one of the biggestthings that people don't realize
is the isolation factor.
Even if your family is, youknow, you have a child with a
life threatening condition andyou're not essentially
quarantined at home, you can beout and about.
You might look different fromeverybody else and people might
stare.
People might treat youdifferently.
People might not know how totreat you at all.
And then they ignore you andbeing with A Kid Again, you're
(24:40):
going on these group adventures.
You don't have to stay with thegroup, but you're showing up
with a group of people who maynot look just like you and may
not have the same condition youknow, their child may not have
the exact same condition, butthey, they know what you go
through.
And the parents get a chance to,to hang out and talk and share
ideas and share services that,that have helped them.
(25:03):
And, uh, the kids get a chanceto get together.
One of my favorite photos fromour holiday party at Diggerland
this past year is of a bunch ofour A Kid Again kids just
hanging out together.
Some of them know each otherfrom other organizations, some
of them met at A Kid Again, andthey're just, they're hanging
out.
Parents are somewhere else.
And they're, they're just havinga good time.
Ed (25:23):
You know, when you, when you're choosing or deciding on a
place that you want to have anadventure and bring those
families together, to have thatcommunity experience, how do you
ensure that it's accessible foreverybody?
Rachel (25:33):
That's such a great question.
And one of the very firstquestions that we ask when we
are talking with the newpotential adventure partner, is
it ADA compliant down to, youknow, from the entrance down to
the bathrooms.
And we've had some that our, youknow, where I said, we went to
the farm that time and that'soutdoors and it's bumpy and
everything like that.
But they made every effort tomake sure that our families with
(25:55):
kids who, um, are in wheelchairsfamilies with kids who have
other devices to help them withtheir mobility and kids who
don't see well.
And, and a lot of our familieshave parents who also may have
disabilities that everybodycould get everywhere, uh, with
as much ease as possible.
But it's the first thing that wecheck on.
And, and we have spoken withsome venues that seemed like
(26:18):
they would be amazing fits in areally good time and they just,
they just, weren't gonna they,they, weren't gonna cut it in
terms of, of accessibility forour families.
And, and we're sorry about that.
But there are so many, so manyplaces that are, you know, when
we go to amusement parks, theymake every effort to make sure
that our families have, youknow, the, the use of the lifts
to get to, to the rides that areup high and, and everything.
(26:41):
And, and our adventure partnerswork with us so closely, they go
out of their way to make surethat our families get to do
everything.
And, uh, it's really a pleasure,but it's the number one thing
that we ask, because if that'snot available to us, then it's
just not, it's just not apossible venue for our
adventures.
Ed (26:57):
So what's a place that, uh, that you'd like to go in the, in
the future?
How about the near future?
Let's assume that the pandemicis gonna quiet down and we're
gonna be able to be in the sameplace at the same time.
I'm sure you're looking forwardto that.
What's a place that you'd liketo go to, or can't wait to get
to when we're all able to be inthe same place again?
Rachel (27:15):
So I will say that we are already doing in-person
adventures again.
So that's exciting, but where,uh, we really wanna go is we are
hoping that Major LeagueBaseball, you know, figures
everything out soon because wehave plans to go see a Phillies
game this year.
And we are really excited forthat.
We'd love to do some things withthe Eagles.
(27:36):
We have a really largegeographic region.
There's no reason why wecouldn't do things with, with
some New York teams.
I know that may upset some ofour Philly people, but we, we
have families who are in, youknow, central and north Jersey
and Southern New York who maynot, may not be Philly fans.
Uh, so we, we would love to dosome more sporting events.
I think those are, those arethings that they tend to be, um,
(27:56):
an expense for families in thefirst place.
And with some of our families,many of whom have, you know,
some, they, I mean, their, theirfinances are tied up elsewhere
with their medical bills.
It's just not in the cards forthem.
And, uh, to be able to do fun,things like that.
So we're hoping to partner morewith, with organizations, uh,
like the Eagles and all of that,but we, we've been very lucky in
(28:17):
the Lehigh Valley.
The Phantoms, the minor leaguehockey team is a partner of
ours.
And when they have some extratickets, they reach out and say,
you know, we've got X number ofextra tickets and, uh, send, you
know, feel free to, to let yourfamilies know, and our families
can first come first serve tothem.
We'd love to do an, an actualadventure there.
(28:38):
Uh, we're, we're always lookingfor new partners like that, but,
but I'd love to get into moresporting events.
I think that would be reallycool.
Ed (28:44):
Yeah.
You just mentioned the, uh, thefinancial aspect of everything
and the, the impact on thefamilies and the fact that these
adventures would, you know,maybe not something they would
be able to do unless theyconnected with A Kid Again.
So how, how, where does yourfinancial support, uh, come
from?
How do you find the means to beable to provide these
opportunities and experiencesfor your, for your families?
Rachel (29:04):
Well, first, I definitely want to mention that
there is no socioeconomic oreconomic hurdle that our
families need to, to jump over,to become an A Kid Again family.
The only thing that our familiesneed to do, uh, regardless of
their income, is to have a childwith a life threatening
condition.
And as an organization, we are100% donor funded.
(29:29):
So individuals, companies,foundations, uh, we really, we,
um, we have a lot of ouradventures are through in-kind
gifts.
So for example, when we do gosomewhere like Dorney Park, they
provide the parking, theadmission, the meal.
So it's an in-kind gift for us.
(29:50):
Um, but for venues where they'renot able to do that, we do, we
do partner with some amazingcompanies and some amazing
individuals, and we've beengiving some really generous
grants and those sponsorshipsmake it possible for us to bring
our families on these incredibleadventures year after year.
Ed (30:08):
What's one that you would like to possibly add or can
conceive of being an addition toA Kid Again?
Rachel (30:15):
That's a great question.
I would love for our chapter toget more into the eSports and
streaming.
That is such a big, fun thingfor, I mean, for any age, but,
but for, for the kids today andteens today, and it's a, it's
(30:36):
really big in, especially, youknow, the Philadelphia region,
we have some incredible eSportsarenas and things like that in,
and we've been in touch withthem and we would love to do, uh
, an eSports adventure.
We, we actually, I shouldprobably reach out about that
because I think we could makethat happen this year.
Um, but I think things like thatthat are a little outta the box,
(30:56):
um, that are fun things to do,uh, in the winter because, you
know, looking forward to, tothings to do in the winter is
important.
I, you know, COVID is not goingaway.
It it's gonna, we're gonna haveups and downs with it, but, you
know, I can see flu season and,and COVID season in the winter
being a time when we have somefamilies who aren't as
comfortable, uh, being in biggroups, indoors, uh, even, even,
(31:18):
you know, into the, you know,years in the future.
So I would love to find somemore ways to involve those
families and let them feel thecommunity and have those kids,
you know, take part in that.
So I'd love to be doing moreeSports and I, I wanna continue
doing adventures in a box toaugment our, our in-person
(31:40):
adventures.
