LEAVEN PROGRAM
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Mission Statement
Leaven Kids provides a platform for adult volunteers with strong ties to their local community to mentor, tutor, enrich—and ultimately empower at-risk children to find health, happiness, success, and stability in their own lives. We currently operate two dozen after school tutoring centers in Northern and Southern California. Our sites are located in or near low-income/at-risk communities within dense networks of low-income apartment housing where crime rates are high and no out-of-school opportunities exist for local children, we are open after school, throughout the summer, and even some mornings. Students involved in our program show an greater interest to learn in the classroom, improved class behavior and participation, are more apt to lead classroom activities, and show considerable improvements in reading and math skills—with some students improving by 2 grade levels in a matter of months.
About This Cause
Leaven Kids provides the community with a way to significantly impact the lives of at-risk and underperforming children in critically underserved neighborhoods. We began in 2009 with 1 volunteer-run tutoring center in Fairfield, CA. We now serve over 500 students each week. We are steadily growing, opening 1-3 new centers each year in Northern California, Southern California, and Texas. We establish program centers directly in dense, low-income housing complexes, in neighborhoods where children are most at-risk of truancy and dropping out of school, substance abuse, crime, and gang activity. The Leaven Kids model targets elementary-aged students (primarily Kindergarten – 5th grade) in a proactive effort to prevent negative behavior and intervene in the lives of at-risk youth before problems these problems have already occurred. Over 80% of students are from racial and ethnic minorities (40% Black/African American and 40% Hispanic), and reside in low to moderate-income (LMI) families—with over 50% extremely low-income. Leaven Kids’ daily programs consist of several segments within an average two-hour after-school session. Students begin working with tutors and completing homework assignments, coupled with review and strengthening of skills learned during the school day. Students then transition to a reading segment – consisting of individual, group, and tutor/student reading components. Students then receive a nutritious snack and move into an active/recreation segment to complete the session. Both the snack and recreation segments include healthy eating/active living (HEAL) activities and lessons, with a different HEAL theme each day. What is unique about this program is that Leaven Kids does not act as a stand-alone after-school program, opening and closing the doors from 3 to 5 pm. We become a fixture in the neighborhoods served, offering—in addition to after-school tutoring—weekend and summer/winter break educational programs, family-inclusive programs that empower parents to take a more active role in their children’s studies, and family-based events.