We are so thankful to all of our wonderful supporters who donate to MKRO, allowing us to give our kindness awards and grants to more than one recipient each time.
Below are three incredible people that we are honored to be giving our kindness awards to.
Renee and Mike Fahey
Jessica Munoz
Renee and Mike Fahey, of Selkirk, NY, started a grass-roots organization in 2016, called Street Soldiers, that helps provide hot meals and needed essentials to the homeless and less fortunate.
The Fahey’s use their home, garage and vehicles for storing and transporting all the meals, clothing, coolers, drinks and tables for the Friday evening events.
What started as the two of them, has now grown to many volunteers and two locations in Schenectady and Troy, N.Y.
“It was a four-by-four card table with a box of sandwiches and a pot of soup. I don’t think either one of us pictured where it would lead,” said Mike.
Every Friday night, the Fahey’s, with other volunteers, hand out warm meals, drinks, clothing, and hygiene products to the homeless and less fortunate. They note that the number of homeless and those in need continues to grow each week.
We can’t change the world, but we can help those local who are a part of the world. We do what we can when we can. – Renee and Mike
We, at Matts Kindness, believe that they are changing the world, one kindness at a time. They make the world a better place. They are believers in kindness, know that kindness is never wasted, it’s contagious, it’s free and it can have profound consequences.
We are honored to have them as our Kindness Award Winners.
Jessica Munoz, of Hawaii, works as a clinical nurse practitioner in the emergency room but her real passion is her volunteer work fighting for justice for child victims of sex trafficking in America. Her passion started when she saw first hand, youth coming into health care settings, not being identified as victims of exploitation.
Jessica said, “I was like most people who thought that human trafficking only happened in places far away. But there is a hidden slave market right here in America. There are around 100,000 newly enslaved children every year in the US.”
Through her day job her eyes and ears were open to the darkness and cries of children who have been silenced and exploited. Her findings motivated her engagement as a speaker, child advocate, innovator and social entrepreneur, “disruptive leader”, motivator, and inspired the founding of Ho`ōla Nā Pua (New Life For Our Children) and its programs and initiatives. Ho’ola Na Pua works to prevent child sex trafficking through education and early intervention and provide care for children who have been exploited.
Through her work, Jessica has emphasized the continuum of care and the Response Framework needed for underage trafficking victims through collaborative, health centric, trauma-informed systems and victim-centered approaches and partnerships. One of her core initiatives is working to open Pearl Haven— Hawaii’s first residential treatment campus for sexually exploited teenage girls.
We watched her Ted Talk and could see her passion for helping these kids and creating public awareness. She has spent years volunteering her time, skills and compassion for kids in desperate need of an adult to fight for them. We love her quote,
“Join the legacy of ordinary people, who change the world.”
We think Jessica is incredible and she inspires everyone around her with her kindness and compassion and her commitment to these vulnerable children. Her kindness ripples out in big and small ways and touches so many lives.
We are honored to have her as our Kindness Award winner.
