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From our Founder, Dianne Henry . . .

The Krewe of Alegria was formed in 1986 by Dianne Henry as President and Rocky Valdez, Vice President. We are an all women’s civic organization made up of professionals in the Tampa Bay Area. The Krewe was small at that time of inception but active in a variety of community events.

Five years ago as the Krewe became larger members were asking to do more community service and were willing to use personal resources to do so. As President of my own Corporation I was around small children every day and observed that many children were in need of proper shoes. Children were coming to school with shoes that were too big, too small, in poor condition and in extreme cases they were cutting out the toes or toddlers came wearing only socks. In the case of school age children the stigma attached was great and frequently caused negative behaviors in school. Understanding that parents cannot do their best at work when their children are in need and research confirming that children do not learn well under such pressure, the cause that Alegria was looking for was there and Alegria’s Kickin’ For Kids SM was formed.

The goal of Alegria’s Kickin’ For Kids SM is clear. Alegria will provide for working families who do not belong in the system and in other programs that are not appropriate for them. The service will be provided with no embarrassment to the family but rather as a positive gesture. The family may come to us more than once . . . as often as necessary. Thru the efforts of our members, sponsor Adrian Kilbride owner of Kilbride Insurance Company, local businesses, other Krewes and individuals, hundreds of pairs of shoes have been given to children throughout Tampa Bay.

The Krewe of Alegria’s First Annual Harley Night generated more than $6,000.00 in profit towards this program. Future goals are to rally local businesses and through their community influence and financial support expand to include year round distribution in public schools, Headstart, Pre-schools and various charitable agencies. We are focused on fast distribution and reaching families quickly.

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Alegria’s Kickin’ for Kids Chairperson, Kacey Griffin . . .

Alegria’s Kickin’ for Kids SM was a vision of Dianne Henry, cofounder of The Krewe of Alegria. As an owner of Early Childhood Centers within the community, she was made aware of the needs of children, one being the need, often times, for properly fitting shoes.

For many years The Krewe of Alegria has provided shoes for needy children. In 2004, our Krewe decided to take our mission to a new and different level. We formed a seven person committee, of which I became chairperson. Our first distribution as a committee was in December of 2004. At this time we were able to reach a wider range of organizations such as Florida Sheriff’s Youth Ranch, Cornerstone Kids, The Children’s Home, and Naomi’s Daughters (a specific group within the Salvation Army for single mothers with children). All of these groups were recipients of new shoes, totaling nearly 300 pairs of shoes. I can not tell you how rewarding it was to see the children’s faces when they received our gift of shoes, and in some cases, just to receive a gift at Christmas.

Our plans for the future include having at least three distributions throughout the year to meet this essential, often ignored need for children. We are grateful for the opportunity to help those in our community. We are currently in the formal process of establishing Alegria’s Kickin’ for Kids SM as a charitable foundation and anticipate having that complete before our fall back to school drive. If anyone knows of an organization or group of children that needs our help, we will be happy to consider those venues for distribution.

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Address Contact Info: Alegria Group, Inc. P.O. Box 2528 Brandon , FL 33509

Alegria’s Kickin’ for KidsSM

P.O. Box 8703

Tampa, FL 33674

www.kreweofalegria.com
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