Mount Vernon–based charity Alice’s Kids recently got a little star-power boost. And it was all thanks to a viral video from a longtime supporter — actor and comedian Steve Carell.
The nonprofit’s executive director, Ron Fitzsimmons, asked Carell — who played Michael Scott in The Office — to help him make a big announcement. Carell created a video telling 800 Los Angeles–area high school students that their prom tickets would be paid for in partnership with Alice’s Kids. The students lived in areas affected by this year’s deadly wildfires.
The announcement from the actor went viral.
“I think everyone was ready for a feel-good story,” Fitzsimmons says. “I don’t know how you define viral, but it was everywhere.”
Carell and his wife, Nancy, have been involved with the charity since they contributed a “very, very nice donation,” years ago, Fitzsimmons says.
“When I saw the name Nancy Carell, it didn’t register, so I passed it on to my assistant,” Fitzsimmons says. “She asked if I knew who she was, and I said her name sounded familiar and she replied that [Nancy] was Steve’s wife.”
Fitzsimmons sent an email to thank the Carells, and established a relationship with Nancy. They’re now in touch regularly.
How Alice’s Kids Began
Fitzsimmons started Alice’s Kids almost 15 years ago. He was raised by a single mother and the family struggled financially. Fitzsimmons often had to wear the same tattered sweater five days in a row and his mother couldn’t afford fees for field trips. But Fitzsimmons and his sister Laura would reminisce about how, despite their hardships, their mother, Alice, would always try to make the duo feel good about themselves.
“Every once in a while, my mom would go out and pick up some extra work. And she’d come home all excited and announce that we were going shopping for a new shirt, new sneakers, or the new Beatles record,” Fitzsimmons says. “She lifted us as much as she could.”
Fitzsimmons went on to become a substitute teacher in Fairfax County. One day, he saw a girl crying in the corner of the classroom. When he asked the other students why the girl was upset, they told him she couldn’t afford to purchase a yearbook. Fitzsimmons walked downstairs and paid for the yearbook for the student.
He then started talking to other teachers and asking whether they paid for things for their students. They mentioned they had paid for many items over the years, including school supplies and graduation caps and gowns.
“I called my sister and said I had an idea,” he says. “I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life at that point, so we started our charity.”
Alice’s Kids began at Mount Vernon High School, starting out on a small scale. Then in 2019, a Washington Post columnist wrote a story about the charity. “Overnight, we become a national charity, because we started getting requests from teachers and social workers from all across the country,” Fitzsimmons says. “We’re a $1.2 million dollar charity now.”
Feature image of Alice Fitzsimmons, Laura Fitzsimmons, and Ron Fitzsimmons, courtesy of Alice’s Kids.
