Today we’d like to introduce you to Debbie Aquino-Padilla.
Debbie, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
With the world still feeling the effects of COVID-19, one mom took the initiative to start a program to support
the most affected children in the Florida area. Here are the details from Debbie Padilla herself.
Where does Debbie’s story begin?
I graduated from college with an English major and a minor in psychology. I’ve worked as a model since I was
young and currently own Oceanside Realty in the Bay Harbor Islands, Fl. I have a real estate broker license, but
my real passion is my charity which I founded ten years ago.
Over the past year, virtual learning showed that children need resources to help them succeed both in school
and in life. This is where Kids Helping Kids Succeed comes in. I founded it in 2012 to provide children with
mentoring, school supplies, art programs, group activities, and more.
While my work with this program has impacted the Florida community immensely, I didn’t always know I
would start a charity program like this. I started modeling at a young age and have been involved with the
industry to date. I’m originally from Brazil but moved to Italy as soon as I was old enough. There, I worked as
a showroom model and eventually started booking catwalk shows, and after two years, I moved back to Brazil
for six months.
I moved to the U.S. next and created my bikini and activewear line, continued modeling, went to college, and
became a mom then got my real estate broker’s license. When my son was in school, he had a project through
which we found out that there were nearly 50,000 children living in homeless shelters in Florida, and this was
the original inspiration behind Kids Helping Kids Succeed.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, however, things became a bit more challenging, but we did what we could,
even starting a grassroots movement to collect and deliver non-perishable items and weekly basic supplies. To
date, we’re still delivering boxes and are currently at a hundred boxes delivered to families in Kendall, Hialeah,
Bay Harbor, Miami-Dade, and Broward counties in Florida.
We all face challenges, but looking back now, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
All the work done by Kids Helping Kids Succeed depends on volunteers and donations from the community,
and we’ve made impressive fundraising efforts over the last few years. In the near future, I would love to open
my own youth center. Plans are already underway waiting for when I can raise enough funds to break ground.
What else should we know about what you do?
After I went into retirement from modeling, a friend asked me to do a campaign for him and it brought a lot of
attention to my charity work. This was four years ago, and after that, I kept working.
Finally, what do you think about luck?
I think I’m very fortunate as I can follow my passion, which is helping others.
Contact Info:
- Email: Debbie@debbieaquino.com
- Website: Debbieaquino.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/debbieaquinop?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
- Other: https://instagram.com/kidshelpingkidssucceed?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