It's really fun.
And the families can either dothem right away, uh, or they can
put them aside for when theirkiddos are in the hospital or
when their kiddos have just comehome from a treatment and, and
need something fun to likereally pick them up.
And I like that about adventurein a box.
I like that it's, it's available, uh, you know, not just for one
(32:01):
day, but it's, you know, lots ofactivities ongoing.
So I'm really hoping that we cando more of that.
And with, with more funding, wewill be able to make that
happen.
Ed (32:11):
Another sentence that I came across on your website is that
your program establishes, I'mquoting here, uh,"ongoing,
nurturing experiences thatcompliment, but do not overtake
their day to day living." Sowhat does that mean to you?
That that's very interesting,uh, way to, uh, express that.
Rachel (32:28):
Yeah.
You know, I think that a lot ofour families, I would maybe even
say most of our families, Idunno how they do it.
They have, you know, whetheryou've got one kid or you've got
five kids when you have a childwith a life threatening
condition and you're back andforth to the hospital, not
always planned, you have medicalbills and therefore financial
(32:49):
concerns that other familiesjust don't have.
A lot of our families have gonefrom one income or from two
incomes down to one and have hadto add full-time care in
addition to that.
So you've cut your income inhalf, and now you need to pay
somebody else to come help outwith your child, because there's
so much going on medically withthem day after day.
(33:12):
And we wanna provide a servicethat is something that they can
opt into that is a value add.
So, you know, one thing thesefamilies don't need to do is
plan a day at a museum or plan aday at the zoo.
Uh, what they wanna be able todo is go, and if they can't make
it, they need to know thatthat's okay.
(33:33):
Or if some of the family can'tmake it and the rest of it can't
that's okay.
And that's, that's the nature ofA Kid Again, is we're here.
We are planning these for you.
Once you're an A Kid Againfamily in a chapter, you can opt
into the adventures and if youcan't make it, it's not a
problem it's cost free andcarefree for the families.
(33:54):
And that's really, reallyimportant to us.
Ed (33:57):
So I know you've shared a lot about the families and, and
the impact on them.
And, you know, your website,again, talks about how they're
able to support one another.
So they're actually giving backby coming to these events and
supporting the other familiesand contributing to that sense
of community.
But to be more explicit aboutthe voices of the families that
you serve, I just wanna readthis piece for our listeners,
from your website.
(34:17):
And this is a quote from one ofthe families that's quoted on
there.
It's to great website.
People should go check it out.
Uh, it's akidagain.org.
And the website's great becauseit, it captures the voices of
the families that you serve.
It talks about the numbers that,you know, what you're
contributing to the families,things they couldn't do
otherwise, but it's also fun andcolorful.
The website itself is anadventure that you can spend
(34:38):
time on there, checking out thecool stuff that A Kid Again has
been doing all across thecountry, including visiting, it
looks like every zoo in Ohio atone time or another.
So apparently they're big onzoos in Ohio.
So I'm just gonna quick, uh,just read this quote just to, to
, so the families, you know,have the, have the voice, uh,
come through here,"A Kid Againis a lifeline, something we can
point to each month and lookforward to as a family, we make
(35:00):
sure to put those events in bigred letters on the calendar.
And it seems to make the yuckymedical stuff pale in
comparison."
Rachel (35:08):
Yeah, I get teary when I think about it, it it's, it's
really, um, it, I feel reallyhonored to be working with an
organization that, that actuallychanges people's lives for the
better, that really something sosimple as, you know, some, an
event to look forward to, uh,for these families is, I mean,
(35:31):
what could be better than justproviding smiles and helping
people feel like a kid again.
And I also wanted to say aboutour website on the backend.
It's not just the folks in thechapters making all of this
happen.
We have an amazing staff at AKid Again, in our national
office.
They do everything from outreachto markets in the country that
(35:52):
where we don't have chapters,um, helping families, uh, so
that if there's no chapter nearyou, you can still be an A Kid
Again family, we have sharedservices, they do our IT, they
do our marketing, they do, wehave an amazing PR firm that we
work with.
They do it all.
I mean, and finance.
I mean, it's just, it makes itpossible for the staff at the
(36:13):
chapters to focus on our day today, knowing that, that we have
support and that the creation ofour, our materials on our
website is gonna be just topnotch like that.
It's a real pleasure.
It's, it's just not always likethat.
Where, where people work and,and it really, A Kid Again is a
true team effort.
Everybody's first thought is ourfamilies, everything we do.
(36:36):
Uh, and, and it's, it's just, Idon't know.
There's nothing like it.
Ed (36:41):
And, and from talking to you, it sounds like you get to
be A Kid Again, as well in yourjob, uh, and are taking
advantage of that opportunity,especially when it comes to, uh,
candy.
Rachel (36:50):
Oh yeah.
Ed (36:50):
Lots of candy.
Um, always candy...
Rachel (36:53):
Candy.
Toys.
Ed (36:53):
Can't have too much candy.
So, so how could families thatare interested, uh, how can they
enroll?
You talked a little bit aboutthe eligibility.
Like, what does that processlook like and how can they
connect with you if they'reinterested in joining?
Rachel (37:07):
So we make it as easy as possible.
We have, uh, right on ourwebsite and it's
akidagain.org/enrollnow.
And it's an online, uh,application.
Uh, you, a lot of our socialworkers at, at hospitals,
children's hospitals have cardsthat they can hand families that
have QR codes, and they can justsit there in the office and do
it right there.
(37:28):
Uh, they can just go online on acomputer, on a phone and fill it
out.
And, uh, that's it there's no,there's no information.
They would probably need to lookup it's about their family and
about their child.
And that's, that's what we askfor.
We also have that form on ourwebsite.
It's downloadable.
It's not yet able to be donejust, just online in Spanish.
(37:50):
And we are working in ourcentral Ohio uh, chapter is
doing this through a grant thatthey've received and they're
working to translate a lot ofour, including our enrollment
application into many, manylanguages, Vietnamese, Mandarin,
you name it.
And so we are, we're alwayshoping to be able to be as
(38:10):
inclusive as possible and makeit as easy for families to find
us and enroll with us aspossible.
So if, if a family may not beready to enroll or they just
wanna learn more, how can theyfind you, locate you on, on
social media, on your website?
I mentioned akidagain.org, whichis spelled exactly the way it
sounds, which is always helpful.
How can, how do families findyou and learn more?
(38:30):
Well, our chapter has a Facebookpage and you can find us.
You can either go on Facebookand, you know, just type in"A
Kid Again Mid-Atlantic" if youtype in"A Kid Again," our
national office will come up asa, as a page, our national page,
as well as all of our chapters,but you can also find us on
Facebook with the,@atakidagainmidatlantic all one
word.
(38:51):
We're also on Instagram.
Our Instagram handle isa_kid_again.
Somebody clearly got therebefore us with one word, A Kid
Again.
