IMPACT REPORT
Q2 2020
While the COVID-19 pandemic continued to have a significant impact around the world throughout the second quarter of 2020, Jeunesse Kids found ways to have an impact of our own, making progress on existing projects and taking on a new cause. We are grateful for your support and pleased to share our Q2 2020 Jeunesse Kids Impact Report with you.
With much love and gratitude,
Scott Lewis
Chief Visionary Officer
2020 Jeunesse Kids Recap
Jan. 1-June 30
NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE
The National Urban League is a historic civil rights and urban advocacy organization that works to uplift African Americans and underserved urban communities in the United States. With your support, Jeunesse Kids is helping the National Urban League to empower communities and change lives with a $200,000 USD grant that supports programs in the following areas:
- Public Policy — Overcoming policies of discrimination
- Education — Providing educational opportunities for the next generation of leaders
- Entrepreneurship — Empowering people across the country to establish new ventures
- Health — Supporting sustainable health care and helping to eliminate health disparities
As we evaluate our contributions to the path toward social and racial equity and determine ways in which we can have an impact, we have reflected on how our $200,000 donation to the National Urban League can be utilized in a holistic manner that supports sustainable change.
The National Urban League is a historic civil rights and urban advocacy organization that works to provide economic empowerment, educational opportunities and the guarantee of civil rights for African Americans and underserved urban communities in the United States.
We have taken a close look at the programs and services they provide and have identified the following program areas where our Jeunesse Family values and the mission of Jeunesse Kids best intersect with the National Urban League’s goal to empower communities and change lives:
- Public Policy — Overcoming policies of discrimination to ensure all people enjoy the right to justice and fairness.
- Education — Providing educational opportunities for the next generation of leaders and fostering equality for generations to come.
- Entrepreneurship — Empowering people across the country to establish new ventures, which are the key to job and wealth creation.
- Health — Supporting the delivery of replicable, sustainable health care to underserved communities while advocating for the elimination of health disparities.
“The National Urban League has a long history of fighting racial and social injustice, and we are proud to partner with this historic organization to empower the communities that will shape a more equitable and empowered nation. By focusing on these key areas, we hope to maximize our efforts in being part of the ongoing solution.”
Scott Lewis
Chief Visionary Officer
WE College SchooL
of Entrepreneurship
We’re halfway through the year and making great progress on our goal to raise $1,000,000 USD to completely fund our 2020 global initiative — the sponsoring and building of the WE College School of Entrepreneurship in Kenya!
Kids Beating Cancer
Cellular Therapy Lab
While the new state-of-the-art Cellular Therapy Lab is still a work in progress, with construction due to resume in August, our $1 million Jeunesse Kids donation has already funded equipment that has been put to use in the current lab space. Read more to learn how this equipment is improving patient experiences.
Jeunesse Kids supplied Kids Beating Cancer with a $1 million donation, and to date, they have purchased equipment totaling $253,989.07 USD, with a remaining cell lab funding balance of $746,010.93 to be spent on future lab equipment. Current expenditures:
1. Flow Cytometer: $165,009.83
2. Liquid Nitrogen Storage Freezer 7: $27,397.35
3. Liquid Nitrogen Storage Freezer 8: $23,081.89
4. Hematology Analyzer: $38,500
Funding Impact:
1. Flow Cytometer: A flow cytometer allows stem cell enumeration for patients and cellular therapy products within the Cellular Therapy Lab. This has saved, on average, 2 to 3 hours per process per patient and in turn, allowed patients to be transplanted earlier in the afternoon and sent home earlier during stem cell collections.
2. Liquid Nitrogen Storage Freezer 7: The replacement of a problematic freezer with a larger freezer provided additional storage for 500 patient cellular therapy products for transplants.
3. Liquid Nitrogen Storage Freezer 8: The purchase of a new freezer provided additional storage space for 500 patient cellular therapy products for transplant and allowed continuation of service by the Cellular Therapy Lab to provide lifesaving transplants.
4.Sysmex Hematology Analyzer: The new hematology analyzer allows quality improvements and efficiencies to offer better patient care as follows:
- The lab will be able to perform a 5-part differential analysis (the clinical standard elsewhere), which measures the number of mononuclear cells in cell products (a service that currently cannot be done). This is important to know for cell products and non-mobilized stem cell donors.
