Double Blessings

Hello Kidogo Friends and Family!! I hope all of you are doing well on this first day of SPRING!!!

Today has been an AMAZING Spring day for Kidogo!!!! We are springing into action! We are growing and remaining committed to manifesting our fullest vision! Here's why we're so excited today in particular:

Ujima has asked its community to VOTE for a $300K investment in Kidogo; and
Kidogo, in collaboration with Looking Lens, hereby invites you to our FABULOUS FASHION SHOW!!

Accordingly, today is a day of DOUBLE BLESSINGS!!!

A little bit more about each blessing:

A LONG ROAD

If you've been following Kidogo for two or more years, then you know that finding/getting capital has been TOUGH! While I recognize that I have managed to find more capital than many entrepreneurs in my demographic, it has not fulfilled my company's needs; my dreams are big and require up front investment to make them manifest. Self-funding and bootstrapping is not for the faint of heart and it has tested my resilience. I have passed! Ujima's potential investment should provide juuust enough wind in my sails to keep truckin' for a little while longer (don't mind my mix of idioms). If you're a Ujima member, please VOTE!

A FABULOUS FASHION SHOW!

We are super excited to announce that Kidogo is planning another Read n' Do with Looking Lens. As you might recall, last August, we put on our first Read n' Do (we read a book by Brittney Dias and then we brought it to life). It was so successful, that we decided to do it again with Brittney's second book: Ava & Mae: the Fabulous Fashion Show! We are inviting all of you to join us at the Black Market Nubian (a fellow Ujima member :-)). With the support of the Mass Cultural Council, this event will infuse cultural elements of the Western Region of the African Diaspora for kids, ages 5-9 (you'll have to come to see how we do it). Come and/or have your kids participate (they can be fashion designers and/or models)! Buy tickets soon!

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!

I can't let you go without giving you an update on our app development! We are making progress y'all! Krystian, has designed a log-in flow that has exceeded my expectations. Blair is busy coding the back end. Jane meets with them every Monday evening for a scrum (I just love that word, lol!).

We even had two focus groups! The first one was with seven 7-10-year olds. Allentza Michel of Powerful Pathways and our animation studio partners joined us to glean valuable insights from the kids. Our second focus group, which was with high school students, was organized by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center. We loved talking to them, especially since they affirmed the direction we're taking with the app!

Kids are so smart, love it!

ONE LAST THING (BUT NOT LEAST)!

Kidogo had a blast celebrating Black History Month and Black Children's Book Week at the Museum of Science! First, we celebrated Black History Month by taking to the Science Live! stage where 3 Kidogo Kids (Tuli, Reina, and Lewa) taught the audience about Black climate activists, policy makers, and climate scientists. They did a phenomenal job! We then returned for two Black Children's Book Week storytimes: reading Aunt Kay's "The Shapes Family" for the second year in a row, and then, collaborating with the Iota Chapter of Omega Psi Phi, reading "King Khalid is Proud" (written by Black Children's Book Week founder, Veronica Chapman!).