Hi,
As we say good-bye to another successful summer, we hope you will join us in celebrating the launch of our 14th year of after-school programming! With a new program location, new and returning students, new social entrepreneurial opportunities, and much more, this fall brings us many reasons to celebrate!
JO Wilson Elementary:
In alignment with our strategic priority to deepen our impact in each neighborhood we serve, we’re thrilled to launch our largest program school site to date--serving 150 students at J.O. Wilson Elementary in Northeast DC! Staff and students have had a great time getting to know one another, as one staff member said: “The students were really excited to meet Kid Power staff and begin to form those lasting bonds. I think it’s going to be a great year!”
Smiling Students: Perhaps what we’re most excited about this fall is the enthusiasm of Kid Power students to start a new school year. While we continue to expand our services, we remain committed to long term student growth. As Kid Power students return year after year, we take great pride in seeing them take on leadership roles in the classroom. And, thanks to their feedback last year, we have incorporated increased opportunities for field trips, enrichment clubs, gardening, and yes, more homework help!
Fall Planting: Students are thrilled to get back in their gardens and are already busy planting a leafy greens-filled fall harvest! And, we’re excited to expand our social entrepreneurial VeggieTime activities by launching school-based markets in partnership with Cultivate the City! This fall, JO Wilson students will sell their produce once a week after-school and donate a portion of the proceeds to fund service projects in their school community. Stay tuned to learn more about these school-based markets and Kid Power’s plans to help students expand them to more sites this spring!
With all of these exciting developments, we hope you will join us in celebrating with great food and great friends at the 4th Annual Taste of the Garden!
We’re just 8 DAYS AWAY from the Taste of the Garden on Thursday, September 29th! Don’t miss out on a great opportunity to meet Kid Power students, staff, and fellow supporters at our rooftop fundraiser.
Kid Power students will team up with professional chefs Robert Wood, Jan Van Haute, and Brendan Tharpe for a cook off featuring garden produce!
Enjoy this friendly competition along with rooftop views of the monuments, delicious appetizers & an open bar, and the great company of Kid Power students, staff, and friends! Tickets still available here.
We hope to see you there!
Hi
For far too many DC youth, the summer can mean unstructured time that leads to summer learning loss and weight gain. That's why we’re so grateful to all our supporters who helped ensure that over 200 youth from all across the District had the opportunity to participate in hands-on academics taught by DCPS teachers, cooking and gardening activities, and even a social entrepreneurial business project. Read more about Kid Power’s 2016 Summer Leadership Academy below and meet some of these inspiring young people at our 4th Annual Taste of the Garden event on September 29th!
All About Pickle Power!
“I thought all pickles tasted like dill pickles, and I don’t like those. But in Pickle Power I learned you can make pickles different ways and they taste different. Ours taste awesome.”
This summer, Kid Power students incorporated their business, culinary, and service-learning skills through Pickle Power!
First, students learned about flavor profiles by sampling a variety of pickles, then they teamed up to create their own original pickle recipes. With recipes in hand, students went to SuperFd Catering’s professional kitchen (thanks to Kid Power Board Member- Chef Robbie Wood!) to make their own pickles using fresh, locally sourced ingredients. And they made over 500 jars of their 8 different recipes!!
Next, these aspiring entrepreneurs pitched their business and marketing plans to a panel of “Shark Tank” judges. They discussed their logo designs and slogans, net and gross profits, and which charity they wanted to donate their proceeds to. [READ MORE]
Wondering where you can get your jar of Kid Power pickles? Look no farther than Kid Power’s Taste of the Garden…
Join Kid Power friends, families, and students for the 4th Annual Taste of the Garden on Thursday, September 29th from 6 – 9 pm
at the Hyatt Place Hotel National Mall!
Kid Power students will team up with local celebrity chefs for a cook off of epic proportions to see who is truly the District's Champion of Health as judged by YOU our guests! Chefs to be announced!
