Spotlight on Realities For Children
It’s great being a kid, isn’t it? We all wish we could turn back the hands of time and relive our childhood, those carefree days where “responsibility” wasn’t a word within our vocabulary. The summers were filled with bike rides, sleepovers, trips to the lake, and so many great memories. As adults, we strive to provide our children with the same sort of lifestyle. We want them to experience all of the greatness childhood has to offer.
But not all children are as lucky. There are some who struggle on a daily basis to find normalcy and happiness amidst a world filled with violence, or those who have been neglected altogether, left to basically fend for themselves. There is an agency looking out for kids like these in Larimer County – Realities For Children – and they work tirelessly to ensure no child slips through the cracks of a broken system. Exodus supports this charity through donations, and we’d like to tell you a little more about them.
The Beginning
Can you imagine being a case manager with Larimer County Child Protective Services? This is arguably one of the toughest jobs there is, and it’s a job that Craig Secher, founder of Realities For Children, used to have for years. He was right there in the front lines, watching as child after child was failed by the system. What a helpless feeling – and he knew he had to do something about it.
If you are helpless to assist these troubled kids where you are, you just have to create a program that actually provides them with the help they need. Secher did just that, pulling together funding and devising services that would help these abused, neglected, and at-risk kids the system had left behind, and Realities For Children was born. There was one problem he discovered during the process of its design, a problem that had existed long before Secher picked up on it – other agencies existed to provide services and resources to these kids, but they were all in competition with one another. This led to gaps in what services kids could receive for any given agency.
Secher did what he knew was right, and worked to bring these agencies in alongside Realities For Children, rather than competing against them. The only way to do this was to assure that all costs and underwriting support for the services offered were underwritten privately. In this way, it wasn’t working to snag grants that other agencies were also applying for, putting them in direct competition. He also decided that every penny of money raised by Realities For Children would be made available to all of the agencies that worked with them and the children themselves.
His idea on this collaboration between agencies and services was nationally recognized for its innovation. It is one agency working alongside other agencies to provide the most comprehensive help possible, giving these kids a chance.
Award-Winning Charity
It is such a big part of the community, and has won numerous awards since it was created in 1996. In 2013, it won both the Charity of Choice from the Colorado Family Support Council and Charity of the Year from the Loveland Chamber of Commerce 2013 Awards. Etown and NPR awarded it the E-chievement Award in both 2010 and 2011, and in 2002, it received the Congressional National Leadership Award.
Realities For Children provides so much to these troubled kids. When no one else can help out with financial resources for even the most basic of needs, Realities For Children is there to offer emergency funding. In this way, those kids who would otherwise go without are taken care of. The charity supports a total of 25 various Affiliate Youth Agencies in the local area, sponsoring just about every fundraising event held within Larimer County that benefit abused, neglected, or at-risk children.
It’s more than just a helping hand. Realities For Children knows how important it is to educate the public about the help available to them should they ever need it, and it works hard to spread the word. Not only does it teach the community about everything local child abuse programs offer, it shows them how they are able to help these kids themselves in their community, whether through donations or volunteer work. They do this through four events designed to raise awareness – Realities Ride & Rally, the Awards Gala, Realities Cup, and NightLights.
All of this helps Realities for Children provide a multitude of activities centered around letting these kids do something they deserve the most – being kids. They’re able to socialize with others who they relate to, connect with adult mentors they can turn to in times of trouble, get exercise, and express themselves creatively through events such as movie nights, roller skating, bowling, holiday parties and events, and picnics to name a few.
More Than Just A Moving Company
When you choose Exodus for your moving and storage needs, you’re not only choosing the best in terms of professional movers, you’re choosing to help us fund this much needed charity. We’ll demonstrate the utmost level of professionalism when moving belongings from your home or business to anywhere in the world, keeping you worry- and stress-free. We may be tough enough to do all of your heavy lifting, but we have warm hearts as well. We are proud to give to such a noble cause, helping kids right here in Larimer County who have no one else to turn to.
