If you have read Seventeen Magazine over the past few years, you probably have seen her and her favorite activity featured once or twice. Her name is not Britney, Selena, Taylor, Miranda, or Katy. She does not live in Hollywood and she has never starred in a major motion picture. So who just is this girl? Her name is Madison (Maddy) Beckmann. She is one of my three (backwards clap anyone?) stupendous roommates, reigns all the way from St. Louis, Missouri, and is the founder and head of the nonprofit organization Coat-A-Kid.
In February of 2002, when Maddy was only in third grade, she noticed a girl on the playground without a coat. Troubled by what she saw, Maddy returned home that afternoon and asked her mother if they could buy her classmate a coat, a hat, and a pair of gloves. While delivering the items to her school’s guidance counselor, Maddy learned of just how many children did not have a coat even through the bitter month of February. Her immediate subsequent thought: Why not get more coats for more kids? And Coat-A-Kid was born.
In the first year, the Beckmann family was able to provide 27 coats from home (1 coat = 1 coat, 1 hat, and a pair of gloves) to Maddy’s elementary school classmates. The next year, 130 coats had been donated and Coat-A-Kid was able to spread into other local public schools – coating many more chilly children. By 2007, Coat-A-Kid officially became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, allowing them to move into a small office building where Coat-A-Kid could purchase, collect, and reship coats to elementary schools, Head-Start programs, and foster homes all around St. Louis. In 2009, Coat-A-Kid transferred to a large warehouse where the organization was able to expand rapidly. Last year alone, Coat-A-Kid was able to donate over 4,000 coats. By the end of 2010, more than 7,000 children had been “coated.” Maddy’s goal for 2011 is to coat at least another 6,000 children.
“These kids have never had a coat in their lives,” Maddy explains. “Some kids have to live in these coats because they don’t have heat in their homes. Some kids’ only meals are their school lunches, and if they cannot get to school because it’s too cold to stand at the bus stop without a coat, the kids don’t get to eat that day. Even kids who are four years old are very happy. We can coat four kids for only $100.” Reflecting on why she loves community service, Maddy notes: “They [the kids] put the coats on and are like: ‘Is this for me?’… and then they have fashion shows down the hallway. We’re giving them basic essentials. That’s a huge thing.”
Now attending school 17 hours away and anticipating a move to Tuscan, Maddy hopes to hand over Coat-A-Kid to another St. Louis family with two young girls so they too can grow from benefiting other children – possibly even their own classmates. Following the philosophy of Ryan Porter, Maddy loves community service and is interested in education reform. While she does not know how she is going to merge the two into a career, she is determined to continue doing what she loves while helping others.
Starting a charity, running a single service project, drawing public awareness to a particular issue, or even joining a preexisting charity might seem overwhelming. You might have an idea of how you want to help, but you don’t have the monetary resources, the manpower, or even a plan on how to start. This is where MYLead is meant help you! Maybe just thinking about talking to politicians, social workers, or random people on the street reminds you of public speaking and sets your heart racing. Remember Justin Ryan’s Comfort Zone challenge? Not only can busting out of your comfort zone help you grow, but in cases like the development of Coat-A-Kid, it can potentially aid thousands of people. Perhaps your comfort zone is not necessarily holding you back, back you need a little financial aid to get your feet off the ground. Do not forget about MYLead AP’s Alumni Grants. Any MYLead alumni partnered with at least one other alumni from another high school can apply for a $500 grant on www.mylead.org. You can always find another MYLeader interested in volunteering from your homegroup, viewpoints group, on Facebook, or Twitter.
You do not have to travel far to find someone who needs help or to find someplace that needs improvement. Whether you are able to help one person, seven thousand, or any number in between, you have changed this world for the better. Find something you love to do, do it with the people you love, and do it for the ones you love. You can make your community stupendous with a single step towards your goal.
Stay Stupendous MYLead!
Katie G
MYLead AP Communications Coordinator
For more information about Coat-A-Kid, you can go online to www.coatakid.org or find them on Facebook and Twitter.
