Presidents Welcome

Lenny G. August

On behalf of Kids’ Chance of New Jersey, I would like to welcome you to our second decade of providing scholarships to the children of New Jersey’s catastrophically or fatally injured workers.   The first Kids’ Chance organization was formed in 1988 by Robert Clyatt, a workers’ compensation attorney from Valdosta, Georgia.  Through his work, he had witnessed the life-shattering impact that a serious workplace injury had on the children of seriously or fatally injured workers, who were now faced with the difficulty of having to fund their own education. 

Today, KCNJ is one of 50 state organization with the same mission – to provide educational scholarships to the children of injured workers.  KCNJ is a member of  Kids’ Chance of America and  it’s their mission to create, assist and support all Kids’ Chance organizations.  It’s important to note that each Kids’ Chance organization is independent and has their own criteria for providing scholarships and fundraising.  Any money raised by KCNJ stays here in New Jersey, helping the children of New Jersey’s injured workers.

Over the past 10 years, KCNJ has granted 147 scholarships totaling almost $1,000,000.00.  A feat that we could not have accomplished without the support of NJ’s workers’ compensation community.  Even when we couldn’t hold our fundraising events due to the pandemic, our supporters stepped up and helped us continue fulfilling our mission of providing scholarships to our students.  To all our supporters, we thank you for your ongoing dedication to KCNJ and the children of injured workers.

The students we have helped over the years have been truly exceptional young adults.  Despite the hardships they have had to endure, both emotionally and financially, they are determined to be successful in fulling their educational & career goals.  Many of them would not have these opportunities without a Kids’ Chance scholarship.

Kids’ Chance of New Jersey owes it success to the individuals who have volunteered their time, knowledge and sweat to our vision.  The founding members and the board members that have followed all played an important role in providing a future to the children of injured workers.

As we enter our second decade, I am eager to see how KCNJ can continue to grow and help the children of injured workers achieve their educational goals.

Thank you for your continued support,

Lenny August

President

“Education is the movement from darkness to light.” – Allan Bloom