Doing good every day
For Kent Childs, realizing the importance of philanthropy started by being on the receiving end.
As a child, attending the YMCA Camp Wakonda in Springfield, Missouri, was a life-changingexperience.
“At the time, I didn’t know I was going for free, but I eventually figured that out,” recalled Kent, whose mother was widowed twice by the time he was 6. She raised nine children alone while working the graveyard shift at a manufacturing plant.
“Camp had a dramatically positive impact on me, so we’ve been giving to that YMCA camp for 40 years now. We know personally what organizations like that can do and what that can spark in a child and help them in their life.”
Kent and his wife Gwen were brought to Springfield, thanks to business opportunities. They own and operate Midas Auto Service Shops in four states, along with a commercial real estate company. They put down roots, along with their two children and two grandchildren, in this wonderful community in 1992.It has been a longtime goal of the family to establish a more organized way of giving, especially locally.Originally, the couple considered creating their own foundation, but after extensive research, they realized that a donor-advised fund within a community foundation would be a much less complicated and time-consuming process.
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“We really appreciate the Community Foundation because it allows us the mechanism to do good for many generations without having to do any accounting ourselves,” Kent said.
The couple has already begun to make gifts from the Fund – the Kenton and Gwen Childs Charitable Fund. They plan to contribute to it each month and have directed monthly gifts to a couple of local charitable organizations. As they sell assets such as commercial buildings and businesses, they plan to grow the Fund and increase donations.
“Giving has just always been part of our basic value system,” Gwen said. “We’re active in a lot of things we think are important. We have talked to the Foundation about concentrating our giving on things like antiracism, civil rights, environmental issues, and education for children.”
These causes have become deeply personal for the Childses. The couple’s two children are Black and adopted, and they have witnessed racism firsthand through their kids’ and grandkids' experiences many times.
Even before her own children, Gwen recalls working in a day care in her early 20s in Des Moines, Iowa, where her eyes were opened to racism.
“It was a subsidized day care where you paid what you could; I saw a lot of inequality,” she said.
Other causes the couple are passionate about include the Illinois Innocence Project and supporting multiple sclerosis, after Gwen’s sister was diagnosed with MS at age 15.
“The first charities we were able to give to were the MS Society and the United Negro College Fund,” Gwen shared.
Ultimately, the Childses plan for the Community Foundation to guide the direction of the Fund.They explained that they trust the Foundation’s future vision and are glad to know their giving will continue to help the greatest needs of the community for generations to come.
Early in their marriage, there were several years that the Childses wanted to give to many causes but couldn’t afford to; they feel grateful for the opportunity to help fund issues close to their hearts through the donor-advised fund.
Whether it’s a significant donation or extending simple kindness to a stranger, the family’s mission is simple: “we just think you should do good every day,” Kent said.
For more information on how to establish or contribute to a fund, please contact the Community Foundation at 217.789.4431 or visit CFLL.org.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Doing good every day
