As America commemorates Workers Memorial Day on April 28 – a day to honor those who lost their lives on the job – a Kids’ Chance scholarship recipient is sharing her story of how the nonprofit is helping students like her overcome challenges following a parent’s work-related injury or death.
Bailey Burchett, a Kids’ Chance scholarship recipient and one of its three 2026 national ambassadors, is sharing her story to raise awareness of how the nonprofit helps children overcome the lasting impact of a parent’s work-related injury or death.
Burchett’s future was thrown into uncertainty the summer before her senior year of college, when her father was killed in a workplace explosion. At the time, she was already carrying student loans, and her father had been helping bridge the financial gap needed to complete her degree.
“I started searching scholarship databases, hoping to find something that would allow me to stay in school,” she recalled.
That search led her to Kids’ Chance, a national network of nonprofits that provides scholarships to children of workers critically or fatally injured on the job.
Rebuilding through education
With a scholarship and support from Kids’ Chance of Kansas, Burchett was able to complete her bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in supply chain management from the University of Kansas School of Business. She went on to earn an MBA with a concentration in management from the University of Saint Mary in 2022.
Now living in Chicago, Burchett has built a successful career as a senior business intelligence developer, using data and storytelling to support informed decision-making across organizations. As a Kids’ Chance national ambassador, she hopes to raise awareness of the availability of scholarships and help other students impacted by a parent’s injury or death.
“I hope to use my story to generate support for students like me, whose families have been impacted by workplace tragedy,” she said. “I also want to contribute to the amazing sense of community that defines Kids’ Chance. I want to help foster a community that will support students for many generations to come.”
How you can help
Every day, 15 U.S. workers are killed on the job and thousands more suffer catastrophic injuries. Workers Memorial Day serves as a reminder not only of those lost, but of the families—and especially the children—who must navigate the aftermath.
Here’s how you can help:
Refer a child
Kids’ Chance of America’s Planning for the Future initiative maintains a national database of children eligible for scholarships. To refer the child of a critically or fatally injured worker, complete the one-page online form at:
https://pff.kidschance.org
Make a donation
Help students like Bailey build brighter futures by making a tax-deductible donation to Kids’ Chance in your state:
https://www.kidschance.org/donate/kcoa