- Further, the hematology analyzer helps considerably with a current study aimed at reducing how long each patient needs to be collected based on their starting mononuclear and CD34 count. So far, the study is resulting in patients coming off the apheresis machine 1-2 hours earlier in the afternoon. Reducing collection times provides enormous benefits financially and logistically for patients, caregivers/family members and hospital staff and resources.
5. New Cell Therapy Facility Building: Funding from Jeunesse Kids toward a new Cellular Therapy Lab allowed for commencement of the planning phase in late 2019. In January 2020, the architectural design and plans were completed for a 7,000 sq. ft. facility, which includes processing and research laboratories. The construction is currently on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is scheduled to resume in August 2020.
See how our partnership with Kids Beating Cancer has made a difference for 9-year-old Kyven who now has the opportunity for better tomorrows because of your generosity.
Kyven and his family’s world turned upside down on Sept. 23, 2014. That’s the day they received the devastating news that Kyven had acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Kyven proved he was a fighter, enduring all the labs and rounds of chemo while still keeping up with schoolwork. After months of treatment, Kyven was accepted into a clinical trial in May 2015.
During that time, he got to take a Make-A-Wish trip for his eighth birthday — a Caribbean cruise! And proving what a warrior he was, Kyven tried out for and made the soccer team, then had a stellar season, even going on to play basketball right after.
After a three-year battle, he and his family learned his cancer was gone on Nov. 8, 2017, only to be told on Sept. 6, 2019, his cancer was back.
His test results diagnosed him with myelodysplastic syndrome, also called preleukemia. Thankfully, they had caught it early before it developed into acute myeloid leukemia.
The treatment recommended was a stem cell transplant. Kyven’s parents and three siblings were screened for a possible match the following week.
Kyven endured more testing and rounds of chemo and his bone marrow test came back with a diagnosis of monosomy 7, making him high risk. Two of his siblings proved to be a 10/10 match for a stem cell transplant, and his older sister, Kenidi, would be his donor.
On Sept. 30, 2019, Kyven was admitted to the Kids Beating Cancer Pediatric Transplant Center to prepare for his stem cell transplant. After 11 days of pre-workup testing and treatments, Kyven received his transplant on Oct. 11, 2019.
Over the next month, Kyven endured ups and downs, but he was improving every day. Usually a patient can expect to be hospitalized for up to 100 days post-transplant, but Kyven recovered so well, he was released on Nov. 10, 2019 — only 41 days later!
He spent the remaining days at the Ronald McDonald House near AdventHealth Orlando to be close to the hospital. On Nov. 23, 2019, Kyven’s mom received his test results back from his first screen post-transplant: no evidence of cancer or monosomy 7!
Even greater news, Kyven was released to go home on Dec. 2, 2019, just in time to celebrate the rest of the holiday season with his family.
Since his release, Kyven has been in for his 100- and 180-day screenings, and all labs and test results have come back the same: no evidence of disease! Kyven looks forward to a time when he can resume all his favorite activities.
We Villages
Through our Jeunesse Kids partnership with WE Villages, we’ve been able to help make a positive difference in the lives of children and their communities. To illustrate how much our support means to them, two of the students have shared how our donation has changed their lives.
“Before WE built a new school in my community, my classroom was one of three for all 12 grades. This made it hard to study and focus. And the structure of the old school was in bad shape. During rainy season, water ran off the mountain and flooded the classrooms. Teachers had to send us home for weeks because of the roof leaking and chance of the building collapsing. But in the newly built school, the structure is safer and there are bigger rooms with wide windows and desks to sit in, which we didn’t have in our old school.”
“My name is Ramesh and I am 14 years old. I study in grade 9 at Kalinjar Senior School. I live in the Kalinjar village with my father, mother and two brothers.
My father and mother never went to school, but they wanted us to have a good education, so they sent all their kids to school. My eldest brother studied until 12th grade, and my second brother studied through 7th grade. Then they both stopped going to help support the family financially. Now my parents want me to complete school and go to college and get a good job. I want to become a policeman and help my country and community.
Me and my friends love going to school, especially to our new classroom built by WE. Before, we had a lot of issues in our old school. We used to share our classroom and blackboard with other grades as there were not enough classrooms. Plus, the school was old, and the structure was in a very bad shape.
