Friends Of The Kids History

Each year since 2008 FOTK has placed a focus on supporting the White Mountain Apache Tribe Children’s Shelter. Each summer we have taken the home between $1,000 & $5,000+ dollars’ worth of household and school supplies. In 2017, we began a Christmas program, also supporting them through the holidays. Below are listed some of the major items we have supplied/completed and some of the group’s accomplishments:

  • 2022 – The annual event was back on, and we had a great weekend in the White Mountains, spending over $5,000 (a new record for us) on the shelter for the June trip alone. And the opportunity arose to support the entire tribe with a Backpack / School Supplies drive for the Mary V. Riley Seven Mile Elementary School. 500+ children will go to school with the basic supplies needed to kick off the new learning season.
  • 2021 – The pandemic was winding down by late 2021, and we made a delayed, by invitation only, trip to the shelter with a trailer load of supplies. Ali brought Arizona Wal-Mart stores into the the donor family, and we shopped at the stores that supported us, making sure the management knew that they were the source of the support for the shelter. Christmas brought a second limited trip to the shelter and and a new tree and decorations was provided along with our usual gifts and clothes.
  • 2020 – The Pandemic hit, and we had to make changes to both the way we raise funds, and the way we support the shelter. We brought a new Board member on, Ali Cayer, who’s primary function was to update the fundraising methodology. And we used AMAZON to send all supplies to the shelter, since access was severly limited to the entire community. Christmas support continued thru AMAZON, with gifts and warm clothes for the kids.
  • 2019 – Click HERE for a link to AZ Rider Motorcycle News article on this event.  A milestone year for Friends Of The Kids, as we worked in conjuction with the White Mountain Apache Tribe and Apache Behavioral Health Services to complete our 2+ year project to build the kids of the Shelter a commercial grade playground right in THEIR BACKYARD! Click on this link to view photos from that event.
  • 2018 – Click HERE for a link to AZ Rider Motorcycle News article on this event. We finished the process of moving from a “501(c)(3) like” organization to being a full-fledged 501(c)(3) registered with the IRS. And fund raising for the new commercial grade playground began in earnest with major raffle prizes donated that allowed us to have nearly $5,000 in reserve for that project. Click on this link to view photos from that event.
  • 2017 – Our 10th Anniversary, and our first year incorporated as a not-for-profit company in Arizona. Major kitchen cooking and baking supplies and utensils were high on the priority list for the year. Scooters and a large Barbie Doll house helped to give the kids comfort in tough times. Thanks to Brina Brown in Marketing, Superstition Harley-Davidson became an avid supporter, allowing us to host events at the dealership and raise funds for the shelter. 10th Anniversary T-shirts were donated for riders and supporters of the cause, and over $1000 of supplies and toys were also shipped to the Shelter via Amazon in early December for the first time ever. Click on this link to view photos from that event.
  • 2016 – This was a somber time for FOTK as we lost one of our founders, Beth Foster, to cancer earlier in the year, and we rode in her memory. HOGZ United Charities donated an amazing leather jacket that we raffled off to raise money to purchase supplies for the shelter, and we began the tradition of holding our ride the same weekend in June as the White Mountain Bike Rally to add incentive to ride with us for the kids. Logan Roberts from Grand Canyon Harley-Davidson in Mayer began bringing supporters from the Mayer/Prescott area to support the ride from a third part of the state. Click on this link to view photos from that event.
  • 2015 – Our last year of holding the event in July, we tired of competing for riders time and resources in what has traditionally been the busiest riding month for motorcyclist. The tribe honored us by holding a traditional equality dance and asked us to enter the circle of their family.
  • 2014 – Buying the home a 50” wall mount TV was accomplished with the help of Grand Canyon H.O.G., and this was our first year where we filled a truck AND a trailer. We came up with an eager work crew who painted the trim on the outside and part of the inside of the house, put up a new composite material play fort to replace the aging swing set, hired a landscaper to cut down years of overgrowth in the yard, and repaired the roof.
  • 2013 – Grand Canyon Harley Owners Group (H.O.G) came on board as an official sponsor. New mattresses and bedding for the toddlers were high on the list in 2013. And a big red wagon for the kids to play with topped it off.
  • 2012 – It rained hard and long that year, and turnout was low. But we went up north and delivered the supplies as promised, including a new rocking chair for soothing the infants.
  • 2011 – The year we put up our first swing set for the kids, and we got them a new microwave for the kitchen. HOGZ United Charities joined us for the first time that year also.
  • 2010 – Our first year on our own without Superstition H.O.G. (their top leadership moved away from charity rides), we still put together a pickup & an SUV full of school and household supplies.
  • 2009 – Again with Superstition H.O.G., we broadened our focus to include household living supplies they so greatly needed AND brought them a new washer and dryer.
  • 2008 – Our first year, in initial association with Superstition Harley Owners Group (H.O.G), we developed a relationship with the shelter, mostly bringing gifts for the staff and water toys for the kids on top of the truckload of school supplies.

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