History
"In 1986, I went to New York to see the 10th anniversary celebration of Jacques D'Amboise's National Dance Institute. I was a guest with my Mom, in my velvet attire, not knowing my life was about to change. I gasped as 1,500 children from around the world danced in an exquisite finale filling the floor of Madison Square Garden. When I got on the plane to come home, I told myself that needed to happen in Fort Worth! Hundreds of kids from the around the world singing and dancing for sheer joy! And so we have..."
Deborah Jung, Founding Director
Kids Who Care (KWC) began in 1987 in the basement of a Fort Worth church. Deborah Jung directed Marlo Thomas' "Free to Be A Family" in a summer workshop with kids from across Dallas/Fort Worth. In 1989, Kids Who Care officially moved into Fort Worth's Cultural District producing a kids' summer company at the Scott Theatre. Sister Cities International partnered with Kids Who Care and 3 Italian teens came for the first summer company. Since then, international students have come from Indonesia, Israel, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Switzerland, Spain, and Canada to become a part of Kids Who Care.
By September of 1989, Deborah produced her first Kids Who Care international tour with performances in Reggio Emilia, Italy. In 1990, Kids Who Care was invited to the Kennedy Center to participate in the Texas Festival of the Arts. Since that time, Kids Who Care has performed Off-Broadway at the Lamb's Theatre, at both Disneys, in Italy, Germany, Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, and across Texas. Make A Wish Foundation invited Kids Who Care to sing at 30,000 feet in the air for the Make A Wish participants. Kids Who Care often performs in venues that are making a difference including Cook Children's Hospital, Make a Wish Foundation's Family Concert at Dallas' Meyerson Symphony Hall, at the Texas Capital for Governor of the Day with Mike Moncrief, and at the Special Olympics opening ceremonies.
Kids Who Care (KWC) has produced and toured 19 original musicals since 1990. Texas playwrights and songwriters have a rich history with Kids Who Care as they partner to see their poetry, songs, and prose become a legitimate musical produced in a professional venue. In conjunction with these musicals, special guest celebrities have performed with KWC including Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul, and Mary, Sara Hickman, Trout Fishing in America, Danny Wright, Joseph Vincelli, and Inca Son.
Kids Who Care provides distinctive musical theatre education for kids year round. Over 200,000 children have been served by Kids Who Care since 1989. Over $800,000 in Hope Scholarships have been awarded and $150,000 raised by students for summer jobs for young artists. Kids Who Care serves special populations as a matter of daily business including the hearing impaired and the mentally and physically challenged.
The musical theatre company has produced classic musicals since 1996. From West Side Story to You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, theatre goers are accustomed to Kids Who Care's trademark large casts and high-energy performance. DFW Family theatre audiences enjoy a series of five main stage events per year.
Our mission today is the same as it was in 1989.
We produce great kids!
