The story of Kidspire
For 34 years Kidspire programs have ensured that children from typically underserved communities have stability, permanency, and education.
Kidspire established, 1991
Kidspire was established in 1991 with a mission to “serve the needs of orphans worldwide.” Incorporated as Orphans Overseas, founder Jorie Kincaid worked to establish services for the overwhelming number of children living in orphanages throughout Romania. At the time, the conditions children experienced in Romanian orphanages captured the attention of the world.
adoptions from russia, 1994
Following early beginnings in Romania, the organization eventually expanded to Russia, and later on to Kazakhstan and Ukraine. Kidspire would go on to supports hundreds of children living in orphanages in these regions to be matched into adoptive homes.
adoptions from vietnam, 1996
With a continued focus on helping children living in orphanages to find permanent stable living conditions, Kidspire expanded to Vietnam - and later to China, Cambodia, and Laos, as well. Vietnam would eventually become a focus country for Kidpire’s education programs.
book release, 1997
After supporting hundreds of families to provide adoptive homes to children who were need of the stability and permanency adoption could provide, Kidspire’s Founder and Executive Director authored a book to share her personal stories and experiences in adoption with others.
community house opens, 2002
Continuing in the mission of supporting children towards stability and permanency, Kidspire opened a residential facility in Oregon to provide young single women with pre-natal and post-natal housing, counseling, and health care resources.
expanding to africa, 2005
A church mission trip to Western Kenya to build a school was a catalyst in Kidspire’s decision to implement early childhood education programs for children who were not attending school. Today, nearly 20 years later, Kidspire’s education programs are still running in Kenya.
“Children do not need us to feel sorry for them. Rather, they need people who believe in them, help them get into school, stay in school, and allow the world to benefit from their uniqueness.”
Jorie Kincaid, Founder
edTech in vietnam, 2009
In 2009 Kidspire created a new education project, Orphan Impact, designed to bring digital literacy training to children living in Vietnamese orphanages. Initially partnering with with the Intel Education Service Corp, the program reached children in 15 orphanages from 2009-2012. The program continues today as Kidspire Vietnam, with over 3,100 children having participated.
salvation army partnership, 2010
Kidspire and the Salvation Army established a partnership agreement to renovate and operate a 10-acre, multiple building compound, to provide education and support services for children and families living in the nearby informal settlement in Thika, Kenya. The facility would become known as Karibu Centre, going on to serve 3,000 children while becoming a hub within the community.
model preschool, 2013
At a time when the organization’s early childhood education programs were expanding in Kenya, Kidspire made the decision to establish a “model preschool” in Oregon, with an emphasis on global citizenship and student inquiry directed learning. The preschool continues today, providing a enriching learning environment and a model for ongoing early childhood programs in Kenya.
presenting at dreamforce, 2017
As the Karibu Centre was growing and thriving, Salesforce invited Luke Kincaid, the Managing Director, to Dreamforce to share about the community impact made possible through the collaboration with Salesforce. At the time, hundreds of Salesforce employees were using their annual “volunteer time off” to travel to Kenya and volunteer their skills in support of the Karibu Centre.
Pure good, 2018
From 2017-2020, Kidspire collaborated with Team4Tech and Pure Storage to improve the STEM curriculum being used in Vietnam. The collaboration led to Kidspire receiving an invitation to tell the story of the partnership on stage at Pure Storage’s sales kickoff - where Pure also awarded grant funds enabling Kidspire to establish four Innovation Labs - modern STEM & makerspaces - benefiting hundreds of youth in Vietnam.
new schools in kenya, 2024
Seeking to expand the model created by Karibu Centre, Kidspire moved north into Laikipia County in 2021, a region of Kenya where many of the pastoralist tribal communities do not prioritize education for their children. This results in high rates of out-of-school children. Kidspire now operates 2 schools in the region, including one in partnership with Mukutan Conservancy.
