- Student volunteers for KidS3
Doug Whitener of the Georgia Department of Labor has a passion for giving back to his community. With his wife Tasha, Doug founded the nonprofit organization KidS3, Inc., which operates year-round camps and programs for children in state care from ages 6-18.
“KidS3 provides hope, support, positive memories and a life-changing experience that will prepare kids for a brighter future,” says Doug.
“Recently, the students at River Ridge High School with the Excalibur Leadership team in Woodstock held a ’Taste of Heaven’ event and silent auction that helped us raise more than $5,500. This will sponsor nearly 10 kids for our weeklong camp for kids in foster care.”
“All the kids we serve have been abused, abandoned or neglected,” says Doug, “so through KidS3, we give them a once in a lifetime experience and prove to them how valuable, worthy and capable they are. The kids often learn things that many take for granted.”
Last year, Doug, Tasha and their volunteer team were able to raise support for and host nearly 100 children at two summer camps, plus more than 200 at the annual KidS3 Family Christmas party. They plan to do the same for even more children in 2012.
“The kids that we serve and invest in have been rejected, hurt, traumatized and beaten down. To have the opportunity to share that there is hope, that they are loved and that God has a purpose for their life is incredibly rewarding. There is no greater feeling than to know that a life has been changed for the better, especially when it is an innocent child or teenager,” says Doug.