We have a YouTube channel, wehave Twitter, find us and follow
us.
And whether you are a family,who's thinking of enrolling, uh,
and, and I'm always open to, totalking to whomever, or if you
(39:14):
are somebody who would like tosupport the organization, either
as one of our adventure guidesor you're thinking of donating,
or you have a contact somewherefor, you know, maybe you've got
the next amazing adventurevenue, please reach out because
we are, we're just, we're neverdone growing.
We never hold a wait list.
Ever.
None of our chapters will everhave a wait list.
(39:36):
Any family that wants to enrollwill enroll.
We, like I said, in the areaswhere we don't have a chapter,
you can still be an A Kid Againfamily.
Cause we have national staffmembers who work in with all of
our markets and bring all ofthose families in.
And when we have areas of thecountry with a, a good
concentration of A Kid Againfamilies, even if there's no
(39:57):
chapter, meaning no boots on theground in that locale, they're
working to try to find in-personadventures.
So it's not always just virtualand, and adventure in a box.
Uh, every once in a while,there's a, a popup adventure
somewhere around the country forthose families.
So it makes sense.
It makes sense to enroll and,and see where it takes you.
We'll never, we'll never have acost to what we provide.
(40:18):
We will never ask you foranything other than, you know,
the, just show your smiles andcome out and, and have a really
good time.
And hopefully, you know, you asa family, you get to, to just
have a, have some time out fromillness.
Ed (40:34):
Well, Rachel I've really, really enjoyed our conversation.
Thank you so much for being on.
It's been great to hear youshare your passion for what you
do and the organization you workfor.
Not everybody gets to say that.
I'm fortunate.
I get to say that working hereat Abilities in Motion, and it
sounds like you are very much,uh, in the same, in the same
boat with me.
So thank you very much.
Is there anything else you'dlike to share?
Rachel (40:56):
No.
I just wanna thank you so muchfor having me on Ed.
This has been so much fun.
You made this very easy on me,which I appreciate.
And, uh, I'm, I'm just reallyglad that we did this and thanks
for helping to get the word outabout A Kid Again.
Ed (41:09):
You're very welcome.
Take care.
Rachel (41:11):
Bye.
Outro (41:48):
Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Disability
Talks.
Want to be a part of the ongoingconversation?
Visit our website atabilitiesinmotion.org or connect
with us on social media.
Welcome to Disability Talks, a podcast produced by
Abilities in Motion.
I'm your host, Ed Granger.
Join us to encounter uniqueperspectives on accessibility
and independence, and to hearstories from everyday people
living their most independent,everyday lives, where essential
conversations find their placelet's talk.
Ed (00:24):
Welcome to Disability Talks, a podcast produced by abilities
in motion, a center forindependent living located in
Reading, Pennsylvania.
I'm your host Ed Granger.
I'm very excited about theopportunity to talk to today's
guest.
Rachel Lippoff is the ExecutiveDirector of the Mid-Atlantic
chapter of A Kid Again, whosemission is to foster hope,
happiness and healing forchildren with life threatening
(00:46):
conditions and their families.
But that mission statement onlyhints at what a cool
organization A Kid Again is,which is why Rachel's here to
tell us about it.
Rachel, welcome to the podcast.
Rachel (00:54):
Thanks for having me Ed.
Ed (00:55):
And I guess, uh, what I'd like to hear is kind of in your
own words, what A Kid Again isall about.
Rachel (01:00):
Yeah, well, as said so perfectly, we do bring hope,
happiness and healing tofamilies, raising children with
life-threatening conditions.
Our Mid-Atlantic chapter doesthis in New Jersey, Delaware,
the Eastern half of Pennsylvaniaand the Southern tip of New
York.
So we serve all of thosefamilies and enrolling is easy.
It's any child we're completelycondition-agnostic.
(01:23):
So any child with anylife-threatening condition birth
through age 20 can enroll withtheir family.
And what we do is we provideadventures.
We go to year round, cost freevisits to amusement parks,
sporting events, zoos, museums,we have holiday parties, we've
done drive-through adventures,anything that we can do to help
our families take a time outfrom illness.
Ed (01:44):
So what is your role there?
And, uh, how did you find yourway to the organization?
Rachel (01:48):
I'm the executive director and I was working with
a large healthcare organizationon the foundation side, uh, here
in New Jersey and south Jersey.
And, uh, wasn't looking to leave, uh, but A Kid Again came
across my computer one day and Ithought, what is this?
And I, I went onto the websiteand was just completely
captivated.
(02:09):
And I love the idea of gettingto build something from
essentially scratch.
Uh, and they were starting a newchapter, uh, building it out of
Philadelphia to cover this biggeographic region.
And, uh, I put my hat in thering and seems that they liked
me too.
And I actually started April13th, 2020, right in the midst
of, uh, quarantine.
(02:29):
So I call us the quarantinechapter.
We were, we were slow to, togrow because everybody was home
and nobody knew about us and weweren't doing in-person
adventures at first.
We were fully virtual and we didadventures in a box, which we
still do.
And, uh, we've just grown somuch in 2021.
We went from about 45 familiesto over 250 and we've grown
(02:51):
since then already.
Ed (02:53):
Wow.
That's amazing.
So talk a little bit about whatthe, what the challenges were
when you first got there.
And all of a sudden you'redealing with not only a new
position, uh, but a but a COVIDpandemic on top of it.
Rachel (03:03):
Yeah.
You know, it was, it was justslow to build.
And, and I think that'schallenging in the greater
Philadelphia area where ouroffice is.
We, we have a lot of nonprofits.
It's just, you know, it's, it'shard to break through and be
seen.
Uh, but also it was tough to, toget placed in the news.
I mean, what we do is so amazingand we're really unique, not
(03:27):
just because we're a conditionagnostic and we can bring these
families year, round year afteryear on these adventures, but
because we're here for the wholefamily.
So not just that enrolled child,but their siblings and their
parents, everybody gets to go onall of these adventures.
And, um, it was really tough toget that in the news because of
course COVID was the, the bignews for, it still is, but was
(03:50):
the main news for so long.
Uh, but we kept at it.
We have, uh, been building anamazing advisory board.
We have some wonderfulsupporters and, uh, we work with
social workers at local, well, Isay local in our regional, uh,
children's hospitals.
And we work with child lifespecialists and we work with, uh
(04:10):
, some disease specificorganizations to refer families
to us.
And now that we're, you know,rocking and rolling, our
families are referring otherfamilies to us because they're
having such a great time.
And, uh, we really overcome alot of those challenges.
Ed (04:23):
Yeah, that's great.
It sounds like you got the wordof mouth going after you were
able to sort of get yournetworks in place and, uh, you
know, there's nothing betterthan families sharing stories
with other families, which isgreat.
Do you have any, any specificstories that stand out to you
that you like to share?
Rachel (04:39):
I have so many, um, there's is one that I love to
share.