Enjoy this friendly competition along with rooftop views of the monuments, delicious appetizers & an open bar, and the great company of Kid Power students and supporters.
Early bird tickets on sale NOW until August 25th here! Don't miss out!
Civics in Action at the Capitol!
Kid Power middle school students saw their Citizenship Project lessons on government and civics in action as they toured the US Capitol Building! They demonstrated their knowledge of the three branches of government and the role of the legislature, while learning more about the legislative process on the Senate floor and the history of the Capitol building.
Making Summer Recreation Educational
The summer, of course, is a time for kids to be kids, which is why Kid Power includes plenty of fun, recreational field trips throughout the Summer Leadership Academy. However, these field trips still provide a perfect platform for hands-on summer learning. For example, before a recent field trip to the water park, students learned about the basic physics of water slides by designing their own. They had to determine how to build a slide, what makes a slide safe, and what makes some slides faster than others through trial and error with angles, slope, height, depth, and width. By the time they hit the water park, students were quite eager to put their hypotheses to the test!
At Kid Power, we believe that active learning grounded in real world experiences helps young people stay truly engaged in the learning process, and ultimately reach their academic goals.
Hi,
From planting to service-learning, it has been a busy spring here at Kid Power!
Global Youth Service Day
This April, Kid Power students joined tens of thousands of young people across the world when they led service-learning projects to improve their communities. April 15th marked Global Youth Service Day, an international day coordinating and celebrating youth-led service. As part of Kid Power's Citizenship Project, students led a variety of projects including campus clean ups and beautification efforts to make their school grounds cleaner, safer, and more environmentally friendly!
When asked if he enjoyed Global Youth Service Day, 5th grader Juan said, “Well, service isn’t the most fun activity we do at Kid Power, but I feel better for doing it. I feel better when I help other people. It’s the right thing to do.”
Youth Advocacy
“The annual share of funding for out-of-school time programs has declined by 60% since 2010. As a result, only one quarter of the locally-funded slots exist now for community-based afterschool and summer learning that were available to kids just six years ago…” These sobering statistics come from our partners at the DC Alliance of Youth Advocates as we learn that a long-time local government funder and partner of Kid Power—the DC Children and Youth Investment Trust—will be closing its doors. To learn more about this situation, see DCAYA’s full story here.
Therefore, this budget season at the DC City Council, it is more important than ever to advocate for critical youth programming. Kid Power students, parents, and staff members are applying their civics knowledge to advocate on behalf of underserved youth throughout the District to ensure that they continue to have access to the services they need most.
Kid Power students and parents have written letters to City Council explaining the importance of after-school programming to them. Here are a few of their reasons:
"I've always wanted to be a scientist and an excellent mathematician. In life, I want to live the 'American Dream' and I think that Kid Power will be part of helping me live up to that."
"I have learned about citizenship, the bill of rights, and to never give up while being in Kid Power."
"When I grow up I want to be a doctor so I can help people who are sick. Kid Power can help me achieve my goal by helping me become great at school."
Beyond helping to ensure that the programs that mean the most to them are funded, this advocacy provides Kid Power students with the opportunity to apply the civic engagement knowledge that they have learned in Kid Power’s Citizenship Project to real life experiences and helps them to see that their words and actions have a real impact.
Volunteer Opportunities
Are you looking for service opportunities? Interested in becoming a mentor? Is your company looking for an organization to partner with for a day of service? Volunteers are crucial to the work we do and to helping Kid Power youth accomplish their academic, health, and civic goals. We have a variety of volunteer opportunities available. Please contact our Community Outreach Coordinator This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to learn more about how you can get involved!
Central to Kid Power’s core philosophy, many aspects of these garden beds are youth led. Applying their environmental and agricultural knowledge to the 3,548 sq. ft. of garden space in their care, students have decided to plant purple cauliflower, rainbow carrots, squash, strawberries, and more delicious fruits and veggies!
