Humanitarian, Motivational Speaker

Jim Tuman gives credit to Scarsdale High School for setting him on the road to serve humanity.  In his words, “It was there that I met people with a sense of social conscience.”

After Scarsdale High, Jim attended Michigan State University and graduated with a degree in sociology. A short experience working for a few Fortune 500 companies convinced him that working on Wall Street wasn’t his style. Then came a stint as a clown in the circus, a rock group roadie, a rodeo rider and a cake decorator. All of this is preface to his real calling, Jimmy’s Kids. From helping 22 kids at the Dewey School in Detroit have a Merry Christmas to today when Jimmy’s Kids reach over 2,000,000 students in over 1300 schools, Tuman’s vision is writ large. He also dreams of collecting 60,200 toys. And no one accuses him of being either a part of the right wing or left wing conspiracy.

Tuman gets wonderful publicity wherever he goes. He has been on Oprah. He has appeared on ABC, CBS and NBC News. The print media has reported on him as well. He has been featured in Newsweek, USA Today, The Chicago Sun-Times, The Washington Post and The New York Times.

Tuman has worked in famine camps in Ethiopia and in the U.S., where hurricanes have nearly destroyed an entire landscape. He has addressed student groups about gangs, student violence, and teen suicide. This year he was named Detroit News “Michiganian of the Year.” Not a bad honor for a man who has spent his whole life in service.