A Season Of Hope

In spirit of giving back to the community, for the second year in a row, La Macchia Group has partnered with Kids Matter Inc., an organization with a mission near and dear to the company's heart. Kids Matter Inc. was founded to improve the lives of the many Milwaukee County children involved in the child welfare system.

According to Kids Matter Inc., one in ten children are being raised without either parent in the home. For every child in foster care with relatives, there are 20 being raised by grandparents or other relatives outside of the foster care system. Many of these children enter foster care with little more than the clothes on their backs, and often belongings are placed in garbage bags to be moved alongside them.

To support Kids Matter, Inc., La Macchia Group is putting together “Fostering Hope Packages.”  A Fostering Hope package gives a child something to call their own while waiting for a placement. This program gives abused and neglected children a book, a toy, personal hygiene items and a little hope in their own new duffel bag/backpack.

To kick off this program, Ralph and Mary Lou La Macchia purchased 12 backpacks for a variety of age groups. The employees of La Macchia Group can pick items from the "Giving Trees" to fill each backpack with the items needed.

La Macchia Group also participated in a “Squishmallow Drive” this year. For those not familiar, Squishmallows are a very popular stuffed animal, known for being soft, squishy, but most importantly, comforting. 

"Organizations like Kids Matter Inc. play a vital role in our community.  In tough situations like entering foster care, ensuring children have some comfort while in a crisis is a way to show that we care deeply about their wellbeing and future", said Tom Kennedy, president of La Macchia Group.

For more information about Fostering Hope Packages and how you can help, please visit https://kidsmatterinc.org/about/fostering-hope-packages/.