While most people enjoy relaxing on their Friday evenings, students in the Kids STEP UP Club (KSU) choose to dedicate their time to volunteering in underserved schools throughout California. Founded in 2020, KSU is a non-profit peer tutoring organization and is an acronym for Kids Serve To Educate and Promote Health Utilizing Peers. They are partnered with the United Boys and Girls Club of Santa Barbara and have programs in San Rafael, Santa Barbara, and Rome. The nonprofit was expanded into San Rafael in 2022 by Redwood parent Cynthia Kim.
Freshman Madeline Lim is the club’s vice president and has been volunteering for the organization for a few years now because of her family connections to the organization. Lim’s mother, Cynthia Kim, founded the organization with a goal to educate kids in underserved communities.
“During the pandemic, there was a huge slide in education for kids, and many weren’t getting exercise due to staying home. We started this organization to help students catch up with homework and to promote health as well,” Lim said.

The students in the Redwood chapter of KSU primarily focus on volunteering and tutoring at schools in San Rafael. Junior Avery Perkins recently joined the club because she was drawn to its active approach where she could make a meaningful impact.
“Our focus isn’t on schools in general, but rather schools in areas that tend to struggle more,” Perkins said. “Here, specifically in Larkspur, Corte Madera and Tiburon, there are a lot of resources for the middle and elementary schools that many schools nearby don’t have. Providing resources to other ends of districts can really help those communities.”
During club meetings, members discuss who is available to volunteer the following Friday and develop and improve lesson plans. Currently, volunteers tutor students for a few hours after school, primarily focusing on elementary school students. This year, the club members are working on creating new curriculums that focus on nutrition and other health modules, while still keeping the regular math and English lessons. While their goal is mainly to teach the kids, the club prioritizes making learning enjoyable for them as well.
Even with KSU’s success in finding schools to volunteer at and educating students, Lim recognizes that they have also faced a few struggles.
“The biggest challenge right now is needing more volunteers for our program,” Lim said. “We’re excited to hopefully see more people join so we can volunteer more days of the week.”
Similarly, Perkins said that more participation would benefit the program, and she feels that students may be overwhelmed by the work that comes with joining the club.

“We want to convey that this is a fun club, especially if you join with your friends. You get to give back to the community and even if you don’t have time to volunteer, showing up to the meetings is appreciated. Kids tend to get intimidated because they feel obligated to be at every meeting, but we have a very flexible schedule,” Perkins said.
Lim’s hope for the future of the club is to expand their volunteer work to more schools and to create new curriculums focused on health. She also feels that the club has provided her with many important skills.
“The club has definitely improved my sense of leadership and how to teach kids in a way that’s easy for them to understand. Building a sense of community and contributing to the education of kids has been a great outcome as well,” Lim said.
Perkins added that their future goals include not only making a small impact but making a lasting one.
“Even though we have a small group, we plan to make an impact with students in the San Rafael community. Doing that can put us on the right track to making a big difference,” Perkins said.
Kids Step Up welcomes everyone to their club, and anyone who is interested in joining can go to room 201 on Tuesdays at lunch to learn more.