Walk through the halls after school at PS 102 in East Harlem or PS 536 in The Bronx and you will hear the sound of kids laughing, writing music, reciting poetry, dancing, and taking acting classes. Thankfully, Variety the Children’s Charity of New York made this possible.
Thousands of New York City children are left alone every day after school. Studies show that the hours between 3-6 PM are the highest for incidents of juvenile crime. The National Summer Learning Association shows that “more than half of the achievement gap between lower- and higher-income youth can be explained by unequal access to summer learning opportunities.”
However, after school programs and summer camps help reverse those trends. Parents around New York City demand consistent, reliable after school and summer programs because the negative traits can have lifelong effects. When programs provide enrichment activities, such as the arts, literacy and character building, the benefits increase even further.
Kids Creative After School and Summer programs provide participants, primarily from lower income families in New York City with important learning opportunities at times when school is not in session. Our students and teachers create original musical plays together, making friends, building community and gaining skills that will last a lifetime.
The summer of 2014 marks our 15th anniversary. We attribute our longevity as an organization to our unique peace education mission, using the creative and performing arts to establish a safe space, physically and mentally, for children to learn and grow. Through important lessons in conflict resolution and collaboration, we develop the next generation of peacemakers, world shapers and professional artists.
It is hard to believe that 15 years ago, in 2000, our founders Adam and Stephen Jacobs ran their first summer camp in a studio apartment with 12 campers. In 2014, Kids Creative will serve over 1,000 children from all over the New York metro area, with 4 summer programs, 10 after school programs and scores of workshops and professional developments at camps, schools and even companies.
Kids Creative has grown in popularity so much that in 2013, the Kids Creative Summer Camp was voted “Most Awesome Camp” by popular vote on the national family blog Red Tricycle. We are excited and feel the challenge to live up to this honor.
As we have learned over the last 15 years, consistency is one of the most essential aspects of a solid education and Variety The Children’s Charity of New York has helped us remain a consistent presence at PS 102 and PS 536. Thanks to Variety’s founding support of our after school program at PS 536 in The Bronx in 2011 and 2012, Kids Creative was able to secure a Federal 21st Century Community Learning Center grant and grow our pilot after school class with 20 children to a full service after school and summer program serving 520 participants—an increase of 2,600%!!! Once we secured that funding stream, Variety shifted their focus to save the Kids Creative After School program at PS 102 in East Harlem, which has enrolled 80 students since 2008 and was in danger of not operating this school year without their help.
For more information about Kids Creative and our 15th Anniversary plans, visit us at www.kidscreative.org.