KIDS’ CHANCE OF AMERICA
EDUCATING CHILDREN OF INJURED WORKERS
IT WAS a construction accident that turned life upside down for Tyler Stull and his family. Tyler’ s father was so badly hurt, he was never able to return to work. Shortly afterward, his parents divorced. As the start of college came closer, tuition loomed as a daunting expense.
Stories like these were a call to action for workers’ compensation insurance professionals countrywide. The first Kids’ Chance of America chapters took hold in 2007, and today, they’ re in 39 states and counting.
Each chapter is dedicated to sponsoring scholarships for children whose parent suffered a severe workplace injury or who died in an accident at work. To date, the chapters have collectively awarded more than 6,500 scholarships totaling over $ 20 million.
Each state chapter operates independently with support from the national platform, which counts the National Council on Compensation Insurance( NCCI) among its partners. Each group is a unique coalition of people in the workers’ compensation arena— plaintiff and defense attorneys as well as leaders from various carriers, medical providers, and the judiciary— all united in a common cause.
Consider the need, both potential and real. Kids’ Chance cites DOL statistics from 2012 when 4,383 fatal occupational injuries occurred in the US. While there are no records of the children affected, Kids’ Chance founders believe the need is far greater than we know.
Sarah James, a scholarship recipient who lost her father eight years ago in a workplace accident, attended the 2018 Kids’ Chance Annual Meeting.“ I’ m grateful and blessed with everyone at Kids’ Chance,” she said.“ I hope I’ m making them proud as well.” Grass Roots Success State chapters are responsible for their own fund-raising and evaluating each scholarship application. These organizations and their volunteers are critical to outreach efforts and become the“ face” of Kids’ Chance locally.
Until last year, New Hampshire didn’ t have a chapter. That all changed thanks to some area executives, including Dan Landers, A. I. M. Mutual’ s Director of Field Operations, who worked with
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