From the mother of Kamran Siddiqui (Founder)

Kamran Siddiqui was a remarkable 22 year old young man who left a huge impact on all people who came to know him. After Kamran passed away, KAMS Foundation was created in an effort to reflect Kamran’s heart and passion as well as realize one of his dreams and goals.

Kamran had a selfless heart. He was always helping others in need. From a very young age, he was led to defend those who could not defend themselves, give to those who were less fortunate, and champion those who were marginalized…with a very tender place in his heart for children.

Through KAMS Foundation we want to reflect Kamran’s heart by affirming and empowering underprivileged, and marginalized youth.

Kamran had a love for sports but a specific passion for soccer. From the age of 4 until his death; he devoured the game of soccer, he could never get enough.

Through KAMS Foundation we will use the vehicle of sports and initially soccer to deliver our objectives to this youth development program.

Kamran had a lot of great character traits and life skills, but one of the things I loved about him was that he was always striving to grow in character, be a better person, and he never stopped asking questions in an effort to learn life skills or skills in general. He was driven to achieve success in all areas of his life.

Through KAMS Foundation we want to provide youth with the opportunity to develop positive character traits, and teach them practical life skills, so that they can achieve success in every aspect of their lives.

Affirm The Special In Everyone

Kamran had the God given ability to connect with people in a remarkable way. Many people have said, “Kamran made me feel special.” Kamran affirmed people. He helped people see the “special” that God created in them…he was so good at identifying other peoples “special” AND he respected the unique nature of each person’s “special”, so that it ultimately made them feel SPECIAL.

Through KAMS Foundation we want to affirm the “special” in each and every child we work with. We want them to recognize and believe that they are “special” and we want them to appreciate the uniqueness of their “special”, which will lead them to live more productive, positive, joy filled lives.

Maintain Postive Relationships

Kamran was a master at maintaining relationships. He made time to connect with old relationships and establish new relationships in every situation he encountered.

Through KAMS Foundation we want to become masters at maintaining relationships through our mentoring component. God created us all for relationships, and fostering positive mentor relationships in children has been shown to increase success rates in all areas of their lives.

Love Others

Kamran loved people – ALL people… all ages, races, nationalities, backgrounds, religions…. ALL people. And He loved people right where they were…no judgment…just love.

Through KAMS Foundation we want to exhibit that same kind of love for others that Kamran had… loving people right where they are, all people!

Dream Big!

Kamran had big dreams and goals, and one of his goals for the future was to start an organization that helped kids.

Through KAMS Foundation one of Kamran’s dreams and goals will be realized. Through KAMS Foundation we hope to encourage and support the youth we work with to dream big, set goals and to believe that those dreams and goals are attainable.

Who We Are

KAMS Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, aims to affirm and empower underprivileged youth through sports while providing mentorship and educational opportunities for life skills and character development. Through this development, KAMS encourages youth to love others, dream big, be passionate, embrace confidence, have fun, and excel in the game of life.

KAMS program works with youth to provide opportunities to learn life skills while empowering them with tools for character development. Affirmation and mentorship are also focused on in order to help youth grow interpersonally, emotionally and intellectually while building self confidence and self awareness. The program involves helping youth achieve competencies involved in the social and emotional learning process. KAMS’ team spends time with youth, educating and providing them with four core ideals and providing resources to aid in their development. The learning process is facilitated through a hands-on, experiential learning environment that involves activities and the game of soccer.

Our Mission

Kams Foundation aims to affirm and empower underprivaledged youth through sports while providing mentorship and educational opportunities for life skills and character development. Through this development, Kams encourages youth to love others, dream big, be passionate, embrace confidence, have fun, and excel in the game of live.

Our Core Values

Kams Foundation programming works with youth to provide opportunities to learn life skills while empowering them with tools for character development. Affirmation aim to help youth grow interpersonally, emotionally and intellectually while building self confidence and self awareness.

