ABOUT CLIFF AND MELISSA

Cliff and Melissa Kinsey are honored to be part of Vibe 2019. They have been married for 5 years and between them they have 4 adult children (Corey, Casey, Jessica and Tyler) and two rescued dogs (Rocky and Curry). Cliff was born and raised in Georgia and Melissa grew up in western Pennsylvania. Family time with their children and their furry kids rank as first priority. Cliff is CEO and co-founder of Children's Restoration Network, a non-profit organization that provides direct service programs with an emphasis on education and special events to homeless children and homeless mothers with children living in group homes and shelters in Metro Atlanta. Launching Children's Restoration Network in 1993 at the age of 23, the organization began providing coats and blankets and weekly meals to one shelter in Atlanta that housed around 120 women and children each night. As word spread and the handful of volunteers continued to grow, so did CRN.

Currently, the organization works with over 6,000 homeless children each year residing in shelters and group homes throughout 19 metro counties. Cliff's favorite CRN program is the New Hope Scholarship program that provides college, trade and technical school scholarships to high school seniors living in shelters and group homes. In 2018, Children's Restoration Network had a remarkable year to celebrate its 25 year history of service to the community. In total, CRN distributed approximately 7,000 new and filled book bags to homeless students during our Back 2 School campaign, over 140,000 pounds of food was distributed for Thanksgiving, more than 6,000 dedicated volunteers logged over 39,000 hours of service, and over 25,000 new toys and gifts were wrapped and personalized for our 12 Days of Caring campaign.

In addition, CRN conducts weekly tutoring and quarterly career workshops for homeless mothers and older teens. The scope and breadth of the organization has a wide blanket of supportive services from educational programs to providing typical childhood experiences, as we believe that every child deserves a childhood. Children's Restoration Network has an amazing Board of Directors as well as an Advisory Board that is made up of community and business leaders dedicated to the plight of homelessness in our community.

Prior to dedicating himself full-time to start Children's Restoration Network, Cliff worked as a paramedic in the Atlanta area. During free time, he loves playing chess, swimming, video games and eating his wife's cooking. Melissa volunteers at CRN and is CEO of the Kinsey household. Melissa earned her degree in elementary education from Clarion University of Pennsylvania and taught first and second grade for several years, prior to becoming a full-time mother when her children were young.Now, she is often the "face of CRN" and is the first person you see entering the CRN office. When not working, Cliff and Melissa enjoy traveling to the beach, taking cruise vacations and watching their favorite NFL team, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Although more comfortable dancing freestyle in their own living room, the Kinsey's will try to leave all that they got on the dance floor and are grateful for the opportunity!