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As a child, Kiira Benzing ’07(Ridgewood, N.J.) always wanted to help the less fortunate in a meaningful way. To assist disadvantaged peers in pursuing educational and career goals, she founded Angels 4 Children, a federally recognized nonprofit organization, in 2002.
The mission of Angels 4 Children is to help underprivileged youth achieve their scholastic and professional aspirations. A high school student when she began the organization, Benzing was surprised that young people were not more involved in actively improving the lives of others their age.
“The concept is to enable young people’s dreams to come true through a strong basis in education,” says Benzing, a double major in French and performance studies. “I am a strong believer that a foundation of reading, writing, music, and the arts and sciences gives young people all the tools they will need to achieve anything they dream in life.”
Angels 4 Children conducts various fundraisers to aid its efforts. One of its first activities was the collection of musical instruments and supplies, which were donated to a new music program at Intermediate School 195 in Harlem. It has awarded over $1,000 in scholarships to students pursuing higher education and those seeking acceptance at top New York City high schools. It also donated microscopes for middle school students and collected over 2,000 books for schools in Jersey City, Harlem, and Easton.
The group’s flagship fundraiser is the junior tennis marathon held at Maywood Tennis Club in Bergen County, N.J. Participants, who range in age from 8 to 18, are sponsored for every hour they play during the 12-hour event. Those who raise the most money and play the most hours receive prizes donated from companies such as Fila, Nike, Penn, and Wilson.
“One of our youngest participants collected from all over her town, raising over $200, because she couldn’t understand how children just a few years older than she would stop going to school,” Benzing recalls. “She is a perfect example of the heart of the organization: children helping children.”
Upcoming fundraisers include the sale of bracelets imprinted with the group’s name for $3, which Benzing will bring to Lafayette with Delta Delta Delta sorority this fall. Angels 4 Children also is beginning a program called the College Wing, in which college students are paired with third graders as e-mail buddies.
Benzing conducted independent study research under the guidance of Michael O’Neill, associate professor and director of theater, on post-modern acting. She has studied abroad at the Sorbonne in Paris and participated in the three-week Lafayette course A Moveable Feast: American Writers in Paris with David Johnson, associate provost, and Bryan Washington, associate professor of English. She also recently completed a semester at the O’Neill National Theater Institute in Waterford, Conn. A past recipient of the Gilbert Prize, Benzing is a member of the College Theater, Marquis Players, Five Actors in Search of a Director, Le Cercle Francais (French Club), Arts Society, Newman Association, and Delta Delta Delta sorority. She also founded French Club for Kids.
For more information or to get involved with Angels 4 Children, visit its website.