And, uh, there's we went toDorney Park.
We go annually to Dorney park,uh, in September.
And, uh, we had a, a mom whowrote me afterwards and said
that her child, um, has a, aport just, uh, on their, on
their chest just below theirshoulder.
(04:59):
And that not only was it thefirst time in so long that she
had seen her kiddo spend hoursand hours, you know, smiling and
being carefree and, and notworrying and, and feeling pain,
but that, uh, he wanted to ridethis ride.
And it was one of those likerollercoasters where you pull
the harness down from above youwhen it kinda sits on your
(05:20):
chest.
And she said, you know,"Honey,isn't that gonna bother you
where your port is?" And hesaid,"Mom, I completely forgot
about it." And, and that's whatwe do.
We, we want these families to beable to come out.
They don't have to plan a dayout.
We plan it for them.
They don't have to pay forparking.
They don't have to pay foradmission.
They don't have to worry aboutgetting a meal or a snack.
(05:40):
We take care of all of that forthem, thanks to our partners.
And they get a day to just becarefree and we try to do it
every month or every othermonth.
So they always have something toanticipate and then they get to
participate in it.
And then they have these familymemories to take with them.
Ed (05:56):
That's fantastic.
And I, you had mentioned that itreally is about the whole
family, so everybody gets to bea kid.
Again, it's not just about thekid that is enrolled it's the
whole family.
So share a little bit about thedecision or the idea behind
making sure that siblings areincluded and that they're
treated as, as important as anyother member of the family.
Rachel (06:15):
Absolutely.
So, uh, while our chapter isrelatively new, uh, A Kid Again
has been around for over 26years and we were founded in
central Ohio in Columbus.
And our three founders areactually still really involved
with the organization.
And what they did was theyfounded this organization for
families because they wereinvolved with other
(06:38):
organizations that were, youknow, wish granting
organizations, which arefantastic.
And they were granting, helpingto grant wishes for these kids.
And what they realized was asamazing as that was, they wanted
to keep granting, they wanted tokeep giving them this happy,
these happy days, and that theysaw these siblings who are these
kids' biggest cheerleaders andthey're also missing out on
(07:02):
life.
So many of these families, um,are isolated.
They were isolated long beforeCOVID was a thing for the rest
of us and the siblings, they,they need to feel like kids
again too.
And they need the chance to, tomake new friends and to have
those days out with their, withtheir brothers and sisters.
And, uh, they just decided thatthat was how we would, we would
(07:23):
run this organization.
So it was built from otheramazing ideas that are out
there.
And what we are is a reallygreat companion organization
for, for these otherorganizations that help these
families.
Ed (07:35):
So I'd love to hear, uh, about some of your favorite
adventures.
I mean, not, not just thatyou've done there in the Mid
Atlantic chapter, but maybefrom, you know, across the
country.
And, and what are some thingsthat you haven't done yet that
you think you might like tooffer?
Rachel (07:48):
Such a cool question.
So, um, I love Dorney Park.
I know I've already mentionedthat, but I mean, I love a good
rollercoaster and, uh, we havesome families who don't get to
do that otherwise.
And to be honest, I really loved, uh, I mean, I love all of our
adventures, but I loved theresponses we got from our
families when we went toJohnson's locus hall farm, which
(08:09):
is in Southern New Jersey.
And we took them apple pickingand pumpkin picking, and it was
part of our capes and crownsadventures.
So everybody came rest assuperheroes or, you know
princesses, I, and, um, we hadother princesses and superheroes
there with them and just pickapples and pick pumpkins and
take hayrides.
And what I never had thoughtabout before is how lucky my kid
(08:35):
is that I can just take her onhayrides to go pick strawberries
or pumpkins or whatever, reallywhenever we want.
And we have families who'venever been able to take their
kids to do this and somethingthat seems so simple and easy
for someone like me was a reallybig deal for these families.
And, um, at the farm, they hadramps for the, the kids who
(08:55):
needed it to get on and off thehay rides.
They just made it so easy forour families.
And, uh, everybody went homewith free apples and pumpkins,
and it was just like, it wasjust the best day.
So, you know, it doesn't have tobe a big, huge, you know,
amusement park rides.
Sometimes it's, it's the thingsthat you would think would be so
simple.
Um, some of our other chaptersthat have been around for, you
(09:17):
know, 20 years and have athousand plus families, um, have
been partnering with, um, someof our other amusement park
partners for, for all that time.
We're nationally affiliated withthe Cedar fair amusement parks.
So here it's Dorney Park, inCincinnati we've been partnered
with Kings island pretty muchthe entire time that our
organization has been inexistence.
(09:39):
Um, we, have Cedar Point that'sout of Cleveland, all sorts of
amusement parks.
So I think that's a fanfavorite.
Um, we've done dream night atthe zoo in Columbus for many,
many years.
And, uh, that's another one.
And, and we're looking to beable to do something like that
here in our region as well.
And then another thing that'sreally cool is that we have an
(10:01):
eSports team now for our A KidAgain kids and that that's
something new.
And our executive director inthe Indiana chapter started us
on this streaming for adventuresand eSports road and is just
taking us in so many coolplaces.
So now we have kids who are, youknow, we do adventures for those
(10:24):
kids who are on that team andit's national, it's from all our
different chapters and ourmarket, uh, because the other
thing is while we have sevenchapters right now, uh, we
actually have families that weserve in 44 states.
So we're hoping to cover all 50and move into Canada and become
an international organizationany day now.
Uh, but, but this way, you know,when we can do fun national
(10:45):
programming like this eSportsleague, which is really because
we have this grant from AT&T,nationally, uh, that we, we can,
we can bring kids together fromacross the nation and they meet
each other and they get to builda community.
And that's really what A KidAgain is all about.
Ed (11:02):
So you're, you said you've been around for 26 years, so
you're, you're humming along andbuilding the organization.
All of a sudden COVID comesalong.
And that leads to the adventuresin a box, which I think is
another really cool thing and areally creative idea that
enabled you to, uh, to find aworkaround for the fact that you
couldn't always, uh, begathering in person and having
(11:24):
that, uh, face to faceconnection.
So, uh, share a little bit moreabout how the adventures in a
box came about and how that kindof took off.
Rachel (11:31):
Definitely.
So, uh, with A Kid Again, the,the staff at A Kid Again, right
when I started had, had alreadybegun, you know, this all
started what March, 2020, um,they'd already begun pivoting,
like right away.
Uh, you know, everybody knowsthat A Kid Again, for some of
our kids, we don't know whichadventure may be their last, and
we don't have time to stop andwait for in-person adventures to
(11:54):
start again.
So we actually immediatelystarted doing virtual adventures
first before the adventures in abox, and that we did, um, we did
a, a, a huge magic show withmagicians from around the world.
We've done, um, dance partieswith, uh, Slider.
Who's the Cleveland Indians, uh,their mascot, we've done arts
(12:16):
and crafts.
