Kristin Clauson is the director of corporate partnerships at No Kid Hungry. In this post, she shares her beliefs and passion for ending childhood hunger.
There was a moment, about four years ago when the pieces clicked perfectly into place and I finally understood the source of my passion for and belief in No Kid Hungry.
A colleague and I had traveled to meet with leaders of a major toy company, and as we made our case for earning that company’s support for our work ending childhood hunger in the United States, my colleague crystallized our argument with a single, powerful statement:
“We are not in the business of food. We are in the business of potential.”
It turns out that, for me, this is the sun around which my deep professional—and personal—commitments to this cause make their orbit. This is the source of my zeal for my work as a fundraiser for No Kid Hungry and my dedication as a donor to No Kid Hungry.
In my view, absolutely every child is extraordinary; absolutely every child has the makings of a genius within, each one with the potential to change our world for the better, in ways big and small. Nurturing that genius and allowing it to emerge to its fullest expression—in not just some children, but in every single child—is perhaps our highest calling as a society. To me, nothing is more precious than ensuring that every child has the chance to become the very best version of themselves.
But children and their genius within cannot thrive without the daily fuel that is healthy, nutritious food, three meals a day, every day of the year.
Children and their genius also cannot thrive if they face many of the adverse effects stemming from poverty, particularly generational poverty caused by systemic injustice.
I’m more proud than ever to work for No Kid Hungry as we deepen our commitments to addressing poverty and systemic racism as root causes of hunger, and double down on ensuring children are never at risk of this hunger in the first place. We’re working on and advocating at the highest levels for common-sense programs that allow for every member of our collective community to be assured their most basic needs will be seen and met.
As I mark ten years of employment this year, I will also celebrate ten years of having the real honor of being a donor to No Kid Hungry. These are the reasons I give. These are the reasons I am humbled to arrive at my desk each day and stretch the limits of my own creativity and effectiveness in my work. No Kid Hungry allows me to be part of an important movement building incredible momentum – not just a movement in the name of food, but a movement in the name of potential.