In our WE trainings, we learn about basic health and hygiene, washing our hands regularly, brushing our teeth with sticks from local neem trees, as well as the importance of bathing every day and keeping our school and village clean. All the things we learn in our trainings help prevent us from getting sick, and now I am more confident about maintaining my and my family’s health.
WE also helped deepen the well, which made a huge impact on our community. We used to run out of drinking water and had to walk far distances to fetch water. Now, our well has a water capacity three times greater, and we have drinking water all year long.
Before the deepened well, we depended on rain to grow our crop, and we only used to grow one crop a year, which was corn. The rest of the year’s field was empty, as there was no source of water for irrigation. Corn that we grew only lasted up to three months, so my father and brothers had to work in construction or on someone else’s farm to earn money to buy food from the market.
But after WE deepened our well and provided us with new tools, improved seeds and training, we started growing wheat, soybeans, pulses and vegetables. Our corn production also increased tremendously with the extra water available.
During the time of lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, no one could come in or out of the village, so there was a shortage of food supplies. Since we planted vegetables on our farm, it helped provide our community with food.
From WE, my father also received training on improving the agriculture practices for growing more food. From him, I and my brothers learned the improved practices of farming, which gives us a lifelong livelihood option.
WE also provided goats to my family, so we have milk to drink, and selling the offspring of the goats has helped my mother earn her own income.
I want to thank WE for coming to our village and helping change my and many other children’s lives through our new school, increased food availability and income sources. It gives us the hope and the vision that we can also change the world.”
“Until WE came to our village, we grew only one crop a year. My mother and brother were malnourished and had to go through various medical treatments, but because of WE, there are more grains for my family, and every year, we are getting 25 kg more beans and pulses to eat.”
“My name is Mohini Kumari, and I am 14 years old and a 9th grade student at Antri Senior School. My father, mother, brother and I live in Antri village, where me and my brother go to school.
I walk 1.5 kilometers each way to and from school with my brother and friends who live near me. My favorite subject is Hindi, and I enjoy spending time playing games with my friends.
My friends and I love our new classrooms built by WE. Our old school was built 50 years ago with mud and stone, and the structure was in poor condition. The classrooms were small and congested, making it hard to study and focus. There was only one small toilet for 200 girls. There was no water in it, and it was always filthy.
But our new school has a bigger bathroom and running water, which makes school more comfortable. And the classrooms are large and even furnished with tables and chairs to sit in, so we no longer have to sit on the floor.
My parents want me to complete school and go to college. I do, too, because I want to become a doctor and take care of my parents and the people in my village, so we can all have better lives.
I have already learned so much from WE trainings at my school. I learned how to maintain health and hygiene, keep the village and school grounds clean and boil water. WE also taught about handwashing, brushing teeth, daily bathing, the menstruation cycle and how to use sanitary pads. All these things keep us healthy, and I don’t get sick as often.
WE also provided us with tools, seeds and training to help us yield four crops a year, instead of just the corn we grew that lasted only five to six months. With the new seeds and tools, our corn production increased 50% and wheat production hiked 196%. And since we get 25 kg more of beans and pulses to eat every year, my brother and mother are healthier.
My father is a farmer and is involved with animal husbandry. Goats from WE provide us milk to drink in the morning before school, when we used to only have black tea. And the goats help my mother earn income because she can sell their offspring.
Since WE partnered with our community, many children like me have experienced positive changes that we are grateful for.”
COVID-19 SOLIDARITY
RESPONSE FUND
From the launch of the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund on March 13, 2020, through May 31, 2020, companies and organizations, as well as 439,000+ individuals, contributed more than $217.5 million in funding to support this global response effort.
Jeunesse Kids proudly donated $500,000 USD, and we’re grateful to share how our funds, along with those of other contributors, are working to help people and communities around the world.
Between May 2 and May 31, more than $43.2 million was dispersed as follows:
- $20 million to the World Food Programme (WFP) to scale up global logistics distribution systems so essential supplies can reach those most in need
- $15.2+ million to procure and distribute essential medical supplies, including more than 200 million pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE), testing kits and biomedical equipment
- $5 million to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) to strengthen the continent’s response to the pandemic, including support for vulnerable women and girls
- $3 million to Unity Studies to enhance understanding of the characteristics of the virus and inform public health measures to limit its further spread