My name is Carson Gaffney and I recently joined Kids In Danger as their Program Associate. I grew up in a small town in South Carolina and moved to Chicago four years ago to attend the University of Chicago. After graduating in June with majors in Sociology and Gender & Sexuality Studies, I was looking forward to beginning my career in the non-profit industry and am so grateful for the opportunity to do so with KID.
Throughout my time as an undergraduate, I became passionate about work that focused on the health and wellbeing of children and families – I spent two years as an assistant nursery school teacher in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood and interned with the Healthy Food Program at Illinois Action for Children. My experience in these areas was part of the reason I was excited to continue work of a similar nature with KID and further their mission of educating and advocating for children, families, and consumers.
Of course, no family expects or deserves to be the victim of such senseless tragedy as death or injury due to an unsafe product. That’s why it’s so encouraging to see the fierceness and thoroughness with which KID is working to protect children from these products – we are truly tackling this issue from every angle. From community outreach and educational programming to advocacy efforts at every level of the child product safety system, parents and consumers can count on KID to be in their corner. As my time with KID increases, I know that I will only continue to be impressed with the passion and dedication of KID team members and allies.
I’m excited to see what the future holds for KID and how I can contribute to what, I’m sure, will be many future successes as we continue to develop our already robust programming in innovative ways. Above all, I hope that my work here will help give parents and caregivers the tools, resources, and confidence necessary to create safe environments in which their children can thrive.
I’m interested in hearing from you about how we can work together to keep children safe. If you have a neighborhood event, workshop, conference or just want to get together to hear more about KID’s outreach and programs, email me.
