0:00

This is Are You Kidding? Podcasts? I can

0:02

listen with my kids with brothers Sebastian

0:05

and Brandon Martinez, who are kids Helping

0:08

kids. Okay,

0:10

And today we have a very special guest

0:12

from an organization that we are very proud

0:14

to be supporting. We would like to introduce to

0:16

everyone Karina Pavone, the executive

0:19

director for Amingos for Kids. Hi,

0:24

Karina, how are you doing? I'm

0:26

good. Thank you guys for having me. They're

0:29

very excited. I'm a big fan of yours.

0:32

Well we know well,

0:34

oh wait, I can't talk today. We know a

0:36

lot about what you do and how amazing

0:38

and the impact it has on other children. So

0:41

why don't you tell us about the mission for me

0:43

go for Kids? Okay?

0:45

So, the mission of Amaingos is to

0:48

prevent how the abuse and neglect, and

0:50

we do that through programs that kids help,

0:53

keep kids safe, and teach parents

0:55

how to have better relationships with their kids

0:58

who are parenting class. We

1:00

also help families that don't have a lot of money

1:03

by making sure that their kids have backpacks

1:05

filled with school supplies before they started

1:08

clear and that they get nice

1:10

kids for the holidays during the holiday

1:12

months, and we we really

1:14

can't do this work alone. We do it with the help

1:17

of very generous people who donate their

1:19

time as volunteers, money,

1:21

and items, and we also get lots

1:23

of help from places like the Children's Trust,

1:26

Miami Dade County, and the City of Miami.

1:29

That is amazing. It does a

1:31

lot of a lot of things for kids, helping

1:33

them, Like emotionally,

1:35

I feel like it helps them a lot because they might be going

1:37

through something bringing them down and you just

1:40

help them rise. You're just lifting their spirits

1:43

and us. That's amazing what you guys are doing.

1:46

Yeah, we we want to make sure that kids have

1:48

a safe place to be after school.

1:51

Um, So we have an amazing

1:54

after school program where they do lots

1:56

on activities and we take them on field

1:58

trips, and we want to make

2:00

sure that mom and dads are well

2:02

prepared to handle stressors

2:06

and conflicts when they come up. So we

2:08

do classes to them to help them keep

2:10

to teach them to be better parents.

2:12

We feel like this is a very

2:15

difficult subject to teach and educate

2:17

kids on. So how do you guys teach

2:20

that may not understand well?

2:23

The main thing that we talk to kids

2:26

about and the main thing I want

2:28

people to know about child abuse and neglect

2:30

is that it can happen in many different ways.

2:33

Sometimes parents or people close

2:35

to a child hurt their child. Sometimes

2:38

it's strangers. But the most important

2:40

thing for children is to identify

2:43

and take a trusted adults,

2:45

someone that they can talk to or

2:47

tell when something bad happens.

2:50

And that it's not that secrets are not good,

2:53

especially not those kinds of secrets.

2:55

And I also want kids to know that no

2:57

matter what, it is not their

2:59

fault, that they can't tell a trusted

3:01

adults, and that there are people out there that can

3:03

help. So how many kids

3:05

do you teach? Wow?

3:09

So we have UM We

3:11

have like over a hundred children

3:13

in our after school program, and of course

3:15

every year it changes because as

3:18

kids grow out of up or our after

3:20

school program at the age of twelve, we

3:23

get new kids inn in first

3:25

and second grade. And

3:27

then we serve like three hundred

3:29

families in our parenting program.

3:32

And our parenting program is all over

3:35

the county, all over Miami

3:37

Dade County and UM we

3:40

also of course serve

3:42

hundreds and hundreds of families eight hundreds

3:45

to a thousand families a year with

3:47

our holiday gifts program and the same

3:50

thing with our school suppli

3:52

or back to school program

3:55

after twelve. Are there any other resources

3:57

for kids

4:00

from our from Amagles for Kids,

4:04

yes, or in general UM

4:06

and so from Amagles for well,

4:08

Yeah, there's lots of organizations

4:10

that help kids

4:13

UM, and we work with all of them.

4:16

Uh. We partner a lot with other

4:18

organizations because we know

4:20

that their strength and numbers.

4:22

So sometimes there are things that we don't do

4:24

or we don't provide. We have linkages

4:26

with other community organizations.

4:29

UM. We also work

4:32

with UM companies that have really

4:35

good materials and curriculums to

4:37

teach kids about UM,

4:39

you know, keeping safe. And so we

4:42

work a lot with schools and we go into

4:45

the schools and teach kids you know, all

4:47

the best A fighting things to do to keep

4:49

safe, identifying

4:52

a trust an adults, UH,

4:54

saying no when something feels uncomfortable.

4:57

UM. So yeah, there's lots

4:59

of organis stations we work with. We are

5:01

a big family in South Florida, and there's

5:04

lots of resources for kids, including

5:07

education including tutoring

5:10

and help with homework which we provide

5:12

UH, physical activity, field

5:15

trips, UM supplies

5:18

for school like I said before, and also

5:21

help for parents. You

5:24

said, how you do a lot of schools going

5:26

to educate kids in school, but now

5:28

that this pandemic is here and

5:31

just normal school, how are you teaching

5:33

kids now? Well,

5:36

us, we can't see our families,

5:39

We can't see our kids in person.

