THE KIEFER PROJECT
"Becasue people are worth the investment"
THE MISSION
The COOLTABLE FOUNDATION exists to provide training and mentoring resources to under-served youth programs to ensure every child has a safe environment to know their value, discover their potential, and live with purpose.
THE VISION
By providing training and mentoring resources, we will INSPIRE and UNITE youth programs to TRANSFORM their circles of influence resulting in stronger families and communities and a brighter future for generations to come.
OUR STORY
The COOLTABLE concept started back in 2000 when Chris Kiefer, one of our founders, was working at a summer camp program. He was having a casual conversation with some camp workers about the “cool table” known to school lunch cafeterias. The group concluded that they should start their own cool table where everyone is welcomed and valued.
In the years following, Kiefer, as he was known by his colleagues, had worked this new cooltable concept into many after-school and summer camp programs where he worked.
Fast forward to 2013, he and his family began Cooltable Saturday Mornings where they ran a free children’s camp in the local community. The camp was geared towards character development, life skills, and common respect all while having massive fun.
The following year, a twelve-lesson character development curriculum was created and used in a local elementary school as a morning mentoring program. Chris and Shante Kiefer, along with a team of amazing volunteers, used before-school hours to meet with students to bring a camp-like atmosphere of learning to school.
The program focused on three modules: VALUE. POTENTIAL. PURPOSE. The goal was to ensure every student that they and their peers possessed each of those qualities. The morning mentoring program continued in the school for four extremely successful years and birthed other initiatives like a lunch buddy and reading buddy program that connected community officials with school needs.
In 2019, with a mission to further the reach of the COOLTABLE concept THE COOLTABLE FOUNDATION was formed, and the morning mentoring curriculum was rebranded as 3 Start Students™.
Knowing that the message of value, potential, and purpose needed to go beyond the walls of the local elementary school and into the community organizations and families of the world, THE COOLTABLE FOUNDATION set out with three new words UNITE. INSPIRE. TRANSFORM. And here we are today.
OUR FOUNDERS
Chris Kiefer
Chris has been working with children and youth for over 20 years in various settings from sports camps to youth ministry to afterschool settings to community and school programs. He has held the title of Director in many of these areas. He has a passion to inspire other leaders to be positive role models for youth. When he is not investing in the next generation, you can find him spending time with his family, enjoying nature, or working on creative projects that lend way to the use of his love and gift of humor.
Shante Kiefer
Shante has also been working with children and youth for over 20 years. In addition to working in similar settings as Chris and holding both Director and Assistant Director positions, she has written character development curriculum and been instrumental in developing programming for the various organizations in which she served. When she is not investing in the next generation, you can find her enjoying time with family, chasing sunsets, in thoughtful discussions about world issues, or writing books and resources for you.
Together Chris and Shante run Big Circle Training and Development where they get to lead organizations in fun and impactful Team Development Camps. In addition to their business, they host a podcast: Two Parents and a Microphone. They make it clear that they are not gods or gurus; just two parents with a microphone sharing raw and sometimes hilarious conversations about life and parenting.
