Kidz2Leaders

OUR MISSION

Our mission is to break the cycle of incarceration by providing stability, opportunity, and a safe community for children of inmates. 

Our 10-year program continuum is designed to cultivate long-term, supportive relationships, beginning with children at age eight and serving them and their families through young adulthood. All of our programming and services are provided at no cost to families. 

We believe it is only through this long-term commitment that can we truly end generational incarceration.

OUR IMPACT

Since its start in 1999, Kidz2Leaders has served 1,500 children and family members impacted by parental incarceration, providing summer camp programs, mentoring relationships, educational scholarships, internship opportunities, professional development training, emotional and financial resources for families, and an ongoing source of supportive community. 

99% of our program graduates are living free from incarceration. 

2022 In Review:

• Camp Hope: In 2022, we held two sessions of Camp Hope, an overnight week-long camp for kids with parental incarceration. We hosted 160 campers and 210 volunteers, providing kids with a safe and fun environment to build confidence and create meaningful relationships. 
• Interns4Tomorrow: We provided our eight Interns4Tomorrow participants with a year of training, professional attire, paid summer internships with local business partners, and a trip to NYC. Our 2023 internships launch this month, and we have a record-breaking 17 interns, more than ever before! 
• Family Support: The past few years have been disruptive for many families, and have compounded the stress and trauma our K2L families face. Financial assistance as well as connecting families with other food, housing and employment resources, continues throughout the year. We were also able to provide our families with back-to-school supplies for every child in the household, and hosted a weekend at camp for families to enjoy time of connection and growth together at our Fall Family Retreat. We are now gearing up for Hope4Christmas, our annual holiday event. 
• Alumni Community: We are excited to relaunch our Alumni Council this year, bringing together alumni as leaders in their own alumni community. We are actively working to provide financial literacy resources, and other ongoing forms of adult education, based on the requests of our graduates!
• Development: We've enjoyed connecting with our community partners and donors at our annual golf tournament and motorcycle rally events. We also held our second "Big, Big" Party—an opportunity to connect with new and old friends. The generosity of our monthly committed donors through the 29:11 society continues to allow us to plan for the future of our programs. 

OUR NEED

We are in the middle of a three-year strategic plan, adopted by the Kidz2Leaders' Board of Directors, that is focused on creating a new scope of work involving a deeper evaluation of the organization's past accomplishments and challenges, as well as a targeted and thoughtful approach to future growth. 

Initiatives to increase volunteer and participant retention, grow the number of new participants and volunteers each year, and increase the level of support for children and families will require significant investment in capacity building in 2023.  

Moving forward in 2023:

• Camp Hope: Our camp dates for 2023 are set! We will be returning Camp Twin Lakes in July for two sessions of Camp. We aim to double our new camper enrollment this year, maxing out our bunk capacity. 
• Interns4Tomorrow: New Intern recruitment has already begun, and we have a record-setting number of participants, who  all look forward to their year of in-person training and employment placements during the summer of 2023. 
• Family Support: With faithful support of our staff, donors and volunteers, we will continue to serve our families with physical, emotional, spiritual and financial support.  We also are launching our Student Support programming for long-term mentoring of our children and families.
• Alumni Community: In addition to alumni gatherings and providing support as needed, we will continue to offer scholarships to our college students who qualify, and to expand our alumni community resource offerings. 
• Development: We look forward to another year of fundraising and meaningful community events! We hope to add at least one major fundraising event to support our capacity building initiatives in 2023-2024.

Thank you for your support!

Your generosity allows children of inmates to experienced stability, opportunity, and a Christian community in 2023 and beyond.