Affirmation

We believe that affirmations have the power to create a story within a child. Children are continuously wiring their brain and molding their behaviors based on their environment, which eventually leads to their belief system. Affirmations are a powerful tool of building a positive mind within a child, bringing self-confidence into their belief system, so that if their belief is challenged, the affirmation defeats the challenge. Self-confidence affects a child’s ability to learn and participate in school. Self-confidence promotes positive social, emotional and physical growth; it drives relationships and empowers them to achieve their dreams and goals. Affirmations provide positive foundations for children from which to grown on.

MENTORSHIP

Mentoring has the power to create a positive change in youth. Youth with mentors have higher rates of high school graduation and are less likely to drop out of school. Studies show that behavior, attitudes and relationships improve when a youth has a mentor. According to MENTOR, The National Mentoring Partnership, youth at risk that had a mentor were 55% more likely to enroll in college; 78% more likely to volunteer regularly; and 130% more likely to hold leadership positions.

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

We believe character is defined by a range of attitudes, motivations, behaviors, and skills. The importance of helping youth build character strength (i.e. optimism, curiosity, social intelligence, self- control); cultivating good character; promotes healthy development and well-being, and acts as a buffer against potential developmental risk factors. For example, giving youth tools to build their curiosity leads to their openness to become inspired, enthused and motivated among other traits. KAMS takes time to work with youth by fostering youth to be motivated, believe in success and provide opportunities to engage in moral action.

LIFE SKILLS

In everyday life, we face challenges and an ever-changing environment. We want to help youth deal effectively with these challenges and have the character tools to adapt to change. The more these life skills are developed, the more these affect and have the ability to benefit the world in which we live. Through experiential learning, youth learn about sharing with others, the responsibility of respect, critical thinking and problem solving, listening, communication, positive thinking, and more.

KAMS Foundation is rooted in the 5 Competencies of Emotional Intelligence (as defined by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning known as CASEL) and is referred to as Social and Emotional Learning (SEL):

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence (EI) refers to the ability to perceive, control and evaluate emotions. Emotional Quotient (EQ) is a measure of a person’s adequacy in such areas as self-awareness, empathy, and dealing sensitively with other people and their emotions. A solid research based foundation stresses the importance EI plays in the life of every individual. Research supports the idea that emotional intelligence can be taught and developed (Brackett, Rivers, Reyes, & Salovey, 2010b).

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)

SEL refers to the process of integrating thinking, feeling, and behaving in order to become aware of the self and of others, make responsible decisions, and manage one’s own behaviors (Elias et al., 1997). SEL programming offers a unified and coordinated approach that targets a broad spectrum of positive youth outcomes that extend into lifelong success (Greenberg Real., 2003). A growing body of research links SEL to improved attitudes about school, prosocial behavior, and academic achievement, and reductions in aggression, mental health problems, and substance use (Durham et al., 2011;Greenberg et al., 2003; Zins, Weissberg, Wang, & Walberg, 2004).

5 Core Competencies

Self-Awareness refers to

Youth are able to recognize their emotions, describe their interests and values, and accurately assess their strengths.

Self-Management refers to

Youth are able to recognize their emotions, describe their interests and values, and accurately assess their strengths.

Youth are able to regulate their emotions by managing stress, controlling impulses, and persevering to overcome obstacles.

Social Awareness

Youth are able to take the perspective of and empathize with others and recognize and appreciate individual and group similarities and differences.

Responsible Decision Making

Youth are able to demonstrate responsible decision making and make good choices at school, at home, and in the community.

Relationship Skills

Youth can establish and maintain healthy and rewarding relationships based on cooperation.

KAMS Foundation will utilize the SAFE approach to implementing an effective SEL program.

The SAFE Approach

– Sequenced: Connected and coordinated activities to foster skills development.

– Active: Active forms of learning to help students master new skills and attitudes.

– Focused: A component that emphasizes developing personal and social skills.

– Explicit: Targeting specific social and emotional skills.

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