Kenny Goodwin Jr. is a senior with a strong opinion and a passion to care, not for himself, but for others. This led him to create Dare to Care USA.
Goodwin understands the problems that are in other countries and the problems other organizations focus on, but Goodwin’s focus with Dare to Care is here in the U.S.A.
“I’m inspired by my generation,” he says.
His generation has seen the need for change and also the will to make itself better. Goodwin goes to his classes every day and takes notes, not on the class but on the ideas that he juggles every second of the day. He wants to spread the word of unity and wholeness through his organization Dare to Care USA.
Dare to Care USA’s mission statement lays out the whole idea of the organization: “To create a forever lasting national unity by creating the awareness of the need for a change in how we treat one another and promoting the ways to do so.”
The whole idea was sparked by the recent Don Imus controversy in which Don Imus made racist remarks against the Rutgers women’s basketball team.
Goodwin worries the racial controversy overshadowed the anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s triumph over racism.
“You know, what a shame. It will be Jackie Robinson’s game debut anniversary,” Goodwin said.
The mission statement states, “To create a forever lasting national unity.”
Goodwin spoke about many other organizations and how they care about issues such as AIDS in Africa and clean water. Goodwin would rather focus on what he termed “Western Culture Problems,” which include Anorexia, Bulimia and prescription drug use here in America.
“America hasn’t forgotten moral values. They’re swept under the carpet because efforts are focused everywhere else,” Goodwin said.
Goodwin wants to bring people together to show awareness, to be stronger and to speak up when they see something is not right.
“If we could care more for one another by listening and being there for one another, we can decrease these problems,” Goodwin said.
Goodwin the model but not the front cover.
During the summers Goodwin is a model for B1 Model Management in New York City.
While auditioning for a reality TV show, he was sent to the B1 Model agency. He hopes that modeling will allow him to build a solid financial base.
Goodwin, who works as a model, fears that all of the time and effort he puts into Dare to Care USA will only make people think that he is trying to make a name for himself or promote his image.
This is not true at all. He has decreased his casting calls which have also decreased his cash flow. He will sacrifice his modeling career to push his passion.
“This [Dare to Care USA] is what I care about. I picture this being a full-time job,” he said.
As a model he has been blessed with many contacts that will help his dream become a reality. He has lists of editors and photographers, and a few have already decided to help out.
During the summer of 2007 he plans to go on casting calls fully equipped with a press packet. It will include statistics and news articles on various western culture issues and will also include a full profile of Dare to Care USA complete with the mission statement and profile.
Dare to Care USA:
present to future
Dare to Care USA has a Facebook profile, and its website is located at http://www.daretocareusa.org. In the first 48 hours of the creation of the Facebook, more than 1,000 eager students joined and began asking what they could do.
Goodwin stated that when people contact him he makes them officers. He is also working on state directors for every state.
If he gets in contact with someone from Nevada, he will automatically e-mail the state director in Nevada and have them handle the responsibility from there.
Each of the state directors and officers have taken the obligation and invited each of their respective networks to join.
From a business standpoint, all of the necessary paperwork is being processed for Dare to Care USA to become a licensed Not-for-profit organization.
“It’s a lot of work.” Goodwin said.
Goodwin stressed the importance of getting all of the necessary paperwork submitted and approved so the incoming donations will be able to be tax deductible. Goodwin has been receiving donations from donors that will not receive tax deduction from their donation. Goodwin says they believe in the cause, and they want to support it immediately.
As soon as Goodwin purchased the domain for the website, a $1,000 dollar donation came in. All legal fees are being taken care of by Empire Home and Realty.
Goodwin also obtained office space serving as Dare to Care USA Headquarters, located at 71 Railroad Place, Saratoga Springs, New York, 12866.
Dare to Care USA appointed three board members to officially become a legal organization. The board consists of Kenny Goodwin Jr., the founder and full owner; Eric Eckardt the Secretary; and Kathy Goodwin the treasurer.
The idea behind the handprints is once the person takes the dare to make a difference, they have grabbed it and left an impact. The handprint is the best way to describe the impact they have left.
Different promotional ideas have been thrown around on how to spread the word most effectively. The first idea is a t-shirt for guys and a tank top for women with two handprints.
Each with one on the top and the bottom. The second idea was to work with restaurants and have them use Dare to Care USA coasters with the logo on one side and the mission statement on the other.
Another idea that Goodwin had was wristbands. The wristbands were going to be light blue with green writing that said, “I dare.” At first the idea came off great, Dare to Care USA would distribute them at the local Starbucks, Panera Breads and other stores.
The idea fell through because Goodwin did not want to create a trend that would not last. Goodwin thought of the future corporate sponsors.
“If the corporate sponsors look at the kids with the sports bands and they see how successful the organization is and then all of the sudden the kids stop wearing them, the corporate sponsors will look and see that nobody cares and will end their support,” Goodwin said.
For this reason he decides to stay away from the retail. Goodwin also does not want people to think that he is involved in retail at all when he goes to promo events.
The wristbands, coasters and t-shirts are all great, but with the help of some professors, Goodwin has decided the best way to spread the word is through personal speaking tours.
When school resumes in the fall, Goodwin plans on making trips to both high school and college campus to spread the word about them.
At these events, Goodwin would like to speak about issues such as people going unspoken, America’s materialistic nature, obsession with wealth and the separation in the country, all issues that he says need to be addressed for the better of America’s future.
Right now people can get involved by buying promotional items, looking for ads and supporting the directors.
When asked when he will know when he is successful, Goodwin replied, “I know I will be successful when good news is played in the news and there is a decrease in western culture problems.”