Every weekday, Kid Power works with Title I DC Public Schools to provide daily academic and enrichment programming to 425 students (99% of whom qualify for free or reduced-price lunch). But this isn’t your average after-school program. After Academic Power Hour (mentoring and tutoring with college staff and high school volunteers), a rotating series of enrichment activities focuses on building students’ civic engagement, leadership, and healthy behaviors. Urban gardens are paired with lessons in nutrition, cooking, and environmental science; history and citizenship lessons offer a real-life perspective through Kid Power Congress and service-learning projects; art classes integrate wellness principles like mindfulness and self-expression. Together with a five-week Summer Leadership Academy and monthly in-school wellness programming, Kid Power reaches 1,000 students each year. These kids will power our future. You can power them!

COVID-19 Update: When Kid Power first learned of DCPS closures, the team jumped into action, creating a series of online professional development webinars to equip staff with strategies and tools to best support youth; launching a needs-assessments with youth and families; and compiling and distributing mission-driven resources for families. Weekly phone calls, live virtual programming with feedback channels, one-to-one tutoring support, and food and supply access, give youth a sense of belonging and safety – and help make school interesting and fun.

Headquarters: DC-Ward 2

Where They Operate: DC-Citywide; DC-Ward 1; DC-Ward 2; DC-Ward 3; DC-Ward 4; DC-Ward 5; DC-Ward 6; DC-Ward 7; DC-Ward 8; Chinatown; Columbia Heights; Mt. Pleasant/Adams Morgan; Petworth; Southwest Waterfront; Trinidad; Fort Totten; Southeast Minnesota Ave.; Douglass; Lincoln Heights; Garfield Heights; Anacostia

Age Groups Served: Youth (5-11); Pre-teen/teen (12-17); Young adult (18-24)

Ethnic Groups Served: African American; Asian American; Latino/Hispanic

Population(s) Served: Students; Low- to Moderate-Income Community Members

Schools They Work In: Barnard Elementary School; Browne Education Campus; H.D. Cooke Elementary School; Houston Elementary School; Jefferson Middle School; LaSalle-Backus Education Campus; Malcolm X Elementary School; Sousa Middle School; Stanton Elementary School; Georgetown Day School; Edmund Burke School; Sidwell Friends School

Awards & Recognition

• 5 full-time AmeriCorps Service Members joined the Kid Power team through Serve DC in 2014 to support curriculum development, volunteer outreach, and VeggieTime expansion; and again had this AmeriCorps grant renewed in 2015 for 5 new Service Members.
• Kid Power was named “one of the best small charities” in the region for the third time by the 2015-2016 Catalogue for Philanthropy.
• Kid Power built our first state-of-the-art greenhouse (500 sq. feet) to expand garden learning opportunities in 2015.
• Kid Power was listed as a “Reliable Community Partner” by the Department of Wellness and Nutrition.
• Kid Power school gardens won the 2014 Best New Garden Award, 2014 Best Sustained Garden Award, and the 2013 Garden Bike Tour Award.
• The organization was featured on WAMU’s June 2014 Community Minute.
• Kid Power expanded the VeggieTime program to serve 1,200 students through in-school science lessons at Sousa MS, H.D. Cooke ES, Houston ES, Jefferson MS, and Browne EC as well as to serve 25 students at the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy weekly.
• Middle school students launched their first full youth-led hot sauce business creating, bottling, marketing, and selling their original hot sauce using the summer pepper harvest.
• The organization received 2 pro bono grants from the Taproot Foundation to implement the Salesforce database and a Board of Directors recruitment project.

Press

Budget (FY2014)

  • $3 million or higher
  • $1 million to $3 million
  • The current budget for Kid Power is: $500k to $1 million
  • Less than $500k

Catalogue charities range in size from $100,000 to $3 million. This graphic indicates the budget range of the organization featured here. If you see an organizational budget above the $3 million mark, that is because the featured charity has grown in size since it first appeared in the Catalogue. We proudly present on our website the work of these "growth" charities.

About the Catalogue for Philanthropy

Each year 120 expert reviewers evaluate applicants for distinction, merit, and impact. Each featured charity has been successfully site visited and its financials given the thumbs up. The Catalogue for Philanthropy charges no fees and raises funds separately to support its work. Since 2003, it has raised over $40 million for charities across the Greater Washington region.

The Catalogue for Philanthropy looks to friends like you to keep our services independent and entirely free of charge. Consider a small contribution to the Catalogue to cap off your gift and help the causes you care about get the full support they deserve!

If you like Kid Power you might also like