We did a behind the scenesaquarium tour and, uh, of their
shark tunnel.
We've done all sorts of things.
And at our chapter, we, weplayed a lot of virtual bingo.
Our families really likedvirtual bingo.
And I'm actually thinking ofbringing that back, uh, just
every once in a while, we'vesend a bingo card home to each
of the houses and for thefamily, with the bingo markers
(12:37):
or candy pieces.
So that's always fun, I believein candy.
And, uh, and we send some funsnacks and stuff like that, and
we all get on and we play bingotogether.
And then we send prizes.
I mean, who doesn't love that?
Uh, but what we realized is wewanted to be able to do more.
So somebody up with the greatidea of doing an adventure in a
box, and the first one we didwas summer 2020, and, uh, each
(13:01):
chapter does it a little bitdifferently.
And the way our chapter in theMid-Atlantic region does it is,
uh, we did the summer box waswith mini adventures.
So we had, uh, outdooradventures.
So there was, um, you know,sidewalk chalk and bubbles and,
and a scavenger hunt and seedsto plant, uh, and a shovel and
all sorts of things and, uh,arts and crafts.
(13:22):
And there was a 4th of July partof it with the mini adventure.
So there was, um, some 4th ofJuly recipes, some crafts there,
some of those crazy red, white,and blue flag, you know,
sunglasses that have the splitsin them that give me a headache,
but that are super fun forpeople.
Um, and we had, uh, a game nightmini adventure in there.
So there were cards and dominoesand microwave popcorn and
(13:45):
lemonade mix and more candy.
And, uh, it was just really fun.
And I actually got to deliversome of those boxes to some of
the families and for me, becauseI was brand new and the chapter
was brand new, it was my firsttime getting to meet some of our
families.
And it was just incredible.
And I got to watch some of thesekids open their boxes.
We did it again that fall.
(14:06):
We did another adventure in abox, very seasonal.
And then we started getting evenmore creative.
We've done a tie dye dventure ina box where we sent our
families, every kid in thefamily gets, uh, a white A Kid
Again t-shirt and then thefamily gets a, a tie dye kit,
and we got such cool picturesand those kids still wear their
tie dye shirts to adventures.
(14:26):
We did, uh, a baking challenge,like nailed it kinda thing, uh,
with the spring bunny cake.
And we sent them, you know, the,the baking mix and the icing and
the candy, again, the, the themeof candy and the baking tins
that they would need, um, torecreate this cake and then
said, go, you know, go forth andrecreate the cake and show us
what you come up with.
(14:47):
And that was really fun.
So this year and this summerwe're gonna do another baking
challenge.
I haven't, haven't decidedexactly the theme, but it's
gonna be something fun.
So I can't wait to see whatpeople come up with.
Ed (14:59):
So you're, you're coming up with ideas all the time and then
trying to put them into, youknow, translate them into
reality.
And I know from your bio thatyou're a somewhat creative
person yourself.
Uh, you do some art and how, howmuch does it mean to you to be
able to bring sort of yourcreative side?
Cuz I can hear that coming outin what you're sharing about how
those boxes are put together andyour resourcefulness in making
it happen.
Rachel (15:20):
Thank you.
Yeah, I do.
I love, I love the artsy craftsyand I love, I love to be
creative.
And um, I will say that eachchapter has a program
coordinator that works with theexecutive director and, um, I'm
hiring a new one actually thisweek and that person is
responsible actually for thecreation and putting on the
adventure.
(15:41):
So we work together to, to dothe creative bit and we work
with our advisory board with ittoo.
So it's not just me, but Ireally love it.
I love that, you know, we cantry new things.
We did a, um, we did a Minecraftvirtual adventure that was fun
and that we will tweak and dosomething like that.
Again, really, really anythingthat you can think of that would
be fun for families.
(16:02):
We, we get to try and do.
And, and it's just such apleasure to, to be able to, to
be fun and creative and to knowthat you're changing people's
lives by doing it.
Ed (16:13):
So now you have somebody or will have somebody that you can
send to the Dollar Store to pickup all those things that you're
gonna, surprises that you'regonna include in those boxes
that people can't wait to openwhen one lands on their
doorstep.
Rachel (16:23):
That's right.
I, I will admit that.
Um, I miss when, when I, I, andI had a wonderful program
coordinator before who, who hadto move on for great reasons,
but I do miss when I don't getsto be the one to go to the
Dollar Store and do those kindsof things.
So, uh, every once in a while Itry to tag along, but yeah, but
it's really fun to, to work as ateam and really, and really do
fun things like this forfamilies.
Ed (16:44):
And I know that some, at least some chapters have done
hybrid events.
So the adventures it's kind of acombination of being in a box,
but also with kind of thatpersonal touch, can you share a,
a little bit about, or give anexample of one of those?
Rachel (16:55):
So we actually did it last year for Valentine's Day
2021.
Originally I was hoping that wecould do a Valentine's Day party
in person and it just, you know,we, we thought we, we thought
the best of 2021 and it justdidn't happen.
So we pivoted as we do.
And, uh, it changed it to aValentine's Day adventure in a
(17:16):
box.
So there was all sorts of funstuff in there for, for the kids
and for the family to do athome.
But there was a second portionof it where we were having a
virtual Valentine's Day party.
And so what we did was we playedvirtual bingo because again, I
love it and it involves candyand prizes and we did arts and
crafts together.
And, uh, just got a chance tosee each other face to face,
(17:38):
even if it was, you know, overZoom and just had a really good
time.
So that's always, that's alwaysreally fun to be able to, to
have the dual part.
And we had some families thatjust did the adventure in a box,
and we had some families thatdid the box and also came, you
know, came online and did theparty with us.
Ed (17:56):
And I know in addition to, um, your staffing and you do
have a, sounds like a small, butmighty staff there in
Philadelphia, you know, you'realso relying on volunteers quite
a bit.
So how, how do you find thosevolunteers and how important are
they to making these thingshappen?
Rachel (18:10):
So we could not do what we do without our adventure
guides.
And that's what we call ourvolunteers, their adventure
guides.
And they are, they are the heartof, of making this happen.
You know, you can have a great,great staff, but without some
added help to welcome thefamilies, to help guide them
(18:32):
through adventures, to answerquestions, our, our adventure
guides are our photographers.
They help us with our socialmedia at adventures.
They really do all sorts ofthings.
They help us pack up theadventures in a box.
They help us deliver some of theadventures in a box cause
shipping can get expensive.
And so it's really fun to givethat personal touch to people as
(18:53):
well.
And, uh, we just, we couldn't doit without them.
And every chapter is like thatas well as our, at our national
office, we all have volunteersand, uh, and we really rely on
them and they come back formore.
They really, they really have agood time at the adventures and
meeting these families and, andgetting to see your hard work in
action is so much, it's just somuch fun and we're always
(19:15):
looking for more adventureguides and, uh, you can always
sign up to, to volunteer with usand, you know, pick your
adventures that you wanna helpwith.
