Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Lt. Governor Patty Judge, Iowa Students Commemorate 2nd Katrina Anniversary
Kum & Go CEO joins Lt. Governor Judge in thanking students
(DES MOINES)- Today, Lt. Governor Patty Judge met with Iowa children to mark the second anniversary of Hurricane
Katrina. 
Van Meter Community School 5th grader Miki
Van Gundy represented Iowa kids in the national awareness campaign sponsored by RandomKid, an Iowa based non-profit that
helps kids help others. RandomKid asked students to design an “accessory” to be given to their state officials made by
linking house-shaped key chains together, forming such things as ties, belts and suspenders. The key chains were
designed by students in Iowa and sold across the nation to raise money for rebuilding charities in the Gulf Coast
region.
Van Gundy is thrilled to be involved in keeping the plight of Katrina survivors in the news. "After Katrina, I was really, really, sad," said Van Gundy, "I wanted to do anything I could to help." Van Gundy soon found things she could do, thanks to fellow schoolmates Emma Skahill and Lanna Whitlock, who put together a "Coins for Katrina" campaign, and garnered generous donations of holiday gifts for children in Slidell, LA who had lost so much from Hurricane Katrina.
Students, governors and state representatives across the nation will be remembering the August 29, 2005 storm and the tragedy that followed and will be celebrating the work that has been done by students in their state to help rebuild. According to numbers tracked by RandomKid, kids have already demonstrated the magnitude of their commitment to the gulf. Combining their bake sales, lemonade stands and other creative fundraisers, school kids across the U.S. reported raising more than $10 million in 2005 – 2006 for a variety of hurricane relief and rebuilding charities such as the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, Oprah’s Angel Network, Bush Clinton Katrina fund and more.
"I’m so proud of what these kids have achieved," said Lt. Governor Patty Judge. “They worked hard, had a vision and used their creativity to improve the lives of their others. I’m proud to support them and I hope they continue to make a difference in their communities.”
"The constitution infers that those who have the ability to help others also have the responsibility," said Sarah Larson, age 15, of West Des Moines, who will also be supporting Van Gundy at this event. "We plan to live up to that responsibility and help thousands of people in the gulf get back on their feet." Larson is the one who came up with the idea to sell these carabiners to raise money to rebuild homes in the gulf. So far, RandomKid has sold about 20,000 of them. Iowa-based Kum & Go is supporting Randomkid’s “Rebuild the Gulf” project by offering the carabiners in all of their stores starting today, and 100% of the proceeds benefit RandomKid. Kum & Go CEO Kyle Krause also attended the event. For more information about the awareness campaign and contest for kids, visit www.randomkid.org/gulf.html.
About RandomKid: RandomKid ( www.randomkid.org) is a 501c3 non-profit with the mission to take the goodness of the child and turn it into goodness for the world, by helping kids help others. Founded by 12-year-old Talia Leman in 2005 after uniting kids across the U.S. to report more than $10 million for Hurricane Katrina/Rita relief, RandomKid now works to educate, mobilize and empower youth to meaningfully impact a broad spectrum of local, national and global needs. For more information on the positive impact children have made on the world through RandomKid, please visit www.randomkid.org/impact.asp.