Founded by McKenzie McGee and Naomi Robb, mothers with kids in the Centralia School District, Kiddin’ Around, a nonprofit, seeks to bring more family-friendly activities to Lewis County for all ages.
In its first year, the organization held 14 events, including holiday vendor fairs, 5K runs, bringing back Business Week (a high school program where juniors are mentored by local businesspeople), a free back-to-school supply drive event and more. The group also implemented a student board member program this year, where kids serve as decision makers for nonprofits to see how they work behind the scenes.
In its second year, according to Robb, the group will have fewer events and more programs. Beginning this Saturday with a Superhero Fun Run at Fort Borst Park with registration at 9:30 a.m., Kiddin’ Around has six events penned for the year. The other five are a summer kick-off, back-to-school drive, several holiday events and Business Week in December. Already, superintendents from across Lewis County have expressed interest in the program, Robb said.
But, one program that’s yet to be implemented particularly excited Robb. Speaking to juniors at Centralia High School, she said many expressed frustration over not being able to afford driver’s education and therefore, not having many job opportunities because they can’t drive to work.
After budget cuts in recent years, Centralia High School and many others no longer offer driver’s ed through the school. Most local for-profit programs, she said, cost around $600.
“(It’s) this kind of cycle of poverty,” Robb said. “If you can’t work, you can’t do anything about your situation.”
So, Kiddin’ Around hopes to offer 30 driver’s ed scholarships in the coming year, with plans to expand the program countywide in the following years.
“One student who was really desperate for a job … we went with the Economic Alliance and paid for driver's ed and she was overwhelmingly grateful, which gave us the idea that we could do this for more students,” Robb said.
When taking the program countywide, she said the nonprofit would focus especially on students in East Lewis County who have to drive 45-90 minutes to reach the nearest driver’s ed program.
Another new Kiddin’ Around aspiration, she said, was to help Centralia Middle School rebuild its library. As her daughter is an “avid reader” who just entered middle school, Robb said she’s noticed the room is in need of updating.
“We're looking at working with the middle school initially, but also with libraries, again, throughout Lewis County that don't have the funding for updating,” she said. “We met with the principal of the middle school, and they're very enthusiastic about the project.”
Nearly a year to the week of a feature in The Chronicle about Kiddin’ Around being founded, Robb said the nonprofit has become the thing she’s most proud of in the world, besides her own children.
“We've got a great board who all dedicate a lot of time to it and a lot of our weekends and our kids volunteer for it, which is also really important, right? Getting kids involved in volunteering and giving back, so it's not just all about them, but (about) having a wider sense of purpose and of community,” Robb said.
Read more about Kiddin’ Around at https://www.kiddinaround360.com.
