Peace4Kids Celebrates Nine Year Anniversary

Spring is the season for new beginnings, which in turn is an invitation to look back at recent history. At Peace4Kids, this time of year is no different. As we celebrate our nine year anniversary this spring, we have thought how best to honor our past and celebrate the possibilities for our future. Some of you may be new to the world of Peace4Kids while others have been with us from the days we opened our doors. Regardless, each of you represents a unique part of the Peace4Kids story. To celebrate our anniversary and to honor the month of May, which is National Foster Care Awareness Month, I thought it would be great to take a quick walk down milestone lane to prepare us for the exciting times that lay before us.

• March 1998 – 10 Kids and 5 volunteers start the “Peace Garden” at 99th Street Elementary School in South Los Angeles. An “all volunteer” project, it is a small organic garden designed to commemorate the lives of non-violence pioneers Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.
  
  
• June 1998 - The first field trip. Realizing that most of the youth had not had experiences outside of their neighborhoods, we took the kids on a city bus ride to the beach for the day.
  
  
  
  
• August 1998 – The first sibling pair has a visit at the “Peace Garden”. Realizing that foster youth often don’t get to visit with their siblings in a friendly setting, we set up an environment where siblings could spend time with each other while having fun.
  
  
• November 1998 – The first Camp. 20 youth and 10 volunteers go camping in the cold of winter at Leo Carrillo State Beach. For a weekend the group pitched tents, cooked healthy meals, and went on nature walks.
  
  
  
  
  
• December 1998 – The First Holiday Party. With donations of gifts from volunteers and the community, the holiday party brought together 25 youth and 10 volunteers. The highlight of the party was the pictures with Santa that every youth got to take home.
  
  
  
• February 1999 – The First Classes Taught. With the youth expressing a desire for new experiences and feeling short-changed on their public education, we put together a series of different classes. Utilizing the expertise of our volunteers, the first classes were taught focusing on the arts, sciences, nutrition and health.
  
  
• August 2000 – The “Peace Garden” becomes Peace4Kids. Peace4Kids gets its 501(c)(3) status and officially becomes a non-profit. “Peace4Kids” replaces the Peace Garden as the organizations name to better incorporate all aspects of our programs.
  
  
• January 2002 – The First youth returns after loosing their placement. After loosing a placement in her foster home, one of our youth returns to our program after a two month absence. She was tracked down by social workers, who were volunteers with our program, who got her new foster parent to allow her to come. As a result of the free transportation that was offered, she was able to come consistently while in her new home.
  
  
• July 2003 – The First Teen Emancipates from Foster Care. One of the teens in the Peace4Kids program leaves the foster care system to try to succeed as an adult. Through many trials she remains connected to our organization seeking guidance and support through this difficult time.
  
  
• May 2004 – Peace4Kids hires first staff. After six years of being an “all-volunteer” organization, Peace4Kids receives its first major grant and hires its first employee, Executive Director, Zaid Gayle.
  
  
  
  
• August 2004 – Peace4Kids Partners with Watts/Willowbrook Boy & Girls Club (WWBGC). With the number of youth participating in our programs on Saturday growing rapidly, Peace4Kids partners with WWBGC to have additional program space for classes and activities.
  
  
• September 2005 – First Mentor Pair. With consistency as one of the priorities in the organization the first mentor-mentee pair was matched to help sustain the relationships that are initiated through the Saturday program at Peace4Kids.
  
  

Today Peace4Kids still continues its trend of innovative services. Serving over 175 youth ages 5 -24 last year alone, we have offered a complete suite of services to address the diverse needs that our earlier programs discovered. In our nine years of service to the community we have trained hundreds to work with the foster care population, currently maintain a roster of over 75 committed volunteer supporters, and will grow to having 10 staff members this year. Today our programs still utilize the skills and expertise of our volunteers and staff to empower our youth to create positive social change. Below is a list of our four (4) programs that carry on this tradition.

5-7 year olds – Early Education
8-13 year olds – Creative Education
14-18 year olds – Teen Program/Emancipation Services Program (12 – 24 years)
5-18 year olds – Mentor Program

Our list of activities still include annual camps for both our teens and younger youth, field trips, and a variety of creative classes taught to all age groups.

As we prepare for our immediate future, we are grateful for our current journey. We believe that every child in foster care deserves the opportunity to discover his or her gifts and have them nurtured by a loving community and family… Thank you for making this possible!

Please take a moment and consider making a gift to Peace4Kids. Your tax-deductible contribution will help us work closer with foster and at-risk youth, and guide their journey into adulthood. It is the only way we will be able to expand and sustain our programs.