And it's just, it's such a greatteam effort.
Ed (19:26):
So how do you get a sense for kind of what, what
adventures might be hits?
How do you, how do you, youknow, you're coming up with
ideas, where do you get yourideas from and what kind of
input from your families do youhave for that?
Rachel (19:38):
So we always love to have input from our families.
I'm a big kid at heart.
So if I think it'll be fun forme, or if I have an 11 year old
daughter, if I think she wouldhave fun, I, you know, we try to
do that kind of thing, butthere's also the fact that our
families have children again,age birth through 20, uh,
including the siblings and, youknow, there, we always want it
(20:00):
to, to be something foreveryone.
And, and sometimes it is.
And sometimes it isn't, we hadthat, that Minecraft adventure,
we actually had mostly siblingswho opted into that.
And that was, that was who, whoattended it.
And that's okay because we arehere for the entire family.
And if the kiddo who's enrolledwith A Kid Again is sick the day
(20:20):
of an adventure and mom or dadcan still bring the sibling,
then the sibling and, and theparent can come.
So we do, we do all sorts ofthings that way.
And I think I've forgotten thequestion.
Ed (20:31):
That's okay.
You, you can take them whereveryou want them to go.
I'm just here to, to tap intowhatever you want to share.
So I know you also mentionedthat your organization provides,
uh, I guess I'm quoting from thewebsite here, comprehensive,
practical support.
So can you share a little bitabout what that looks like?
Rachel (20:47):
We actually, last night had a really good example of
that.
We had a wonderful gentlemannamed Jerry Wade, who is
donating his time to ourfamilies in this chapter.
And he held a workshop for ourfamilies and it was a webinar
and it was, this one was, youknow, 10 basic steps that
guardians and and parents cantake to ensure the financial
(21:08):
and, and healthy future of theirdependence.
And it covered all sorts ofthings.
It was an overview, uh,workshop, and it was, he made it
very interactive.
The parents got to ask a lot ofquestions.
Some of'em were very personaland specific to them.
And some were questions that,that, you know, if I had been
able to see everybody they'd benodding their head, all of that.
So I learned so much and, uh,and it was a hit and Jerry's
(21:32):
gonna come back and do a wholeseries of webinars for our
families.
And they're gonna be things like, um, one will focus on the able
act.
One will focus on, uh, settingup a special needs trust and
what that means.
We'll do some that have to dowith, with certain benefits that
, that are important.
One about guardianship becauseour parents have it.
(21:52):
There's no one stop shop forinformation.
When your child is diagnosedwith a life threatening
condition and you at yourchildren's hospital, the
families have amazing socialworkers that they work with.
They have, uh, child lifespecialists, they have their
doctors.
Um, there are family supportgroups out there.
(22:13):
There's so many things, but youjust, you never get all of the
information cuz there's so muchout there.
And I think what I found withworking with, with Jerry is that
one of the pieces that that teamseems to be missing for a lot of
our families is that financialcomponent and making sure that
your child will be secure afteryou, after you've passed.
(22:33):
And so as tough as it is tothink about something like that,
we wanted to hold theseworkshops and it's it, our
families were just so happy tohave the opportunity.
So it's a pleasure to work withan organization that, you know,
thinks in broader strokes thanjust the, you know, the
amazingness of an adventure.
And really we can, we can lookand see the needs of our
(22:56):
families beyond that.
So we're always open to newideas.
We ask for surveys after ouradventures and annually for, uh,
not all of our adventures, wedon't, we don't inundate them,
but we do offer for, um, somesurvey risk from our families to
get ideas about new adventures,to get ideas about new services
they may want.
We do try to stay in our lane.
(23:18):
There are organizations thatprovide other services, and they
do it so well, and we, we wannapartner with them and let them
do that.
And they'll let us do this.
And we can give everybody a moreholistic, comprehensive life.
Ed (23:32):
Sure.
And I, I know too, from like, asa center for independent living,
when we're looking at, uh, youknow, trying to support people
and becoming more independent,um, and advocating for
themselves, I noticed that onyour website, you talk about one
of the goals is to increase theresolve and the resilience of
the people that you serve, makeit just that bit easier for them
to face all the medical stuffthat they have to deal with.
So can you share a little bitabout how you, how that impact
(23:54):
is seen in the results or yourinteractions with the families
that you serve?
Rachel (23:59):
Absolutely.
We have a great majority of ourfamilies who have told us that
the services provided by A KidAgain attending these adventures
have made them feel more likethey're in a community, uh, less
isolated.
They feel like they are a partof something.
(24:19):
I think one of the biggestthings that people don't realize
is the isolation factor.
Even if your family is, youknow, you have a child with a
life threatening condition andyou're not essentially
quarantined at home, you can beout and about.
You might look different fromeverybody else and people might
stare.
People might treat youdifferently.
People might not know how totreat you at all.
And then they ignore you andbeing with A Kid Again, you're
(24:40):
going on these group adventures.
You don't have to stay with thegroup, but you're showing up
with a group of people who maynot look just like you and may
not have the same condition youknow, their child may not have
the exact same condition, butthey, they know what you go
through.
And the parents get a chance to,to hang out and talk and share
ideas and share services that,that have helped them.
(25:03):
And, uh, the kids get a chanceto get together.
One of my favorite photos fromour holiday party at Diggerland
this past year is of a bunch ofour A Kid Again kids just
hanging out together.
Some of them know each otherfrom other organizations, some
of them met at A Kid Again, andthey're just, they're hanging
out.
Parents are somewhere else.
And they're, they're just havinga good time.
Ed (25:23):
You know, when you, when you're choosing or deciding on a
place that you want to have anadventure and bring those
families together, to have thatcommunity experience, how do you
ensure that it's accessible foreverybody?
Rachel (25:33):
That's such a great question.
And one of the very firstquestions that we ask when we
are talking with the newpotential adventure partner, is
it ADA compliant down to, youknow, from the entrance down to
the bathrooms.
And we've had some that our, youknow, where I said, we went to
the farm that time and that'soutdoors and it's bumpy and
everything like that.
But they made every effort tomake sure that our families with
(25:55):
kids who, um, are in wheelchairsfamilies with kids who have
other devices to help them withtheir mobility and kids who
don't see well.
And, and a lot of our familieshave parents who also may have
disabilities that everybodycould get everywhere, uh, with
as much ease as possible.
But it's the first thing that wecheck on.
And, and we have spoken withsome venues that seemed like
(26:18):
they would be amazing fits in areally good time and they just,
they just, weren't gonna they,they, weren't gonna cut it in
terms of, of accessibility forour families.
And, and we're sorry about that.
But there are so many, so manyplaces that are, you know, when
we go to amusement parks, theymake every effort to make sure
that our families have, youknow, the, the use of the lifts
to get to, to the rides that areup high and, and everything.
