SCHOOL-BASED PROGRAMS
Kids for Kids Intro (2nd-3rd Grade)
The Kids for Kids Intro is a literacy-based program for 2nd–3rd graders. It consists of eight in-depth sessions where kids explore what it means to help others and ourselves.
Each session is tailored around a different children’s book, such as Lubna and Pebble, Just Ask, or Strictly No Elephants. By centering our lessons around these stories, it allows us to have conversations with kids in a heartfelt and engaging way. Kids learn that everyone has their own story to tell, that their voices matter, and even little gestures can make a big difference. By reading and sharing, they build their curiosity, empathy, and desire to help others.
Schools where this program has taken place have reported that this was an "absolutely fantastic" program, with "great books", "easy to follow" messaging, and "led to great conversations.”
Kids for Kids Fund (3-5th graders)
Our flagship program, the Kids for Kids Fund offers a dynamic civic experience for 3rd–5th graders to develop their philanthropic identity and capacity over the course of eight hands-on sessions. The Kids for Kids Fund is run through schools, camps, and other community partners.
During this experiential journey, we focus on building an empathetic connection to the needs of others, exploring compassionate solutions to issues facing our communities, and putting our philanthropic capacities into practice. The sessions range from exploring the rights of all children and perspective-taking about different social issues, to learning about great local solutions in their community. The program culminates in each school group determining how to allocate $1,000 to a local kid-serving non-profit. Past grantees of the $1,000 grant have included Best Kids, Tracy's Kids, Children's Homeless Playtime Project, Only Make Believe, Project Create, Great and Small, Bright Beginnings, KEEN DC, DC Diaper Bank, Kids in Need Distributors, and many more.
More about our flagship program can be found by listening to the Urban Institute podcast episode Teaching Kids How to Give, and by reading "Children are Undiscovered Community Assets" in the eJournal of Public Affairs out of Missouri.
Service Learning Workshop
The Service Learning Workshop (SLW) is an experiential curriculum to get 5th-8th graders on the path to impactful and meaningful service learning and civic engagement. Throughout 8 sessions, students explore their unique philanthropic strengths and concerns while building stronger and empathetic connections to social issues.
The goals of this evidence-based, field-informed program are to:
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nurture students' philanthropic agency and intrinsic motivation to help others.
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help students create an individualized response to the issues that care about
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develop empathy towards social issues and each other
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strengthen critical thinking skills (finding and evaluating issue and solutions)
During the program, students explore their own unique story and build empathic connections to social issues through reflection, stories, and engaging activities. This year we are introducing a role playing game, Steps to Good, which reinforces pro-social behaviors and the everyday practice of helping people around us. The program culminates in students pitching ideas to school and community leadership for how to strengthen their school community.