Since June of this year marks KID’s 20th anniversary, we’re taking a minute to reflect on the past 20 years and how we got to where we are today.

The story of our Chicago-based nonprofit, Kids In Danger, begins with the story of 16-month old Danny Keysar. Danny was the second son born to University of Chicago professors Linda Ginzel and Boaz Keysar. On May 12, 1998, Danny was at his licensed childcare facility when the portable crib he slept in collapsed, trapping his neck between the “V” of it’s folded rails and fatally entrapping him. The crib that killed Danny had been recalled 5 years before his death, but news of the recall did not reach the childcare facility nor the state inspector, who had visited the facility just days prior to Danny’s death. Before the recall, three children had died in these cribs; a fourth died in 1995. Danny became the crib’s fifth victim. To date, 19 children have died in cribs of the same design.

Danny’s story, and our other Family Voices, live on today through KID’s efforts. Less than a month after Danny’s death, his parents mobilized their grief into action by founding KID.

Over the last two decades, KID has fought to change the landscape of children’s product safety through advocacy, outreach, and design safety. This June, we are recognizing our victories as we mark our 20 year anniversary. We have talked to thousands of parents, petitioned policymakers, regulators and advocates, and launched innovative programs such as Safe from the Start (SFTS) and Teach Early Safety Testing (TEST). In 2008, after much effort, President Bush signed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), which called for strong federal standards for nursery products and toys. A portion of that legislation was named in honor of Danny Keysar. Because of KID, babies born today sleep and play in a safer world.

Even after 20 years of victories, KID still feels the urgency of fighting for product safety. In the years to come, we will continue to save lives by enhancing transparency and accountability through safer product development, better education, and stronger advocacy for children.

Now that you know a little bit more about our story and the work we do, we’d like to share with you a few ways you can get involved with our organization to help keep our children safe!

  1. Donate:

As a nonprofit organization, we truly rely on donations from organizations and individuals alike in order to continue the fight for product safety. Any and all donations, regardless of the amount, are used to support our mission of saving kids’ lives through education, raising awareness, and improving the safety of children’s products. This year, you can join our #20for20 campaign and give $1 for every year of KID victories. If you’d like to become a regular supporter, you can join our Give Every Month (GEM) club by donating as little as $10 each month!

  1. Volunteer

If you aren’t able to give much in terms of a donation, you can learn more about how to get involved with our volunteer opportunities to give some of your time instead! We’re always looking for individuals who want to support KID in a hands-on way. Particularly, we look for volunteers that can use Microsoft Office and have good writing, communication, and research skills to help us support our small organization to make a big impact!

  1. Schedule a Workshop

Another way to get involved is to host one of our workshops, Creating Safe Environments for Children or Is This Safe? A step-by-step guide to assessing infant sleep products. Both workshops offer comprehensive training to educate caregivers on product safety for children. Participants will also receive KID’s life-saving materials.

  1. Fundraise

If you want to make a large contribution to support KID but you’re unable to do so on your own, you should consider hosting a fundraiser event to raise more money than you could by yourself. It could be as simple as setting up a charity car wash event in parking lot on a Saturday morning in your community! Or if you want to get a little more involved, you could coordinate with a local catering company or restaurant to host a charity barbecue event. Plus, with all the free event planning tools we have available to us now, it’s never been easier to put on a fundraiser to have an even bigger impact on a worthy cause.

We’re proud to be fighting for the safety of all children, and all we’ve accomplished in our 20 years. With your support, we’re looking forward to a successful future as well!