Article by Gwen Jones, Department of Family Services
(Posted 2023 September)
Childhood should be a time of growth, discovery and fun, safe from the responsibilities and worries that accompany adulthood. This is not always the case for kids living in poverty, whose childhoods can be marked by deprivation, instability, and shame. Having experienced such a childhood, Ron Fitzsimmons understands how small things can lift a child up, relieving some of the anxiety that is part of their daily life. Wanting to provide these moments of joy to children, Fitzsimmons and his sister Laura created Alice’s Kids, a nonprofit that fulfills requests for items that are often out of reach of kids living in poverty.
Ron Fitzsimmons grew up in West Islip, New York, a middle-class town. His parents’ relationship was troubled, and his father eventually left the family, leaving his mother, Alice, to raise her three children alone without any means of support. Wanting to stay in the community, Alice applied for welfare and received just enough money to cover rent and some food. Local charities also gave the family food and secondhand clothing, but the organizations used these moments as photo ops, publishing the photos in their newsletters to share their good works. Although well-intentioned, this practice led the family to become known as “the welfare family” in their community. Occasionally, Alice would get work cleaning houses or ironing clothes to earn money to spend on her kids. Simple things – a haircut, new clothes, a pair of shoes – provided moments of normalcy and happiness in the children’s lives.
The poverty Fitzsimmons experienced during his childhood was pervasive and impacted nearly every aspect of his life. “It’s hard when you’re in that situation and you’re just ashamed to walk through the halls (of school). My first pair of glasses I got when I was 14. I couldn’t see anything. Your stomach is growling but you don’t want to use the food coupons because you’re embarrassed so you skip lunch. There are all these factors that combine. And literally, there are times you go home and there is no electricity so you can’t do your homework at night. It all kind of adds up. You’re behind the eight ball pretty quickly when you’re in that situation,” he says. By the time he graduated from high school, Fitzsimmons was anxious to get out.
In 1967 he enrolled at Dowling College on Long Island, but current events quickly distracted him from his studies. Having lost three friends from high school in the Vietnam War, he joined the movement protesting the war. He also became a passionate supporter of Bobby Kennedy’s presidential campaign, running his campaign office on Long Island in 1968. Fitzsimmons eventually quit college and hitchhiked across the country, but after returning to New York, he went back to school, this time attending the State University of New York at Stony Brook. On his second attempt, he did well and graduated in 1977 with a bachelor’s degree in political science.
After graduating, Fitzsimmons moved to the Washington, D.C. area to go to law school, believing it was necessary to pursue a career in politics. He attended law school for one year and hated it, but was offered a job with Congressman Herbert Harris, so he traded school for a career on Capitol Hill. Fitzsimmons went on to work for two more members of Congress before leaving to become a lobbyist, advocating for reproductive rights. During this period, Fitzsimmons met and married his wife, Meg, and they had two sons, Patrick and Brian.
Eventually, Fitzsimmons grew tired of working in the national political scene, so he signed up to work as a substitute teacher at Mount Vernon High School. He also served for five years on the staff of Fairfax County Supervisor Gerry Hyland, who represented the Mount Vernon district. Working for Supervisor Hyland reignited Fitzsimmons’ interest in pursuing elected office, so he was preparing to run for the Mount Vernon seat when Supervisor Hyland retired. However, his plans were upended when Supervisor Hyland decided to run again, a decision that opened the door to the founding of Alice’s Kids.
The idea for Alice’s Kids began one evening in Fitzsimmons’ living room. He and his younger sister, Laura Fitzsimmons Peters, were discussing the pain they experienced during their childhood. A few days later, while subbing at Mount Vernon High School, a girl in one of his classes was crying. Fitzsimmons found out that she couldn’t afford a prom ticket, so he bought it for her. The incident got him thinking. “I went to teachers and asked if they paid for things for kids, and they laughed and said of course, we pay for things all the time,” he recalls. That night he called Laura with the idea for Alice’s Kids, a nonprofit offering targeted assistance to children by purchasing wished-for items their families can’t afford.