5:42

We are now using

5:44

the different platforms that are available like

5:47

Zoom, like a lot of the schools

5:49

are doing where we're doing our virtual after

5:51

school programs. So we have our

5:54

counselors connect with the kids virtually

5:57

to do all of the things that they well

5:59

as any other things that they used to do

6:02

in person. So, for example, our counselors

6:05

to UM exercise with

6:07

the kids virtually UM

6:09

to keep them physically active, They

6:13

read stories to them, they pray

6:15

gain virtually, and they

6:17

also do tutoring and

6:19

homework health virtually as well. And

6:22

for our parents, we still have us UM

6:24

we call it our Virtual Parent Academy,

6:27

and we still have our parents in classes UH

6:30

through Zoom as well with them. So

6:33

we're doing we're adjusting to

6:35

the new normal. Now everything is virtual,

6:38

so we can see each other again in person. Now

6:41

that everything is virtual, why don't you tell us more

6:43

about your virtual walk that you're having this year.

6:47

Okay, so April is National

6:49

Child Abuse Prevention Month, and we had a ton

6:52

of really great and fun activities

6:54

plans for April, which

6:56

we obviously had to cancel because of the coronavirus.

6:59

So one of the things our teams

7:02

thought about was, you know, we're all stuck at

7:04

home and um, getting

7:06

outside, getting fresh air, getting some

7:08

fun and getting physical activity is

7:10

really important for people, and especially

7:13

because it not only helps

7:15

feel physically, but it also helps people

7:18

people's mental and emotional while

7:20

being too staying physically active.

7:23

So we thought, why not um do

7:25

a virtual walk. You know, in a

7:27

regular walk, when you do a five k, everybody

7:29

shows up at the same time. We all went together

7:32

in a large group, but with a virtual

7:34

five k, you can do it anytime.

7:37

You can do it at your own page, you can do it on the

7:39

treadmills, to do it outside, and

7:43

it allows people to have

7:45

an excuse or a reason to get

7:47

some physical activity and helps reporter

7:49

get cost. So we came up with this

7:52

idea of a virtual five k I'll

7:54

run walk for the month

7:57

of April to not only raise awareness

8:00

of UH that it's National Child Abuse

8:02

Prevention Month and having our prevention

8:05

messaging out there, but also

8:07

to help support the organization,

8:09

especially now that we you know, when

8:12

we need it the most, because

8:14

our families need it the most. And

8:17

also to help encourage people get physically

8:19

active and keep their sanity while

8:21

we have to be quarantined and the hass Yeah.

8:24

So, so what is the most important

8:26

message that you want to you want people

8:29

to take from the organization. So

8:33

the most the most important

8:35

thing that I want people to take away, uh

8:39

from the organization is that, um,

8:42

well, the first the most important message is

8:45

first, the way people can help

8:47

is at first, they can be a safe adults and

8:49

any child who needs help. Um.

8:52

Also that people should report

8:54

child abuse and neglects when they suspected

8:57

or see it by calling the Childhood Use Timeline.

9:00

That a hundred nineties six of you, and

9:03

I want them to know that they can support

9:06

our megals by going

9:09

on our website and donating or registering

9:11

for the run and fundraising and

9:15

help support all of a really good program

9:17

that will provide for the kids

9:19

in our community and the family and our community.

9:22

So that is the most important message I

9:24

want to take away. I

9:27

want to talk more about the walk, but I

9:30

have one other question. Do you find it

9:32

harder for kids to open up virtually

9:34

since they may not be able to feel

9:37

like they be like able to talk privately.

9:40

No, No, Um, you

9:42

have to remember is that we're transitioning

9:45

to a virtual environment. But we already

9:47

have established relationships

9:50

with all the kids in our program that they

9:52

trust their counselors and their peers

9:55

in the program. And also

9:57

the parents have the

10:00

all of the trusting relationship with our

10:02

counselors and with the other parents in

10:04

their group. So so

10:07

no, I don't think that you know, the

10:09

virtual environment takes from getting used

10:11

to for everybody, But I

10:13

don't think that that, uh, that that

10:16

interferes with you know, um,

10:19

the capability to be open or

10:22

the parents ability to open up about

10:24

you know, structures or issues that are

10:27

happening for them. Where can people

10:29

register for the virtual walk but also get

10:31

more information about the organization and services

10:33

you guys provide. So

10:36

they can get more information and registered for the

10:38

walk by visiting our webs which is www

10:41

dot Amagles for Kids dot org. There's

10:44

lots of information there about the programs

10:46

that we offer, uh, information

10:48

about the walk and also ways

10:50

to help support the arthentation. And

10:53

we are excited to be able to support Amigos

10:55

for Kids with our are you kidding socks? How

10:58

would you want people to represent the stocks

11:00

while they are doing the virtual Walk? Should

11:02

they post and tige your page use

11:05

the hashtag? Well, because we want

11:07

everyone to wear their socks proud and show

11:09

off their support. Yeah,

11:11

so we do as well, and we're very excited

11:14

to have these amazing stocks UM.

