Welcome to Strat Labs’ Changemaker Spotlight Series! This blog series is dedicated to showcasing the inspiring journeys of remarkable individuals who have transformed their passions into purposeful endeavors, leaving a significant impact on the world around them every single day. Join us as we delve into the heart of innovation and commitment, celebrating the extraordinary stories of those who are not just dreaming of a better future but actively shaping it in their journey as a Changemaker.

Kelly is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of The White Cane Foundation. In 2019, Kelly and her husband Dave saw a need that could be filled in Lincoln, NE. There are many children living in poverty and providing two brand new clothing outfits and hygiene items to elementary students to feel good about themselves was a good place to start. They knew a student’s ability to do their very best would be greatly enhanced with these new clothes and shoes to wear to school. Since then, people have come forward with great effort and passion to help this new mission where students are empowered to go out in the world with confidence and independence to become their very best selves. 

What inspired you to embark on your journey in the social impact space?

After raising my four boys and having them move to four different states, I decided to go back to my roots in education, which is what my degree is in. I worked for TeamMates Mentoring, a student mentoring organization based in Lincoln, for about 10 years until one day, I learned about a local nonprofit organization in St. Louis, MO from some friends who had attended their gala. After researching the organization for about 10 minutes, I ran downstairs and told my husband Dave that this is what we needed to do.

This was one of those moments in life. I’ve always loved kids and I knew what my next mission was going to be. What better way to give back to the community I love. 

Can you describe how you and The White Cane Foundation are making a significant social impact?

We provide our students with a “bundle of joy” package which consists of two new pairs of pants and tops, one new pair of tennis shoes, two new pairs of socks and underwear, miscellaneous hygiene items, and a coat if needed. Each child that is identified by our liaisons, who work within each school, is eligible to go through our program twice per school year because seasons change and children grow.

Many of these kids have never been able to shop for themselves and have only received hand-me-downs. We allow them to select their own clothes to try on and provide a volunteer to work with them to ensure that the clothing fits properly. They come out of their privacy tent to see their reflection staring back at them in a full-length mirror. That is when the true magic happens as they see themselves reflected back wearing their new outfits. And that’s when the dancing begins! We now encourage schools to identify all siblings in the same school so they can pick out their clothing together. This creates a unique shared experience among them and becomes something that they can remember together. For their parents or caretakers, this provides some relief from the burden between purchasing new clothing for their children or managing other expenses, such as food and housing.

Our mission of love began in one school in 2019, and then COVID hit. Our work continued even though we couldn’t get into the schools to size the kids. They allowed us to drop off our bundles at the office and the liaisons continued our program. In 2022, we were awarded $100,000 as winners of Union Bank’s The Big Give and used that funding to purchase a truck, allowing us to get into five more schools. All of a sudden by the end of May 2024, we had grown to serve 12 schools!  

We then set a goal to get into all 18 Title I elementary schools in Lincoln and as of today, we will be in 15 schools this fall and are going to interview the final three principals in October. I am so proud to announce that in January 2025, we will reach our goal.

What has been the biggest contributor to success in growing The White Cane Foundation’s presence now across all 18 Title I schools? 

Our community of donors, volunteers, and employees have greatly contributed to our success. Whenever a need has come up, we have people willing to step up and step in. Many of our volunteers are retired principals, retired school teachers, or moms whose kids are grown and gone. Everyone has one thing in common: an affinity for supporting children. 

What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve encountered while pursuing your purpose at The White Cane Foundation, and how have you overcome them?

Our growth has been one of the biggest challenges because we’ve grown so fast and we don’t want to over-promise and underserve. We have reached a critical point of needing more storage space to house our inventory, and that materialized in the temporary location we are in right now. The spaces that we’ve had have grown with us, but we are currently looking for a larger place to call home.

Our goal is always to ensure we can continue supporting our current schools before committing to serving additional schools.

How do you define Changemaker and can you explain what you mean?

Change happens when everybody’s connected to a moment and not thinking about what they’re doing, they’re just doing it. There is a collective joy when you can get family, friends, and the community to participate in “those” projects. When something like this does work, it’s only later that you can see how significant it may have been. I love being lost in shared time with other people. Being present for each other is the only gift we can give. Gandhi says, “Whatever you do in life will be insignificant, but it’s really important that you do it, because nobody else will.”

What advice would you give to someone looking to start their journey as a Changemaker?

If it’s easy, then it’s probably not worth doing. If it scares you to death, it’s probably something that’s in your gut and you have to do. I’ve learned to trust my instincts.

I remember going to St. Louis and meeting the Executive Director of The Little Bit Foundation, the one we were inspired by. Within 10 minutes, my eyes were filled with tears and I was wondering why I felt this way. It was because, in my heart, I knew I had to do this. I was worried about how and where we should start. But, you start one step at a time, one person at a time, and trust the path will reveal itself. 

Some of the hardest things that you’ll do in life are hard for a reason. If it speaks to you, then you just have to have the courage to continue and find the people to help you along the way. I would not have been able to do this without my husband Dave. I had the heart for it and he had the mind. I knew that if we started this together, the rest would fall into place and reveal itself.

Can you tell us about a particular child who was impacted or helped by The White Cane Foundation?

There are three that come to mind. First, we sized and gave a young girl her clothes who was later participating in the school’s awards ceremony. About two months later, her teacher met with her to go through the pictures of the ceremony and the girl stopped and said, “Look, that’s me.” The teacher responded, “Yes, that’s when you got your award.” And the student said, “No, that’s me and my new clothes.” And to me, that’s that feeling we hope to achieve. 20 years from now, they might not remember what the clothes looked like, but they’ll remember how they felt.  

Additionally, in our beginning stages, we saw four siblings in one session, including two smaller children, a medium one, and a fifth grader. The younger kids were super excited, but the older boy was just very humble, watching over his siblings. He was getting ready to leave and he turned around and said, “Thank you for all these clothes. As excited as I am about these clothes for myself, I cannot wait to see my mom’s face when we walk through the door with all these clothes. She works so hard and is going to be so excited.” I realized we are not just affecting these kids, but we’re affecting their entire families. There are a lot of hard-working families doing the very best they can, and these kids are empathetic to their struggle.

The third one just happened recently. A single boy walks in and asks, “These are all for me? How much do these cost?” He starts talking a mile a minute, saying, “My mom, she’s going to be so happy. I just can’t even believe that I get to bring these home. She’s going to be so happy and she always tells me, ‘I know, I know you need clothes. Please be patient with me.’ And I’ve been really patient. I’ve been so patient and now I get to go home and show her these clothes!” It’s those kinds of things that show that the kids see it’s not just about themselves. That’s the magic that can happen for a family.

Looking ahead, what are your aspirations and goals for the future of The White Cane Foundation and how do you plan to continue your journey as a Changemaker?

If you asked me in 2019, I would not have had these answers. Just because we are in all 18 Title I schools, there are still 40 total elementary schools in Lincoln. The next goal is to get into the remaining 22. Then we’ll get into private and parochial schools. We started with the elementary because there’s less stigma. However, there are middle schools and high schools in need as well. Just because you move on from fifth grade to sixth grade in a new school, that doesn’t mean that your situation has changed. If we could follow students from preschool to 12th-grade graduation, that would be so powerful.

To learn more about the impactful and important work that The White Cane Foundation is doing, visit their website at www.thewhitecanefoundation.org. 

If you are interested in connecting with Kelly Lauer to learn more about her Changemaker journey, you can contact her at klauer247@gmail.com or connect with her on LinkedIn.