(26:41):
And, and our adventure partnerswork with us so closely, they go
out of their way to make surethat our families get to do
everything.
And, uh, it's really a pleasure,but it's the number one thing
that we ask, because if that'snot available to us, then it's
just not, it's just not apossible venue for our
adventures.
Ed (26:57):
So what's a place that, uh, that you'd like to go in the, in
the future?
How about the near future?
Let's assume that the pandemicis gonna quiet down and we're
gonna be able to be in the sameplace at the same time.
I'm sure you're looking forwardto that.
What's a place that you'd liketo go to, or can't wait to get
to when we're all able to be inthe same place again?
Rachel (27:15):
So I will say that we are already doing in-person
adventures again.
So that's exciting, but where,uh, we really wanna go is we are
hoping that Major LeagueBaseball, you know, figures
everything out soon because wehave plans to go see a Phillies
game this year.
And we are really excited forthat.
We'd love to do some things withthe Eagles.
(27:36):
We have a really largegeographic region.
There's no reason why wecouldn't do things with, with
some New York teams.
I know that may upset some ofour Philly people, but we, we
have families who are in, youknow, central and north Jersey
and Southern New York who maynot, may not be Philly fans.
Uh, so we, we would love to dosome more sporting events.
I think those are, those arethings that they tend to be, um,
(27:56):
an expense for families in thefirst place.
And with some of our families,many of whom have, you know,
some, they, I mean, their, theirfinances are tied up elsewhere
with their medical bills.
It's just not in the cards forthem.
And, uh, to be able to do fun,things like that.
So we're hoping to partner morewith, with organizations, uh,
like the Eagles and all of that,but we, we've been very lucky in
(28:17):
the Lehigh Valley.
The Phantoms, the minor leaguehockey team is a partner of
ours.
And when they have some extratickets, they reach out and say,
you know, we've got X number ofextra tickets and, uh, send, you
know, feel free to, to let yourfamilies know, and our families
can first come first serve tothem.
We'd love to do an, an actualadventure there.
(28:38):
Uh, we're, we're always lookingfor new partners like that, but,
but I'd love to get into moresporting events.
I think that would be reallycool.
Ed (28:44):
Yeah.
You just mentioned the, uh, thefinancial aspect of everything
and the, the impact on thefamilies and the fact that these
adventures would, you know,maybe not something they would
be able to do unless theyconnected with A Kid Again.
So how, how, where does yourfinancial support, uh, come
from?
How do you find the means to beable to provide these
opportunities and experiencesfor your, for your families?
Rachel (29:04):
Well, first, I definitely want to mention that
there is no socioeconomic oreconomic hurdle that our
families need to, to jump over,to become an A Kid Again family.
The only thing that our familiesneed to do, uh, regardless of
their income, is to have a childwith a life threatening
condition.
And as an organization, we are100% donor funded.
(29:29):
So individuals, companies,foundations, uh, we really, we,
um, we have a lot of ouradventures are through in-kind
gifts.
So for example, when we do gosomewhere like Dorney Park, they
provide the parking, theadmission, the meal.
So it's an in-kind gift for us.
(29:50):
Um, but for venues where they'renot able to do that, we do, we
do partner with some amazingcompanies and some amazing
individuals, and we've beengiving some really generous
grants and those sponsorshipsmake it possible for us to bring
our families on these incredibleadventures year after year.
Ed (30:08):
What's one that you would like to possibly add or can
conceive of being an addition toA Kid Again?
Rachel (30:15):
That's a great question.
I would love for our chapter toget more into the eSports and
streaming.
That is such a big, fun thingfor, I mean, for any age, but,
but for, for the kids today andteens today, and it's a, it's
(30:36):
really big in, especially, youknow, the Philadelphia region,
we have some incredible eSportsarenas and things like that in,
and we've been in touch withthem and we would love to do, uh
, an eSports adventure.
We, we actually, I shouldprobably reach out about that
because I think we could makethat happen this year.
Um, but I think things like thatthat are a little outta the box,
(30:56):
um, that are fun things to do,uh, in the winter because, you
know, looking forward to, tothings to do in the winter is
important.
I, you know, COVID is not goingaway.
It it's gonna, we're gonna haveups and downs with it, but, you
know, I can see flu season and,and COVID season in the winter
being a time when we have somefamilies who aren't as
comfortable, uh, being in biggroups, indoors, uh, even, even,
(31:18):
you know, into the, you know,years in the future.
So I would love to find somemore ways to involve those
families and let them feel thecommunity and have those kids,
you know, take part in that.
So I'd love to be doing moreeSports and I, I wanna continue
doing adventures in a box toaugment our, our in-person
(31:40):
adventures.
It's really fun.
And the families can either dothem right away, uh, or they can
put them aside for when theirkiddos are in the hospital or
when their kiddos have just comehome from a treatment and, and
need something fun to likereally pick them up.
And I like that about adventurein a box.
I like that it's, it's available, uh, you know, not just for one
(32:01):
day, but it's, you know, lots ofactivities ongoing.
So I'm really hoping that we cando more of that.
And with, with more funding, wewill be able to make that
happen.
Ed (32:11):
Another sentence that I came across on your website is that
your program establishes, I'mquoting here, uh,"ongoing,
nurturing experiences thatcompliment, but do not overtake
their day to day living." Sowhat does that mean to you?
That that's very interesting,uh, way to, uh, express that.
Rachel (32:28):
Yeah.
You know, I think that a lot ofour families, I would maybe even
say most of our families, Idunno how they do it.
They have, you know, whetheryou've got one kid or you've got
five kids when you have a childwith a life threatening
condition and you're back andforth to the hospital, not
always planned, you have medicalbills and therefore financial
(32:49):
concerns that other familiesjust don't have.
A lot of our families have gonefrom one income or from two
incomes down to one and have hadto add full-time care in
addition to that.
So you've cut your income inhalf, and now you need to pay
somebody else to come help outwith your child, because there's
so much going on medically withthem day after day.
(33:12):
And we wanna provide a servicethat is something that they can
opt into that is a value add.
So, you know, one thing thesefamilies don't need to do is
plan a day at a museum or plan aday at the zoo.
Uh, what they wanna be able todo is go, and if they can't make
it, they need to know thatthat's okay.
(33:33):
Or if some of the family can'tmake it and the rest of it can't
that's okay.
And that's, that's the nature ofA Kid Again, is we're here.
We are planning these for you.
Once you're an A Kid Againfamily in a chapter, you can opt
into the adventures and if youcan't make it, it's not a
problem it's cost free andcarefree for the families.
(33:54):
And that's really, reallyimportant to us.
Ed (33:57):
So I know you've shared a lot about the families and, and
the impact on them.
And, you know, your website,again, talks about how they're
able to support one another.
So they're actually giving backby coming to these events and
supporting the other familiesand contributing to that sense
of community.
But to be more explicit aboutthe voices of the families that
you serve, I just wanna readthis piece for our listeners,
from your website.
