Kids Hope USA

Kids Hope USA
Motto One Child, One Hour, One Church, One School
Founded October 1993[1]
Type Educational organization
38-3624308
Focus Education, mentorship, at-risk students
Location
Coordinates 42°48′33″N 86°01′23″W / 42.809129°N 86.0231209°WCoordinates: 42°48′33″N 86°01′23″W / 42.809129°N 86.0231209°W
Area served
 United States
Key people
 President David Staal
Revenue
 $2.08 Million[2]
Employees
 c.800
Volunteers
 24,070[3]
Website www.kidshopeusa.org

Kids Hope USA is a national, non-profit organization which facilitates mentoring relationships with at-risk children through a church-school partnership. It has nearly 1,000 church-school partnerships in 34 states across the U.S. with over 15,000 mentor-student relationships existing within these partnerships.

History

KIDS HOPE USA was founded in 1993. After asking experts in law enforcement, education, religion, and health and human services if churches could address the needs of growing numbers of at-risk children, a unanimous answer was given—churches that mobilize and train their members to form one-to-one relationships with the youngest children can make a profound difference in their lives. Responding to this, in February 1995, KIDS HOPE USA initiated three pilot sites in Michigan. These programs triggered interest in many other communities, where church and school representatives soon requested program information.[4]

The Kids Hope USA Way

The KIDS HOPE USA model was designed to teach churches how to give hope to at-risk public elementary schoolchildren through a relationship with a caring church member. Described as the KIDS HOPE USA Way, the model relies on the interplay of four integral parts:

--One child: an at-risk public elementary school child who needs a relationship with a caring adult;

--One hour: sixty critical minutes each week when a trained mentor befriends a child and helps him or her acquire basic academic skills;

--One church: a committed congregation who owns the program with its neighborhood school and provides a trained mentor and a behind-the-scenes prayer partner for each child; and

--One school: a school that welcomes this proven intervention to increase the academic skills of at-risk children, at no cost to the school.[5]

Data for students who met with a KIDS HOPE USA mentor for just one year showed:

Today, KIDS HOPE USA has helped nearly 1,000 Christian churches in 34 states engage their members in the lives of nearly 15,000 at-risk children. Located in urban, suburban and rural communities, these churches range in size from 40 to 5,000 members and represent over 30 different denominations.

Separation of Church and State

KIDS HOPE USA respects church-state issues, and all participants are trained to strictly adhere to U.S. Department of Education guidelines to ensure that the program does not violate the separation of church and state. Mentors are trained to understand that they must abide by the rules of the school at which they volunteer. They are not allowed to evangelize or pray while at the school or on school property because it is against the law. It is understood that a violation could result in the termination of the program. Principals are advised that parents may choose to someday send their children to events at the church, only after parental permission is granted. The scope of a KIDS HOPE USA program remains focused on the one hour that takes place at school.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "Kids Hope USA History". Kids Hope USA. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
  2. ↑ "Kids Hope Usa Inc - Zeeland, Michigan". FindTheBest. FindTheBest.com, Inc.
  3. ↑ "KHUSA 2011 Annual Report" (PDF). Retrieved 6 October 2012.
  4. ↑ "Kids Hope USA History". Kids Hope USA. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  5. ↑ "Kids Hope USA History". Kids Hope USA. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  6. ↑ "The Need". Kids Hope USA. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  7. ↑ "CHURCH AND STATE SEPARATION". Kids Hope USA. Retrieved 11 June 2014.

External links