Spotlight On

Mission:
Horton's Kids is dedicated to educating and empowering the children of Washington, DC's Ward 8 by providing comprehensive, direct services that improve the quality of their daily lives and nurture each child's desire and ability to succeed. Its over-arching goal is to partner with the children and families of Anacostia's Wellington Park neighborhood to prepare the children to be self-sufficient and productive members of society by helping them graduate from high school with math and reading skills that are on grade level.

Background:
The idea for Horton's Kids came into existence late one night in 1989, when Karin Walser, a Capitol Hill staffer, stopped at a gas station where several young children offered to pump her gas for spare change. Instead of just handing them money, she offered to take them to the zoo. Karin soon enlisted friends to join her in taking the children and others in their neighborhood on regular Sunday afternoon field trips. Out of the desire to help these children excel, Horton's Kids grew from informal field trips to an incorporated organization with weekly Tuesday night tutoring sessions in 1991. In 1993, Horton's Kids became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Then, after ten years of success with the Tuesday night tutoring program, it began Monday night tutoring in the U.S. Capitol with tutors from Capitol Hill's Congressional offices. In the fall of 2004, Horton's Kids added a third day of tutoring at the U.S. Department of Education. In April 2007, we launched our one-on-one mentoring program, matching children with responsible adults who boost their self-confidence and social skills. Currently, the organization has 134 regularly attending children, 339 volunteers and nineteen staff members. This year it is hoping to admit 75 more children from its waiting list of 125 children.

Horton's Kids is currently the only organization serving the children of Wellington Park, a housing project in Washington, D.C.'s Ward 8. Wellington Park is populated by 386 families with an average annual income of $5,556. Ninety-eight percent of the children are from single-parent homes, at least 98% qualify for free or reduced-priced lunches, and 100% receive public assistance. Frequent shootings have tragically claimed the lives of several Horton's Kids, and this violence has earned the crime-ridden neighborhood a place on the D.C. Police Department's infamous "Hot Spot" list. All of the children served by the tutoring program face extreme educational challenges. Most attend schools labeled as "under-performing," and subsequently the majority of the children have below-grade-level reading and math skills. The children's census tract has some of D.C.'s highest unemployment and high school drop-out rates, resulting in few positive educational role models in their community. Many of the children go to school tired, hungry, and distracted from the task of learning. Despite these challenges, Horton's Kids continues to work to identify and resolve obstacles such as aching teeth, weak eyes, worn-out clothing, and empty bellies so that the children are able to succeed in school.

Current Programs:
Horton's Kids provides a structured schedule of tutoring, enrichment, health, advocacy, and family support programs designed to address the academic and emotional needs of the children and their families. Horton's Kids' current activities include four days of direct services and additional support as needed, including:

• Monday and Tuesday evenings, one-on-one tutoring sessions for 115 children in the U.S. Capitol
• Wednesday after-school tutoring sessions for 40 children at the U.S. Department of Education
• Sunday afternoon field trips for 134 children
• Holiday celebrations for 58 families
• Emergency food and clothing for 58 families
• As-needed dental and eye appointments for 45 children

First established in 2004, Horton's Kids' outcomes measurement system documents the program's strong impact on children's academic achievement. From the spring to the fall of 2007, the number of children found to be "at-risk" for reading fluency failure fell from 60% to 46% while the number of children who were on grade level for reading fluency increased from 9% to 23% according to the DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) assessments. The fourth advisory period of the 2006-2007 school year showed that 97% of Horton's Kids' regularly-attending children maintained at least a "C" average or better -- up from 85% the year before. This demonstrated success has been recognized throughout the field. For example, Horton's Kids was one of Touch DC's four featured charities in 2007 and Horton's Kids received a COMPASS volunteer consulting grant in 2008 to help prepare the program for expansion and replication.

Funding Needs:
The children of Horton's Kids would benefit from general operating and program support. The organization's goal is to expand the number of children in its programs while maintaining and improving program quality. Specifically, it aims to admit 75 new children to its programs in 2008, while continuing to serve 134 regularly attending children, aged 5 through 18, and their families. By supporting Horton's Kids, you will help some of DC's most needy children receive the healthcare, educational, and other support services that they so desperately need.

The "Spotlight On" highlights the activities of a different 501(c)3 nonprofit organization serving the Metropolitan Washington, DC community. The selection of organizations for the "Spotlight On" is based on criteria such as programmatic interests, geographic focus, and size, to ensure the broadest possible representation of the region's nonprofit sector.

If you'd like to see your NPO in the "Spotlight," please use this submission form to send us a profile of your organization. Or e-mail a description of your organization, following the above format, to kmb@foundationcenter.org, with "Spotlight Submission" in the subject line.