Kids Helping Kids Benefit Show Is Back, And So Is Andy Grammer

Student-Led, Santa Barbara–Based Nonprofit Has International Reach as Well as Local One

Andy Grammer | Photo: Courtesy

Andy Grammer, who graced the stage for the Kids Helping Kids (KHK) benefit concert back in 2014 and in 2018 is back on stage again this month, and the multi-platinum selling artist has a new album, Monster, to share this time around. While much of his music is uplifting, this new album also explores themes of resilience and hope a little more deeply, which resonates well with the high-school-aged Kids Helping Kids group.

“I think it’s going to be awesome to have him,” said KHK CEO Ava Wagner, a senior at Providence High School. Asked about how they decided to bring Grammer back this year, she said, “A big part of it is that he’s been a longtime supporter of Kids Helping Kids. So, he has a heart for what we do. He has a heart for the kids that we reach. He has a heart for this, just as the kids doing it do too.”

Andy Grammer performed at the 2018 Kids Helping Kids Benefit Concert and returns on January 25 | Photo: Gail Arnold (file)

She continued, “When we look for an artist, we look for an artist who backstage is the same person he is on stage. And so, we look for someone who is going to treat us like grown-ups or like to work with us. And he has an amazing story, and his music is incredible, and he’s been kind of blowing off the charts recently with his new album. And so having him for our 20th anniversary is kind of nostalgic to be like, ‘Welcome back. This is who we are. We’re Kids Helping Kids.’ And so, Andy — he completely believes in what we believe in, of helping kids in need and helping social, economically, or disadvantaged kids. And so, he’s right in line with who we are, which is always what we look for in an artist.”

The entirely student-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit was founded in Santa Barbara as part of the Advanced Placement Economics class at San Marcos in 2002. And, as followers of local lore know, what began as a penny drive for the Unity Shoppe and as a way for teacher Jamie DeVries to get his students engaged in the concepts of economics and learn about giving back through philanthropy, has since grown into both an educational and fundraising powerhouse, with kids working to help the lives of other kids both locally and globally in a number of ways — most notably through student-produced annual benefit gala concerts. Kids Helping Kids has raised approximately $4.5 million dollars since its founding through years of hard work and partnerships with headliners such as Grammer.

Now centered at Providence High School, with DeVries as the teacher and advisor, students from San Marcos, Dos Pueblos, and Bishop Diego high schools are also taking part in the fundraising efforts, explained Kiera Reitzin, who is part of the core management team of Providence students that also includes Amber Reagan, Janelle Pryko, Rachel Pinkavich, Abby Gobell, Alex Henin, Rosie Murren, Jordan Labrie, Issac Hoffman, and Sam Oilynk.

There are three new beneficiaries for this year’s show: Ileana’s School of Hope, Victims of Hurricane Helene, and Kids Across Santa Barbara. Ileana’s School of Hope has its origins in the story of Ileana’s Smile, a 2023 documentary film about a young girl named Ileana with a moving smile who lives in a trash dump community in Managua, Nicaragua. The film chronicles the unlikely friendships that form around her, including one with American musician Brad Corrigan, who directed the doc. As Wagner explained, the school opened in 2018 and is now at capacity with students in grades 1-6.

“The organization we’re working with is in Nicaragua and builds schools for kids who have been sex trafficked and they live in a trash dump. So, our goal is to buy the land and to help build a school for ninth through 12th graders. So, our opener, Andy Grammer, kind of aligns with that model,” she said.

Hurricane Helene, the 2024 storm that unleashed devastation across Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee and has had a death toll of more than 230 people, is another cause near to these students’ hearts. “We’re working with kids who have been building clean water wells for them and helping refurbish them and everything,” said Wagner.

The other local philanthropic component is a Kids Helping Kids Fund (Kids Across Santa Barbara), which, Wagner explained, “is our own personal fund that we’re going to run. … We go to schools in Santa Barbara, and we talk to guidance counselors and say, ‘How can we help? How can we be just a blessing to people around us? And how can we help our own age group who have been socioeconomically or disadvantaged kids? … How can we provide a wheelchair? How can you provide hearing aids or just different things they can’t afford?’”

Student performers, from left, Avila Edwards, Emma Crooks, Nate Creagar, and Daniella Terry | Photo: Courtesy

Aerialists perform at the 2024 Kids Helping Kids benefit concert | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom

Also new this year are the opening acts which are the student winners of a recent competition called Voices of Santa Barbara. Two duos tied for the opening slot, so both will have the honor of performing at the show at the Arlington Theatre.

The first student opener act is Daniella Terry (a senior at Providence High School) and Nate Creager (a junior at Bishop Diego High). The two said they are as passionate about the mission of Kids Helping Kids as they are about sharing their music. The duo of Emma Crooks (a sophomore at Providence) and Avila Edwards (a sophomore currently being homeschooled) will make up the second student opener. The two have been playing music together for several years and have been close friends for even longer.

Corrigan, who is a member of the indie band Dispatch and is often known by the stage name Braddigan, will be the opening musical act. Wagner shared that the show will also feature a special opening scene featuring aerial artists and dancers.

The Kids Helping Kids Annual Benefit Concert takes place on Saturday, January 25, at 7 p.m. at the Arlington Theatre (1317 State St.). Tickets are now available at arlingtontheatresb.com or at the box office. For more information about the organization, see @khksb or kidshelpingkidssb.org.