11:17

So the way that people can use them to

11:20

represent h M Eagles

11:22

and show support UM is

11:24

by wearing them and making

11:27

a video of themselves walking.

11:30

They can use to TikTok and they can

11:32

use the hashtag I did

11:34

it for am Eagles. We especially

11:36

want people to post on social media and

11:40

tell everyone about

11:42

the run about the fox

11:44

and encourage people to support

11:46

the organization by purchasing

11:48

the fox and making their videos. We

11:51

can't wait for the virtual walk so everyone

11:53

can come and support and make a great, big

11:55

cause. And okay, so what are

11:58

your other big events that le Me Go

12:00

for Kids host throughout the year. Okay,

12:03

So, like I said earlier, in April

12:06

is National Child Abuse Prevention Months.

12:08

So during that month when there isn't Corona

12:11

virus, we usually do many

12:13

different activities to raise awareness about

12:15

child abuse and neglects. So we partner

12:18

with the Miamis Accounty Public Schools for

12:20

poster contest and students

12:22

in different grade levels of art pieces

12:25

around. They design artwork

12:27

around the phase There's No Excuse

12:29

for Child Abuse, which is also the name of our

12:31

Virtual Walk UM. And

12:34

then a panel of judges selects winners

12:36

and the winners received gift cards and get

12:38

to have the art featured on our website

12:40

and then on art gallery. And

12:43

then also as part of the month of Festivities,

12:45

we do credible pep rally

12:48

with students from various schools in

12:51

an auditorium to get everyone really pumped

12:53

up about being safe and to

12:56

know that child abuse is not the

12:58

kid's fault. So we have UM

13:02

like burning from the Miamis come

13:04

out. Usually UH we

13:06

have different presenters and we give

13:08

the kids gifts and UM

13:11

information about childhoody is the neglect

13:14

Um. And then also in April

13:16

wee and the months usually with a

13:18

walk at hotein Marti

13:21

Park and we call it Safe on Ingle's

13:23

Day. But of course unfortunately none of

13:25

that is going to happen, and so that's why we're doing

13:27

the Virtual Walk. And

13:30

then also in June, we have this

13:32

like super fund party called Miami

13:34

Celebrity Domino Night, and

13:37

this party UH is is

13:40

to raise funds for our program, and

13:42

the way that we do that is through selling tickets

13:45

for the event and through auctioning

13:47

donated items. Unfortunately, this event

13:50

also have to be canceled, which is why we really

13:52

need everybody's support on the

13:54

virtual walk. And then, like

13:57

I said before, during the month of obviously

13:59

we have a annual back to School drive

14:02

and we UH give away hundreds

14:04

of backpacks filled with school supplies

14:06

to many families in our community. And

14:09

then in December we have our annual

14:11

toy drive and we distribute

14:13

hundreds of toys are really nice

14:15

toys to ME families as well. We

14:18

we have a blue ribbon that we are we will

14:20

be wearing in the month of April so we can

14:23

help start support the organization

14:26

and we hope to do our part raise awareness for me Goes

14:28

for Kids, And we are very very

14:30

excited to be working with you, and

14:32

we just want to thank you for being here with us and hanging

14:36

out with us. Is there anything thank

14:39

you guys for having me. Is there anything else that you

14:41

would like to share or do you have any questions for us,

14:45

Actually I do, why don't you? Um, I

14:48

wanted to say thank you for her allowing

14:51

me to have this time with you. It's

14:53

been fun and I'm

14:55

a big fan of your work and

14:58

I really love your or initiative

15:01

of Kids Helping cute, and I just wondered

15:03

if you would tell me a little more about

15:05

it so I could share with my son. Well,

15:07

kids helping Kids. We we

15:10

work with a lot of charities and so

15:13

we could um raise funds and awarenesses

15:16

for the charities that we worked with. We work like Stand

15:18

Up to Cancer, Big Brothers,

15:20

Big Sisters, you guys, and

15:23

we work with them so we could help make

15:25

a difference and some

15:28

of them are really awesome. We just

15:30

want to play your part in the community and do as

15:33

much as we can to help people that are

15:35

in need, because you never know one day we

15:37

might need help as well, so we just want to be

15:39

out there do the best we can. That's

15:43

awesome, you guys, Thank you for sharing

15:45

about that. I really appreciate it. Thank you

15:47

so much. And one last time, if you could tell us where

15:49

we go to support It's

15:52

www dot kids

15:55

dot org. Everyone makes sure to go

15:57

there and support and you go,

16:00

so buy the songs and just

16:02

thank you for being Yeah,

16:05

and you can buy the sox your website

16:08

as a why are You Kidding?

16:10

So that's

16:12

right, so either either way. So

16:14

thank you guys for having me have a wonderful

16:17

day. Thank you so much. Bye

16:20

bye, say tape guys, Bye

16:23

bye. You just heard Are

16:25

You Kidding? Podcast with

16:29

brothers Sebastian and Brandon Martinez who

16:31

are kids Helping kids