Kristin King

An important part of the Piqua Community Foundation’s mission is to help donors reach their goals for charitable giving. The Foundation’s Little Kinger Fund was established with one goal in mind – to assist young women who participate in competitive athletics. Founder, Piqua’s own Kristin King Wright, won a bronze medal as a member of the US Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey team in the 2006 Winter Games in Torino, Italy, scoring a goal in the semi-final game. The fund bears Kristin’s hockey nickname “Little Kinger”.

Kristin knows the positive impact athletics have had upon her life, in spite of many challenges. It was difficult and expensive to find genuine opportunities to practice and to participate in organized competition against other females. A multiple-sport athlete in her high school and college years, Kristin’s heart’s desire was to give something back to athletics – and give back to her hometown – by helping to provide opportunities for others.

Kristin’s fund was established in 2006, almost immediately after the Olympics. Kristin, a graduate student at that time, was financially unable to fund this new endeavor. A group of her family, friends and supporters organized a fund-raising event with Kristin and several of her Olympic teammates in attendance, and raised enough to start the fund.

Proceeds from the Little Kinger fund are dispersed in two ways: currently an annual scholarship is awarded to an area girl with outstanding scholarship and leadership traits who will participate in intercollegiate athletics at a 4-year institution. When growth in the fund permits, grants will be made to schools and other organizations for girls’ athletic teams to help young women develop skills and knowledge of their sport. Because the fund is set up as an endowment, the scholarships and grants from the Little Kinger Fund will be distributed to many worthy female athletes and athletic programs in years to come.