Few things make me, and I know many others, happier in life than giving back! As humans it’s natural to feel rewarded for helping others, this is what drives us to nurture our families and serve people in the workplace. But beyond family dedications and working for a paycheck is donating and volunteer work. I truly believe that because I have a beautiful, abundant life, it is my responsibility to give back as much as I can.
Sal and his partners at 1stPhorm decided to create a charity called 30 For The Kids. The goal was to pair fitness with raising awareness and money for children in Haiti.
How it Started
3 years ago on his first mission trip to Haiti, Sal met a little boy named Marco who changed his life. Meeting and interacting with these children gave Sal a peak into a reality that was so far removed from his own that he, and I, barely believed it could be possible. The crazy thing is, Marco will likely never realize the impact he had on not just Sal, but now an entire community and movement of people!
From this experience Sal truly realized that as humans it is so easy to get caught up in our day-to-day, complain about things that just truly do not matter, and get lost in our own little bubbles. All in all, we live such wonderful and blessed lives here and we forget that even having a mattress to sleep on and clean water to drink is a true LUXURY that many children across the world do not have. Sal came home with a mission to start a charity that would give back to kids across the world and 30 For the Kids was born.
The money raised from 30 For the Kids ensures that orphaned children’s basic needs are being met – whether that is clothes on their back, a roof over their heads, food, and/or education.
30 For the Kids fundraising has also been distributed to support local causes here in St. Louis, such as fire relief efforts, bringing Christmas meals and gifts into homes that would otherwise have less, and helping to pay medical bills for child oncology patients.
How Does 30 For The Kids Fundraising Work?
Our method for fundraising is through 30 day fitness challenges! The challenge is simple. You pay an entry donation of $30 or more and commit to doing 1 of 5 workouts for 30 days.
If for any reason you do not get in your workout for that day, you pay a penalty donation of $5. An easy way to keep you accountable, but also help raise even more money for those in need.
These workouts aren’t going to be easy, but it’s not supposed to be. In Sals’ words, “Trust me when you’re trying to push through that next rep and you imagine those kids and what they would do to be privileged enough to workout, to have clean clothes, to be able to walk into the kitchen and make a protein shake after a workout. You WILL push through.” This challenge is not only physical but also emotional, and a bit uncomfortable. Those 30 minutes are a great time to reflect on how good we have it here and remind us that there are people, millions of people, in the world without the bare essentials like clean water or food.
So let’s get out there and change some lives while getting in better shape at the same time!
How can you help?
Join the next 30 for the kids fitness challenge today! We are rolling June 1-30th! Yes it already started, so time to get our booties in gear. What a great way to keep your beach-bod in check through supporting a cause! The challenge is $30 to enter and every day for 30 days you pick and complete one workout from the list of 5 options (see pic linked below). Again, if you miss a day, you owe $5 to the kids (honor system!).
What if You Can’t Workout?
If you’re facing some challenges of your own right now and physical workouts aren’t an option we’d still love your support! You are more than welcome to donate, and a donation of over $90 will score you a Dues Paid shirt to rock knowing you helped some children in need!
What Happened in Past Challenges?
In February of 2019, the 1stPhorm phamily along with their communities like me and you raised $157,000 making a massive impact for the orphaned children at IDADEE Home. This was enough money to care for every single child for the entire year. Food, water, clothes, education, medicine, caregivers all of it!
Not only do they take the funds we raise to take care for over 47 kids in Haiti with food, clean water, education, and other resources…but we also match that money and keep it local to help kids in our area as well.
This year, we want to not only change more kids lives for the better but we feel obligated to do more, to help more, and to make a larger positive impact on the world! The goal this round is to raise $200,000 by the end of June. It will take a lot of work, but together we can reach that goal and help those in need!
IDADEE Orphanage
Sal and 1stPhorm have partnered with IDADEE Orphanage to distribute the money raised. IDADEE was founded by a team of Hiatian people who grew up in an orphanage supported by missionaries, EBAC. The Haitian Team wanted to further expand the care for children in the community. IDADEE was opened in 2011 and now cares for over 30 children. The orphanage is unique in its mission. It is not dedicated to moving the children out into homes through adoption but instead raising them in a community setting to be successful adults. The orphanage provides education but also trade skills and training like sewing, construction, and farming. Skills that these children can use as adults to make a living but also be leaders and even employ others in their community.
IDADEE strives to create community, economy, leaders, and bosses. Setting them up for success so they can bring success to their communities.
Meet Marco
I love this picture, I’ll never forget when Sal came home from this trip with so much compassion, new awareness, heart breaking stories and love in his heart. Marco was running down a dirt road playing with a stick and a tire, as innocent as could be, smiling from ear to ear enjoying life. As you can imagine the moment was incredibly impactful for Sal. Someone with so little that was so happy. It immediately reinforced that life isn’t about material things.
I love this pic for so many reasons… I love it because it allows me to share in a moment that changed Sals life. Marco has no idea how much he has impacted Sal and our whole family for that matter. I love that Sal literally has a heart of gold, and I love the way Marco is looking at Sal. Who IS this big crazy white man?! Lol.
In fact, a year after this photo was taken #30forthekids actually worked to get Marco into the state of the art Brace For Impact 46 school system in Haiti in hopes to create a bright future for this handsome little man
#30forthekids has helped to bring Christmas to families who couldn’t provide it, to help children and their families in times of disaster or crisis, provide for sick children and families, and really just be there for any child when they need it the most.
As a wife, to say I’m proud is an understatement. I feel fortunate to be a small part of what this movement is doing. We all have our own battles that we’re going through, but it’s nothing like the struggles these kids face on a daily basis.
There has been so much power in the idea to use our community to band together through fitness and accountability to keep us moving in the right direction and use that to help kids in Haiti and around the world!
Life is all about helping others. I am so proud of Sal and everyone who supports 30 for the kids. I love that we are able to combine something where we can do good for ourselves while helping children in the process.
Lets do this, whos with me!?
