Hello Kidogo Friends and Family!
How has month 1 of 2024 gone? For me, it has been BIZZEEE! To keep you guys annoyingly in suspense about my "reveal," allow me to tell you about a few other developments (I put "reveal" in quotes because for those of you who are already on social media, you might already know the news ;-)).
Update: Kidogo's team (which separate into 4 teams-- Capital, Technology, Growth, and Content) is crystallizing. Here are Kidogo's latest team members!
Sam Sunmono (Capital Team)
Atlanta-based consultant with 12+ years of experience in startups and small businesses.
Jane Allard (Tech Team)
Boston-based engineering leader in software development with over 20 years experience.
Krystian Rutledge (Tech Team)
California-based UX/UI designer with over 5 years of experience.
Blair Gilliard (Tech Team)
California-based software engineer with almost 20 years of experience.
James Connor (Content Team)
California-based musician (singer, songwriter, pianist), children's book author, and K-8 educator with Boston ties (Berklee College of Music graduate).
Ajahmure Clovis (Growth Team)
Creative and beauty professional with prior experience as a strategic partnerships director.
The tech team hit the ground running this month with regular scrum meetings. Our app is in good hands with these folks!
First ask: You can help the Tech Team immensely by filling out this survey by Friday, February 9th.
Our aim is get 100+ responses. We have 68 thus far! With your participation, we can shoot past our goal!
We are also in the midst of planning three (3) live events at the same time!
1. Saturday and Sunday, February 10-11, 2024: We will celebrate Black History Month at the Museum of Science Boston. As you may recall, last year we had a very lively table. This year, we'll have a lively table and we'll take the stage to do a live "Learn N' Play" game! This year's theme is "sustainability," so we'll be honoring climate change activists and scientists from near and far. Some of our own Kidogo Kids will be presenters during this live event!
Second ask: Come and support our Kidogo Kids on Saturday, February 10th at 12:15pm at the Science Live Stage!
Not a member of the museum? No problem! The flyer below contains a QR to enter the museum for free.
2. Sunday, May 5, 2024 at 2pm: We will host another "Learn N' Play: A Musical Tour of the African Diaspora" at the Black Market Nubian (our co-host!). I have been working on this event for a while and with Kaidi Grant's help, we are making progress! We thank the Massachusetts Cultural Council for the grant to cover some of the costs of this event!! More details to come!
3. Sunday, June 9, 2024 at 2pm (tentative): We host a "Read N' Do: A Fabulous Fashion Show Event". Our co-host is Brittney Dias, author of "Ava & Mae's Fabulous Fashion Show." Be on the lookout for invitations from us to your Kidogo Kids to participate on the runway or to help run the show!
The last two shows will require corporate/small business collaboration. Accordingly....
Third ask: You can help our Growth Team if you, or someone you know, has any corporate connections (their marketing departments or owners). Please have them to fill out this survey to gauge their interest in collaborating by Thursday, February 8th.
Ok! We've finally arrived at the "reveal!" We are pleased to inform you that Kidogo was accepted into the first-ever Joan Ganz Cooney Center Well-Being by Design Fellowship!!!! We are a small cohort of 10 fellows, which include those from Google, PBS Kids, and Roblox. Such a thoughtful group!
Joan Ganz Cooney is the originator of Sesame Street and the co-founder of the Children's Television Workshop (renamed the Sesame Workshop in 2000). We are centering our study on "Understanding Well-Being in Digital Spaces [for Kids]" and delving into the 8 components of well-being: competence, creativity, diversity, equity and inclusion, emotional regulation, empowerment, safety and security, self-actualization, and social connection. The timing of this fellowship is phenomenal; it allows us to bake our learnings right into the app we're building and the curriculum we're designing.
That's it for now: an update, 3 asks, and a "reveal", and we're done!
For the Kids, for the Culture,
Keeana