With a Little Help from my Friends (and Kids)

The other big show in town this week is also not only a benefit, but one that also supports nonprofits geared toward helping kids. It’s even in the organization’s title: Kids Helping Kids which, as it turns out, is also marking a 20th anniversary. The student-led nonprofit, which was founded in 1982 by then-San Marcos High School teacher Jamie DeVries as a project in his AP economics class (the pandemic and last year’s Palisades Fire account for the nonprofit’s three missing years) has grown to become a major event that invariably sells out the venue, even after making the leap from the Granada to the Arlington. 

What makes the concert different is that the entire thing is run by students, from promotion and marketing to all parts of production and financing. 

“We take what we’ve been taught in the classroom and apply it in real life,” explained Janelle Pryko, CEO of this year’s event, who joined up as a freshman at Providence High School the same year DeVries moved to the school in 2022 and served as stage director for the 2024 concert. “This year’s a bit different because Kids Helping Kids opened it up to schools from all over Santa Barbara to give every kid the opportunity to get involved.”

This year’s headliner at the January 10 concert is Anne Wilson, the young country and Christian music star who was born the year KHK was founded. The Lexington, Kentucky native scored instant hits with her debut album My Jesus, whose title track topped Billboard’s Christian Airplay chart while the album scored a Grammy nomination. Wilson’s last album, Rebel, boasted both a country single “Rain in the Rearview” as well as another Christian radio chart-topper called “Strong.” 

“We’re really excited to have her,” Pryko said. “She was the first artist ever to reach out to us about playing the concert, and after hearing about who she is and how much our community loves her, listening to her music and discovering how she connects with our cause, we realized she’d be perfect.” 

Also performing is Tyrone Wells, the charismatic singer-songwriter who was the opening act for the Kids Helping Kids event three times between 2009-12. 

“We’re definitely excited to have him back because he’s been a part of Kids Helping Kids since the beginning and has watched as we’ve grown,” Pryko said. 

Over the years, KHK has raised more than $3 million, a figure that will grow with the 2026 concert, when proceeds are earmarked for two different organizations. Kingdom Causes Santa Barbara’s anti-human trafficking efforts include local prevention, education, and survivor support initiatives, while Love Light + Melody is a global nonprofit that benefited from KHK students who had seen first-hand the squalid conditions in Nicaragua. The funds raised helped to build an elementary school there, and also provided housing for families living in trash dumps. 

“We’re partnering with them again to build a high school so that we can continue to impact children there,” Pryko said. “It’s a full circle moment.”

The January 10 benefit event will feature songs from two local student duos who won competitions to appear, as well as an opening appearance by Momentum Dance Company, plus student and alumni speakers, live and silent auctions, and a raffle with prizes that include a pair of VIP tickets to a World Cup match in Anaheim, all to augment the fundraising. 

“We are working to build up momentum again after all of the things that our community has gone through,” Pryko said. “But it was important not to put these causes aside. Whatever we raise will go to helping kids.”

As for Pryko, she’s already reaped a number of rewards. 

“We help out kids but also the students who are involved, through the experience we get and the way our team has grown together and reached out to the community with this chance to help others,” she said. “I’ve been going to KHK concerts since I was really little, and even then I thought it was so cool that these kids – who don’t yet have everything figured out – gave so much time and sacrificed so much just to help others. I’m grateful to be able to do that myself.”