How The Kind Mouse Began: Gina Wilkins Said Yes to a Hungry Child 14 Years Ago

Most people hear about a problem and feel bad about it. They share a post, maybe donate a little, and then get back to their lives. That's not a criticism, it's just human nature.

Gina Wilkins did something different.

About 14 years ago, Gina,  an architectural draftsman whose firm was feeling the weight of a struggling economy, limping along in the aftermath of the financial crash, heard something that stopped her cold. There might be hungry children in her own backyard. Not far away. Not on a news report about a distant city.

Right here. In her community.

She didn't write a check and moved on. She didn't share a post and felt like she'd done something. She said yes, to showing up, to getting her hands dirty, to doing whatever it took to make sure a child in her community didn't go to bed hungry.

That single yes changed everything.

What Yes Actually Cost Her

Here's the part people don't always know about Gina Wilkins.

She didn't just volunteer on weekends. She didn't just write a mission statement and hire a team. She closed her drafting firm. She walked away from the career she had built, the blueprints, the clients, the income, and she gave everything to this mission.

For the first four years, she didn't collect a salary. She and her husband funded programs out of their own pocket. They donated a van. They showed up, again and again, because the children needed someone to show up, and Gina Wilkins was not willing to be the person who knew about a problem and walked away from it.

That is the foundation The Kind Mouse was built on. Not a grant. Not a marketing campaign. A woman who said yes when it cost her something real.

What 14 Years of Yes Looks Like

Today, The Kind Mouse has filled more than 1.3 million little tummies across Pinellas County.

Let that number sink in. 1.3 million meals. 1.3 million moments when a child didn't have to wonder if there was food. 1.3 million times someone showed up.

The Kind Mouse works with 11 schools and 12 afterschool programs. It runs year-round, through summers when school lunch programs stop and hunger doesn't. It has a volunteer base of more than 900 Angels of Hope, including children who pack food and visit classrooms to offer encouragement to kids who are struggling.

And at the heart of all of it, still showing up, still saying yes, is Gina Wilkins.

But Here's What Keeps Gina Up at Night

The work in Pinellas County is strong. But hunger doesn't stay inside county lines.

Just across the border, in Manatee County, 1 in 6 children face hunger or inconsistent access to food. Families are navigating rising housing costs, reduced federal food benefits, and a growing gap between need and resources. And until recently, The Kind Mouse wasn't there.

That's changing, because Gina said yes again. Thanks to the generous support of the Francis and Gertrude Levett Foundation, whose grant made a brand new van possible, The Kind Mouse is officially expanding into Manatee County. Right now, they're feeding 593 individuals every single week, through a partnership with Children's Home Society and through Empath Blue Butterfly, serving families with loved ones in hospice who are struggling to put food on the table during one of the hardest seasons of their lives. It's a start.A real, meaningful, showing-up-every-week start.

But Gina knows 593 is not the finish line.

There are children in Manatee County who don't know help exists. Families navigating language barriers, transportation gaps, and the quiet, painful weight of pride that makes asking for help feel impossible. Those are exactly the children The Kind Mouse was built to find, the ones who fall through the cracks of every other program.

The gap fillers are here. And they're just getting started.

The Question She's Asking You

Gina Wilkins said yes 14 years ago when it cost her everything she had built.

Today, she's asking you to say yes, and your yes costs a whole lot less.

$25 fuels a delivery run that gets food from the pantry to a child who needs it. $50 feeds 10 children in Manatee County for a week. $100 keeps the expansion running for seven days, food, outreach, fuel, and presence. $500 accelerates everything, new school partnerships, volunteer training, and deeper community roots.

Whatever you can give, it becomes part of the yes. Part of the 1.3 million and counting. Part of the reason a child in Manatee County wakes up tomorrow knowing that someone is coming.

Gina Wilkins said yes to a hungry child 14 years ago.

Will you say yes today?

Car Credit and Nuevo en US Partner with The Kind Mouse to Fight Hunger

At Car Credit and Nuevo en US, we believe in giving back to the community and making a meaningful impact. That's why we are proud to partner with The Kind Mouse, an incredible organization dedicated to providing hunger relief to children and families in need.

Hunger is a challenge no child should face, and The Kind Mouse is working tirelessly to ensure that children in our community have access to the meals they need to grow, learn, and thrive.

Through this partnership, we are committed to supporting their mission of feeding little tummies and bringing hope to families struggling with food insecurity.

Together, we can make a difference. Join us in supporting The Kind Mouse and creating a brighter future for those in need. Because when we come together, we can ensure that no child goes hungry