Alice’s Kids was founded in 2011, but it took some time to become fully operational. Before its founding, Fitzsimmons spoke to local nonprofits about his idea of targeted assistance to make sure they wouldn’t be stepping on anyone’s toes. He also reached out to local high school principals, asking for their feedback. Donors had pledged nearly $50,000 to Fitzsimmons’ Board of Supervisors campaign before it was canceled, so he went to them and asked if they would be willing to donate that money to Alice’s Kids instead and many agreed.
In mission and process, Alice’s Kids works differently than many other nonprofits. Requests are submitted by teachers and counselors on behalf of children who are in kindergarten through 12th grade for items that fall outside the scope of most nonprofit giving – things like sports equipment, prom tickets, art supplies, or summer camp fees. Once the request is approved, Alice’s Kids issues a gift card or check to a store or other entity, which the teacher gives to the child’s parent to purchase the item. Gifts are always anonymous, both to preserve the child’s dignity and to give parents the opportunity to be their child’s hero by purchasing the item.
Requests to Alice’s Kids grew steadily each year, most of them local. That all changed in 2019 when Washington Post columnist Theresa Vargas wrote an article about the organization. Almost overnight, Alice’s Kids went from a local to a national charity. They received nearly $300,000 in donations the weekend after her article was published. Keeping pace with the donations to Alice’s Kids were requests for aid, which poured in from across the country.
For several years, one of Alice’s Kids’ staunchest supporters has been the actor Patton Oswalt, a Virginia native who initially learned about the nonprofit on social media. In addition to donating to Alice’s Kids and sharing information about them on social media, he chose to play for Alice’s Kids when he competed on Celebrity Jeopardy this year. Oswalt’s second place finish earned Alice’s Kids $250,000; an amount that moves them closer to their goal of spending $1,000,000 this year. His win brought additional publicity and accolades, including the Virginia House of Delegates passing a resolution applauding Alice’s Kids, and congratulating Oswalt for his win, and a Fairfax County Board of Supervisors’ resolution recognizing and congratulating Alice’s Kids for its work.
Fitzsimmons estimates that he devotes 50-60 hours each week serving as executive director of Alice’s Kids, but he loves it. “The point is, with all the stuff I’ve done, and I think I’ve done a lot of good stuff, this is the best work I’ve ever done. How can it not be?” As difficult as his childhood was, it prepared him for this work because he understands the struggles and shame children living in poverty experience each day.
Many of the requests and stories that come to Alice’s Kids are similar, but a few have been so powerful that Fitzsimmons felt compelled to go above and beyond. One request they received from Texas was for a homeless teen who was an all-state trumpet champion preparing to attend college to study music. The teen didn’t have a trumpet of his own (he played a school trumpet throughout high school) so the counselor requested a few hundred dollars to go toward buying him a trumpet. To ensure that the boy received a good quality instrument, Alice’s Kids sent much more money than was requested. Fitzsimmons also contacted the office of famed trumpeter and composer, Wynton Marsalis, sharing the young trumpeter’s story. He asked Marsalis to film a video of support for the youth. In response, Marsalis sent the teen a heartfelt video full of advice and encouragement, even sharing his personal cell number so the boy could contact him.
About a year ago, Alice’s Kids created an impact team to measure their work. The team contacts teachers and counselors to follow up and find out what happened after their request was fulfilled. The results show that they are making a difference. “You hear from the teacher about the kid who went to summer camp who has come back different and now he wants to be a math teacher,” says Fitzsimmons.
To learn more about Alice’s Kids, please visit their website at aliceskids.org. Donations can be made online or by calling 703-746-8108. For the latest news and updates, follow Alice’s Kids on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter @alicewillhelp.
This article is part of the Golden Gazette monthly newsletter which covers a variety of topics and community news concerning older adults and caregivers in Fairfax County. Are you new to the Golden Gazette? Don’t miss out on future newsletters! Subscribe to get the electronic or free printed version mailed to you. Have a suggestion for a topic? Share it in an email or call 703-324-GOLD (4653).