Who We Are
SKJAJA People
piano
singing
soccer
Karen Kalafatas
Director
playing school Cabbage Patch
dolls
playing with
brothers
Tabitha Gaskin
Programs Assistant
piano
clarinet
playing with collie
help treat animals
with my vet dad
Ann Daaleman
PLAY it Forward
school plays
biking
chorus
Barbies
swim
climb trees
Diana Hersh
PLAY it Forward
SKJAJA Board
football
baseball
biking
picking plums
with my aunt
Chris Wallace
piano lessons
Girl Scouts
summer day camp
Joan White
Co-founder
piano
poetry recitals
singing
drawing
reading
writing stories
Michelle Watson-Grant
Secretary
ballet & jazz
piano
cheerleading
rec softball
drawing
Charlotte Kirchgessner White – Co-founder
John Hastings
Treasurer
More SKJAJA People
James Grant
Applications Committee
piano
singing
reading
biking
Amy Holley
Applications Committee
basketball
reading
camping
cheering for the
Tar Heels!
Amit Pakirh
Applications Committee
playing with
brothers
summer camp
baton twirling
Gloria Sanchez
Applications Committee
Girl Scouts
swimming
arts and crafts
summer camp
Kathy Tyrrell
Applications Committee
piano
poetry recitals
singing
drawing
reading
writing stories
piano
singing
reading
biking
dance
cheerleading
piano
Gracie Kirchgessner
arts and crafts
running
biking
Jeneice Mason-Carter
Garrison Reid
basketball
camping
trumpet
frisbee golf
Eric White
Co-founder
Founding Story
(and how we got our funny name)
Once upon a time, Charlotte Kirchgessner and Eric White were students at Phillips Junior High School in Chapel Hill, NC. They graduated from what was the only high school in town – Chapel Hill High. Years later, they met (again), fell in love (again), married (yay!) and had two children (awwww!).
Fast forward to 2007, on Kim’s Birthday (Kim is Eric’s sister). Instead of asking for gifts, Kim gave each of her family members a gift of $100. (Pretty generous!) The catch? She asked all of them to "pay it forward" and use the money to do something kind for someone else.
One month later, the family came together to share how each of them allocated their $100. The Whites’ children (Aja & Kai) joyfully shared how they donated their money. Aja donated art supplies to her school and Kai provided a soccer scholarship so another kid could play soccer, like him. The White kids were active, busy, and loved their extracurricular learning and experiences.
Kim White Glasser
Inspiration
Moved by the impact of Kim’s experiment and their own children’s response to it, the Whites decided to do more. So they joined with Eric's mom, Joan, and created a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and they called it SKJAJA. The mission? Remove financial barriers and provide scholarships so all kids in Chapel Hill-Carrboro could enjoy extracurricular activities. And inspired by Kim’s Birthday experiment and the joy and lessons of “paying it forward,” they added to that mission service-learning opportunities so that all young people could enjoy the benefits of service in community.
Then the Whites invited everyone they knew to join the effort. (If you’re one of those people, THANK YOU)! Yes, it all started with a love story – and it continues with one, thanks to the love and support of countless community members like you who have helped SKJAJA grow, year after year.
As for the funny name? Birthday Kim has always used “SKJAJA” to refer to the people in her family:
Scott • Kim • Josh • Ashley • Jessica • Adam
by the way, it's SKAH -JAH -JAH. Don’t worry. It took us a while, too.
The end. (And just the beginning!) Wanna keep the love going? Support SKJAJA today.