(34:17):
And this is a quote from one ofthe families that's quoted on
there.
It's to great website.
People should go check it out.
Uh, it's akidagain.org.
And the website's great becauseit, it captures the voices of
the families that you serve.
It talks about the numbers that,you know, what you're
contributing to the families,things they couldn't do
otherwise, but it's also fun andcolorful.
The website itself is anadventure that you can spend
(34:38):
time on there, checking out thecool stuff that A Kid Again has
been doing all across thecountry, including visiting, it
looks like every zoo in Ohio atone time or another.
So apparently they're big onzoos in Ohio.
So I'm just gonna quick, uh,just read this quote just to, to
, so the families, you know,have the, have the voice, uh,
come through here,"A Kid Againis a lifeline, something we can
point to each month and lookforward to as a family, we make
(35:00):
sure to put those events in bigred letters on the calendar.
And it seems to make the yuckymedical stuff pale in
comparison."
Rachel (35:08):
Yeah, I get teary when I think about it, it it's, it's
really, um, it, I feel reallyhonored to be working with an
organization that, that actuallychanges people's lives for the
better, that really something sosimple as, you know, some, an
event to look forward to, uh,for these families is, I mean,
(35:31):
what could be better than justproviding smiles and helping
people feel like a kid again.
And I also wanted to say aboutour website on the backend.
It's not just the folks in thechapters making all of this
happen.
We have an amazing staff at AKid Again, in our national
office.
They do everything from outreachto markets in the country that
(35:52):
where we don't have chapters,um, helping families, uh, so
that if there's no chapter nearyou, you can still be an A Kid
Again family, we have sharedservices, they do our IT, they
do our marketing, they do, wehave an amazing PR firm that we
work with.
They do it all.
I mean, and finance.
I mean, it's just, it makes itpossible for the staff at the
(36:13):
chapters to focus on our day today, knowing that, that we have
support and that the creation ofour, our materials on our
website is gonna be just topnotch like that.
It's a real pleasure.
It's, it's just not always likethat.
Where, where people work and,and it really, A Kid Again is a
true team effort.
Everybody's first thought is ourfamilies, everything we do.
(36:36):
Uh, and, and it's, it's just, Idon't know.
There's nothing like it.
Ed (36:41):
And, and from talking to you, it sounds like you get to
be A Kid Again, as well in yourjob, uh, and are taking
advantage of that opportunity,especially when it comes to, uh,
candy.
Rachel (36:50):
Oh yeah.
Ed (36:50):
Lots of candy.
Um, always candy...
Rachel (36:53):
Candy.
Toys.
Ed (36:53):
Can't have too much candy.
So, so how could families thatare interested, uh, how can they
enroll?
You talked a little bit aboutthe eligibility.
Like, what does that processlook like and how can they
connect with you if they'reinterested in joining?
Rachel (37:07):
So we make it as easy as possible.
We have, uh, right on ourwebsite and it's
akidagain.org/enrollnow.
And it's an online, uh,application.
Uh, you, a lot of our socialworkers at, at hospitals,
children's hospitals have cardsthat they can hand families that
have QR codes, and they can justsit there in the office and do
it right there.
(37:28):
Uh, they can just go online on acomputer, on a phone and fill it
out.
And, uh, that's it there's no,there's no information.
They would probably need to lookup it's about their family and
about their child.
And that's, that's what we askfor.
We also have that form on ourwebsite.
It's downloadable.
It's not yet able to be donejust, just online in Spanish.
(37:50):
And we are working in ourcentral Ohio uh, chapter is
doing this through a grant thatthey've received and they're
working to translate a lot ofour, including our enrollment
application into many, manylanguages, Vietnamese, Mandarin,
you name it.
And so we are, we're alwayshoping to be able to be as
(38:10):
inclusive as possible and makeit as easy for families to find
us and enroll with us aspossible.
So if, if a family may not beready to enroll or they just
wanna learn more, how can theyfind you, locate you on, on
social media, on your website?
I mentioned akidagain.org, whichis spelled exactly the way it
sounds, which is always helpful.
How can, how do families findyou and learn more?
(38:30):
Well, our chapter has a Facebookpage and you can find us.
You can either go on Facebookand, you know, just type in"A
Kid Again Mid-Atlantic" if youtype in"A Kid Again," our
national office will come up asa, as a page, our national page,
as well as all of our chapters,but you can also find us on
Facebook with the,@atakidagainmidatlantic all one
word.
(38:51):
We're also on Instagram.
Our Instagram handle isa_kid_again.
Somebody clearly got therebefore us with one word, A Kid
Again.
We have a YouTube channel, wehave Twitter, find us and follow
us.
And whether you are a family,who's thinking of enrolling, uh,
and, and I'm always open to, totalking to whomever, or if you
(39:14):
are somebody who would like tosupport the organization, either
as one of our adventure guidesor you're thinking of donating,
or you have a contact somewherefor, you know, maybe you've got
the next amazing adventurevenue, please reach out because
we are, we're just, we're neverdone growing.
We never hold a wait list.
Ever.
None of our chapters will everhave a wait list.
(39:36):
Any family that wants to enrollwill enroll.
We, like I said, in the areaswhere we don't have a chapter,
you can still be an A Kid Againfamily.
Cause we have national staffmembers who work in with all of
our markets and bring all ofthose families in.
And when we have areas of thecountry with a, a good
concentration of A Kid Againfamilies, even if there's no
(39:57):
chapter, meaning no boots on theground in that locale, they're
working to try to find in-personadventures.
So it's not always just virtualand, and adventure in a box.
Uh, every once in a while,there's a, a popup adventure
somewhere around the country forthose families.
So it makes sense.
It makes sense to enroll and,and see where it takes you.
We'll never, we'll never have acost to what we provide.
(40:18):
We will never ask you foranything other than, you know,
the, just show your smiles andcome out and, and have a really
good time.
And hopefully, you know, you asa family, you get to, to just
have a, have some time out fromillness.
Ed (40:34):
Well, Rachel I've really, really enjoyed our conversation.
Thank you so much for being on.
It's been great to hear youshare your passion for what you
do and the organization you workfor.
Not everybody gets to say that.
I'm fortunate.
I get to say that working hereat Abilities in Motion, and it
sounds like you are very much,uh, in the same, in the same
boat with me.
So thank you very much.
Is there anything else you'dlike to share?
Rachel (40:56):
No.
I just wanna thank you so muchfor having me on Ed.
This has been so much fun.
You made this very easy on me,which I appreciate.
And, uh, I'm, I'm just reallyglad that we did this and thanks
for helping to get the word outabout A Kid Again.
Ed (41:09):
You're very welcome.
Take care.
Rachel (41:11):
Bye.
Outro (41:48):
Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Disability
Talks.
Want to be a part of the ongoingconversation?
Visit our website atabilitiesinmotion.org or connect
with us on social media.
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