Kicks4Kids started in 2017 by our past Member (now Honorary Member), Michele Kinnon who saw the tremendous need.   With her vision, Seaside Rotary asked visitors to bring sneakers with them when they came to visit.  When would receive donations, we would immediately deliver and fit them to small groups of children around Playa del Carmen.  

This continued for several years and attracted a lot of attention by locals but our success was hampered by the outsized need vs the luggage based limitation of donations.  We needed to rework this initiative into a full blown, ongoing project and find a way to fund it.

In 2022, new member, Judy Walburn, stepped up and offered to kick start this project.  She raised money at the resort she was staying at, Royal Hacienda, as well as at the Rotary Club in her hometown of Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania.  Judy has perfected the art of asking for new shoes and donations.  Both the resort and her hometown Rotary Club continue to help Kicks4Kids to this day!  

Due to Michele and Judy's efforts, we have expanded from providing sneakers to small groups to now supporting large schools of 450+ students each that exist in the neighboring jungle areas of Playa del Carmen.

This is where the need is greatest.  

People live in these areas because it is the cheapest way to live.  

Low rents, no access to running water, electricity, internet or paved roads make family life possible but not desirable. 

Children have no playgrounds other than dirt roads and jungle areas. 

Those play areas are also where children contract parasites and insect and animal bites.  

At the least, having a pair of sneakers to wear keeps them healthy and able to attend school.