Letty Preston Goering

Multicultural Outreach

Letty is the founder of the 501(c)3 nonprofit Kindness Begins with Me, mother to six amazing miracles (ages 4 years to 11 years), adoption educator and advocate, soccer mom/dance mom/theatre mom, and PTA president.

Since Letty met her first refugee Afghani family at an extended-stay hotel in February of 2022, Kindness Begins With Me has served over 550 refugees of all nationalities and continues to grow rapidly. In 2024, more than 13,000 volunteer hours were logged by the more than 60 volunteers who show up every week to run programs and provide transport. Among these volunteers is a robust 50+ member youth board actively recruiting fellow university and high school students.

Weekly programs include women’s education socials, leveled English classes for the entire family (20+ simultaneous classes), and driver permit/practical driving classes. Each of these courses is impactful in enabling newly arrived immigrants with self-reliance and employability as well as combating social isolation. In particular, English classes teach an average of 150-160 refugee parents and their children every Thursday. Kindness Begins With Me’s family-centric model focuses on providing support for women who often cannot access services due to childcare and transportation barriers. Discover more at kindmestl.org.