OUR MISSION
Kids Entertainment Professionals for Young Refugees rallies the global children’s media community and its audiences in support of the young victims of the worst child refugee crisis in over 75 years.
The recent explosion of the global refugee crisis, the worst of its kind since World War II, has been particularly painful for the people in our industry to witness. We have a special relationship with the children of the world. Both as individuals and as living representatives of the very idea of childhood, they inspire us in our work every day. So our hearts break at the recurring images of dead, injured, and traumatized youth washing up on beaches, detained in shipping containers, or scrambling to survive in camps and makeshift settlements in Greece, France, Turkey, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, South Sudan, Bangladesh, Mexico, and many other places around the world.
In 2016 a group of us realized that we belong to a potentially powerful community of kindred spirits, that we can exponentially increase whatever small help we can be as individuals by coming together in positive action with our brothers and sisters in the global children’s entertainment industry.
With an initial grant from JPMorgan Chase, we created “Kindred Spirits”, an annual educational and fundraising campaign in support of the heroic work of local organizations around the world serving refugee children. Now, for the first time, animators, game designers, network and studio executives, writers, voice actors, composers, agents, editors, and production assistants – everyone involved in the production and distribution of kids content, as well as fans of their work – can stand together once a year to make a real difference in the lives of the world’s most vulnerable children.
Who We Are
We are a grassroots organization of kids and family entertainment professionals. Our community spans five continents and includes employees of such well-known companies as Mattel, Marvel, Nickelodeon, Disney, Dreamworks, Netflix, Apple TV, Amazon Studios, Warner Bros., Hasbro, Blizzard Entertainment, Scholastic Entertainment, DC Comics, and Animation Magazine, as well as scores of independent production companies and individuals in children’s media, their friends and audiences.
Board of Directors
Grant Moran
President & Founder
Writer Producer
Yang Chang
Vice-President
Creative Director
Monica Dollive
Treasurer
Writer
Scott Gray
Emmy Award-Winning Writer
Juliette Rogasik
Secretary
Creative Director
Advisory Board
Christopher Keenan
Senior Vice President & Executive Producer,
Mattel Television
Martin
Baynton
Chief Creative Officer, Pukeko Pictures
Danielle
Gillis
VP Content and Production,
9 Story Media Group
Maca
Rotter
President and CEO,
La Panaderia Licensing & Marketing
Jean
Thoren
Publisher,
Animation Magazine
Gregory B.
Payne
Principal Counsel,
Disney TV Animation
Jo
Kavanagh-Payne
President,
Foothill Entertainment, Inc
Baman
Rusby
Principal, Atoka International LLC
Gushi
Sethi
Director
Executive Producer
Dave
Palmer
Director
Executive Producer
Sabrina
Propper
President
Propper Public Relations
What We Do
Our mission is twofold:
1. To raise awareness in our community about the global crisis of forcibly displaced children. We do this via traditional and social media campaigns, panels and presentations at industry events, and informational social gatherings.
2. To spotlight select local organizations around the world doing vital and inspiring work in aid of these children and to support their work via fundraisers and by leveraging our industry’s unique reservoir of resources and skills to assist their efforts.
FAQ
HOW DO I PRONOUNCE KEPYR: (ˈkēpər), as in “My brother’s keeper”
HOW DOES THIS WORK? Each year KEPYR spotlights a different local nonprofit or NGO doing inspiring work for refugee children. We spend the year educating our community about the status of the refugee crisis in that particular region of the world and how the selected organization is serving the children affected by it. In June we produce a month-long fundraising campaign, called “Kindred Spirits”, in support of that organization.
WHERE WILL MY DONATION GO: 90% of the proceeds from our June campaign go to the selected refugee relief organization. KEPYR uses the remaining 10% of your donation to fund our operating expenses, including website maintenance, promotion of Kindred Spirits, and event production.
IS MY DONATION TAX-DEDUCTIBLE: Yes, if you are a U.S. citizen. If you are not a U.S. citizen, you can either make a non-tax deductible contribution through this website or check your local tax laws for information about foreign charitable donations.
IS KEPYR A 501 (c)(3)? - Yes.
DO I HAVE TO BE IN THE CHILDREN’S ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS TO PARTICIPATE: No! We invite everyone concerned about the world’s refugee and forcibly displaced children to support our work. Individuals, companies, and nonprofits are all eligible to join this effort.
WHO’S BEHIND THIS: The idea arose organically in the fall of 2016 among a small group of industry colleagues who felt moved to action by the Syrian refugee crisis. The initial group included Grant Moran, Christopher Keenan, Danielle Gillis, Jean Thoren, Maca Rotter, Gushi Sethi, Martin Baynton, and Yang Ping Chang. For a list of our Board of Directors and Advisory Board please click on the “Our Story” tab.
WHO CAN I CONTACT FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Grant Moran at grant@kepyr.org