KIDS WHO CARE: Kids spreading kindness in their communities and beyond.

Our featured cover artist Riley O., age 16 of Coventry, Rhode Island is not only

exceptionally talented, she is also A Kid Who Cares.

Riley began getting serious about her artwork and pursuing her artistic goals around 7th or 8th grade, she says. Inspired by other artists, such as Miles Johnston, she began pushing herself to hone her skills and was especially drawn to graphite and its many nuances as an artistic medium.

A short time ago, Riley was commissioned by a local Ace Hardware store to do a memorial portrait of their beloved feline mascot who had passed away. The store was also hosting a fundraiser for the animal rescue where the cat had been adopted and Riley, without hesitation, decided to donate half of her commission to the cause. She realized then that she wanted to continue to support animal rescue efforts through her art. She began offering pet portraits through social media and word of mouth for between $50 and $125 (depending on the number of pets) and donating 50% of the proceeds to Scruffy Paws Animal Rescue in Warwick, RI. Riley was immediately flooded by requests and is currently spending most of her free time outside of school doing what she does best: drawing!

The emotion and expression reflected in her drawings is mesmerizing. Riley truly has a gift that is both inspirational and healing.

She hopes to pursue a career in art and plans to go to college for art once she graduates from high school. Her dream, she says, is to help as many animals as she can and eventually do art full time.

Riley also recently partnered with Sami’s Sendoffs, an amazing project started by Samantha R., age 16 of North Kingstown, RI to send care packages to children with cancer all across America. Riley will be donating portraits to be included in each care package that is sent.

Picasso once said, “The meaning of life is to find your gift.

The purpose of life is to give it away.”

That is clearly something 16 year-old Riley has already mastered.

Thank you, Riley, for being

A Kid Who Cares!

To say she is a “Kid Who Cares” does not even scratch the

surface of all the love and compassion Emily R., age 12 of Cumberland, Rhode Island has poured into the world in the course of her young life.

The list of causes she has supported and fundraising events Emily has hosted is long. Her community service began at age three collecting Toys for Tots at her karate school. Over the years, she has hosted several birthday fundraisers in lieu of gifts for Hasbro Children’s Hospital and animal shelters in her community.

In July of this year, Emily created and hosted a virtual Summer Read-In to promote “diversity and understanding through reading,” with a line up of presenters including the mayor of Cumberland, Jeffrey Mutter; motivational speaker, Travis Roy; Miss Teen Arkansas, Anna Claire Hay and former Power Ranger actress, Cerina Vincent— to name a few. Emily has also secured over 400 pounds of candy donations to send to our troops overseas for Operation Holiday Cheer and Operation Yellow Ribbon taking place this fall. And she recently completed a fundraising walk with her mom to support ALS research. Um, can you say, WOW?!

But that’s not all. In 2014, Emily started Emily’s Cakes For A Cause to support The Travis Roy Foundation. Travis Roy is a philanthropist and former college ice hockey player who was injured just 11 seconds into his first game at Boston University and suffered permanent paralysis. According to the foundation website, the organization is focused on helping others move forward after an accident, providing quality of life grants that help restore independence, as well as funding research to advance recovery and finding a cure for spinal cord injuries. Through her baking events (she bakes and delivers cakes to donors) and other community outreach efforts, Emily has raised over $17,000 for Roy’s foundation! She and Travis are pen pals and Emily says he inspires her to do good for others because of all the good he does in the world, in spite of his injury. Emily’s other inspiration is her mom, Erinn, who works with veterans and has encouraged Emily her whole life to give back to others.

Emily admits all of this takes a lot of time and effort. Why does she do it? This is best explained in her own words:

“If you do something kind, you have already made the world a better place.”

Most certainly, Emily, you have!

Thank you for being A Kid Who Cares!