Founder and President: Barbara A. Antinoro

Place of Birth: Johnstown, Pa.

Education: Robert Morris University-Major:Marketing Minor-Psychology

Current residence: San Diego, Ca.

Personal Information:
Daughter of Anthony and Ida Antinoro of Johnstown, Pa., married 58 years and counting!

Mother of one Son, Christopher Swope, regional pilot for United Express, based in Denver, Colorado.

Proud Mother-in-law of Robin Swope and grandmother of beautiful and healthy granddaughter Leah, born July 4th, 2002.

Despite my educational background in business, my first "real" job was at St. Lawrence O'Toole in Pittsburgh, Pa. as a 3rd grade teacher. It was a most rewarding and joyous experience. After buying boots and gloves for those children that would come to school in winter with none, and bringing others home with me after school so that they would not need to be left home alone, I was quick to realize that my emotions were getting in the way of being an objective teacher. I decided not to renew my teaching contract for another year. Instead, I chose to delve into the "business world" where my educational background was. I moved to Phoenix, Arizona in 1970.

In 1972 I married a contractor. We had a very successful business for many years. In 1986, a divorce forced me to change directions again. I now had to go to work for a company other than my own. There were numerous "sales" jobs now getting a bi-line in my résumé.

By 1997 I was running an Air-touch Cellular (now Verizon) office in Phoenix. My Son was about to graduate from College and I needed a "change"; hence, my move to San Diego, Ca. the following year. Air-touch Cellular chose to open up a new office in San Diego and I agreed to the offer on a contract basis for one year. After the year was over, I took some well-deserved time off, and began perusing the local employment ads to see if there was anything that resonated with me. I noticed that Sylvan Learning Centers, a supplemental education provider located in San Diego County, was looking for an Admissions Director. This was to be my way back to the field of education. I applied, was accepted, and, as they say, the rest is history.

My employment with Sylvan Learning Centers provided the inspiration of why Kid Angel came to be. During my 3 years as the Admissions Director, I spoke to over 7,000 parents, answering many concerns about their children's educational needs. Sylvan is a wonderful program and has many success stories; however, they were charging about $45 an hour (with a minimum of 36 hours required), right in line with other successful supplemental learning centers. There was one common thread, however, that kept coming up. The cost of a program for over half of the parents was cost prohibited. I was constantly asked if there were any scholarships or grants available. This led to additional research on my part. To my bewilderment, there were literally none to speak of. I could find no programs to assist parents with supplemental educational needs other than outright loan programs!

If you have the money to get your children the supplemental education they need (to get them back up to their proper grade level), no problem. There are many fine supplemental learning institutions that are, quite literally, making millions yearly providing this much needed service.

However, if you do not have the money for such a program, you are at the mercy of the school system and the teachers to pick up the slack.

Our Federal government is very aware of how many US children are not performing up to their proper grade level. President Bush's program "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" is an outstanding program. As members of the public education sector know; new programs take time to fully enact upon their goals. America's children cannot afford to wait, and many are still being left behind, despite the efforts of the overcrowded, underfunded American public school system.

20 million students in the US are not even reading on a 4th grade level.

Is your child or your grandchild one of them?

We have all known children who have difficulty in school. This difficulty is often reflected in poor school attendance (a lot of tummy-aches), to low self-esteem issues, to the child becoming an outright disciplinary problem! Something needed to be done on a level other than simply waiting and depending on our underfunded schools and teachers, or our government to fix it. This is why the Kid Angel Foundation was created. Kid Angel will not allow money to exclude our children from learning to read.

Kid Angel believes that parents need to be educated now on what it is that they can do to be more "proactive" with their child's educational needs. Parents need to be given the choices and funding necessary to obtain the success needed for their child's education. If a child is unable to read, he/she has no way to open the doors for his/her future.

At last I am back on the path that I began some 30 years ago. I now take my first steps to make a difference in every child's right to learn to read. As a nation, we must stop believing that our government, our schools or the teacher's of our children can do it for us. It is important to remember that all of our children belong to all of us. Therefore, we share a collective responsibility with regards to their educational welfare for they will become the guardians of this great nation. We now have the opportunity to rewrite the educational history for our children's future, by taking a pro-active stance with the KID ANGEL FOUNDATION.

Through dedicated volunteers and financial support, this can and will work. We have an opportunity to make a very rapid difference in teaching our children to read. This is the Kid Andgel Foundation vision, which has become my passion. We are not here on this planet purely for ourselves. Quite simply, we are here for each other, and owe the greatest obligation to our children. For all those who take the time to read these written words, know that I have chosen to be a voice for the parents and the children that so need the educational help. This is the work of Spirit. Spirit can, and will continue to, work through the larger us!

We are grateful for this mission

Barbara