Submitted by David M. Torrence, President of KP Cares Foundation Inc.
I once heard a quote that says, “Change occurs when ideas pivot to execution.” With that said, my story is one of pivoting. It starts as a young man falling in love with sports like most boys from underserved communities. Thus, during my adolescence my dream was to play collegiately and, if possible, professionally. I entered my junior year as a star basketball player ready to earn my notoriety. Unfortunately, my dreams of sports were derailed by being diagnosed with a heart disorder leading to me having open heart surgery.
It was at this point that life introduced me to my first pivot. I had to pivot my purpose and vision to a new place. It was a difficult thing to do at such a young age. I developed what I call PTSD (Post Traumatic Sports disorder); not knowing what to do with my life outside of sports. From this point on my journey has been one of realigning my faith and finding my purpose and vision. After attending college, starting multiple businesses, and being blessed with mentors, my biggest pivot came in 2019 where I started my nonprofit and developed my skill of investing.
From there I have been standing in my purpose as a philanthropist educating my community on using investing as a sustainability model for building generational wealth. The journey has been fulfilling because pivoting is scary and initially paralyzing but to be steadfast and make it through the ups and downs gives me the confidence to see true regardless of appearance.
So, let’s switch gears a bit and go into the KP Cares Foundation. Tell us more about the nonprofit.
KP Cares Foundation Inc. is a youth development organization located in South Florida. Our mission is aimed to provide motivational and educational resources to communities. This is built through collaboration and hosting forums and seminars. KP Cares has hosted multiple in-person and hybrid seminars with attendees spanning globally from the United States all the way to Africa and the United Kingdom.
In addition, KP Cares has created a way to help prepare and equip parents with the proper resources needed to initiate their child’s learning of investing.
This is done through our #1 product the “Stock Market Activity”: A resource for elementary age students to get early exposure to various investing concepts.
What makes this book revolutionary is the age group we are servicing. In 2017, a study by the Association of Home and Community Services revealed that there is a significant difference in performance-cognitive ability between students who have pre-exposure to education and those who do not. Most investing education skip elementary and direct most resources to middle and high school. KP Cares Stock Market Activity Book is intended for exposure at a young age using storytelling, coloring, pictures, math, puzzles and games. We find that using traditional games and relevant storytelling with new concepts allows early childhood education of investing to be easily digested.
Most recently, in 2021 KP Cares launched the “Talented Tenth” (coined after WEB Dubois) program co-founded by Mrs. Sharon Hughes. Talented Tenth is a three-to-four-year mentoring program for 10 hand selected high school students. Participants establish professional development through experiential learning and learn financial sustainability through investing in the stock market.
This program was created to make a generational impact. KP Cares understands that the impact is not built with one-time workshops but through the consistent inspiration, motivation, and education.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
The key quality I believe to be essential for success is being able to think bigger and identify: What is freedom for oneself? When that question can be answered, a road map is started to find out what freedom is personally worth. Once you understand what your freedom is worth, you must decide what you are willing to give up for it. Therefore, the map to reaching success is created through the exploration of understanding the dynamics of freedom and the quality of thinking bigger.
What is something we don’t know about David or KP Cares?
One thing you may not know about KP cares is that this year is the launch of our “Youth Master Investee” program. This is a 12-week investing program that will be made available to Broward and Dade County schools and organizations. This program will complement the Dorothy L. Hukill bill put in place by the Florida Governor. We know that all students will not be accepted in Talented Tenth, and we wanted to offer the knowledge and resources to other students yearning to be educated. We believe in investing in the future and there is no future without our young people. Therefore, our greatest return on investment is the investment that our youth make in themselves.
To conclude, many do not know that the President of KP Cares David M. Torrence is an empowering public speaker. Drawing from his personal experiences: investing, surviving open heart surgery, struggling in personal life, and various other obstacles, David’s life story allows him to connect with others and offer insight into pivoting within a career, education, and industries.
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