Let us break the cycle of poverty through education!
Keep Children In School (KCIS) is a nonprofit organization with one purpose: To provide financial support for educational needs of underprivileged children.
At the same time as KCIS was conceived, an organization called Anjoman e Yaran e Danesh va Mehr (AYDM) was founded in Iran by the same founder to act as the operational arm of KCIS in Iran. KCIS and AYDM are the two arms of the same entity, with the former focusing on fundraising and the latter on distribution.
KCIS, which began in 2000 as a small project supported by family and friends to “give back,” evolved into a recognized charity in 2010 in the state of California with tax ID# 27-4287052 and received its OFAC license# IA-16947 from the department of treasury in 2012.
Why We Do This
A young girl’s academic potential is wasted while she sells trinkets on streets. A hungry little boy looks for food in a landfill in the outskirts of Tehran, instead of going to school. A new high school grad, after going through the wringer of getting accepted to college, has to pull the plug on dreams of a better future because she cannot afford the dormitory fees. A one year old boy is left on his own for hours while crawling on the dirty floor of a brick kiln, because his mom who travails at the factory cannot afford daycare.
Many children in developing countries are forced to drop out of school in order to work and provide for themselves and their families. Without an education or training, these children will continue to live in poverty into adulthood, perpetuating the cycle of poverty.
These heart-wrenching realities are what shape our philosophy at KCIS and make us spring into action. We aim to help children break out of the cycle of poverty through education. This is the core of all we do!
What We Do
Keep Children In School (KCIS) implements its mission by matching sponsors directly to children whose families cannot afford to keep them in school, thus enabling them to continue their education from elementary school through college. In addition to individual sponsorship, KCIS cultivates partnerships with other nonprofit organizations with common goals to provide a wide spectrum of educational services to those in the most desperate of circumstances.
Sponsoring individual kids as they go through their educational journey, and the group educational projects that benefit many children at a time both serve the ultimate goal of changing the course of a child’s life in hopes of a better future.
How You Can Get Involved
- You can simply donate any amount you wish as often as you like. Every dollar counts! General donation
- You can become a sponsor and help keep a child in school, which costs $50 per month. Sponsor a child
- You can host fundraisers for KCIS or dedicate an event, such as a birthday, to our cause by asking guests to donate to KCIS in lieu of gifts. Dedicate an Event
- You can become a volunteer: We can always use and appreciate a helping hand. We have been fortunate to attract a large number of enthusiastic and compassionate volunteers, who believe in our cause and are willing to help us with their time and/or professional expertise. We also need volunteers to help us with every aspect of planning and running major events like our annual gala. Become a Volunteer
Here are a couple of ways you can make your money go further:
- Find out if the company you work for matches your donations.
- Amazon donates 0.05% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the charitable organization of your choice. AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know. Simply shop at smile.amazon.com and support KCIS at the same time.
A Word From Our Founder
“Coming from an underprivileged family in Iran, education was not easy. In order to help the family make ends meet, we all had to work, adults and children. I had to work long hours throughout the day and study late into the night. I was lucky though; I struggled, but I made it with others’ help. Getting a bite to eat and a place to sleep at night should not come at the expense of education, which is the only ticket out of poverty for kids in similar circumstances. That is why my heart goes out to young bright children who are looking for a little help to similarly break through. And that is why I started KCIS, which serves as the means for so many good people to help lift kids out of the suffocating life they were born into and up to a brighter future.”
Jila Kashef
Help a Child
You can help a child by making a general donation, becoming a sponsor, or contributing to their back to school or Nowruz shopping.
