KidWorks

Education
Family
Health

Who We Are

During the 2012-2013 program year, we will be opening a fourth community center in the Cedar Evergreen neighborhood of central Santa Ana. KidWorks centers are strategically located in neighborhoods that are characterized by gangs, low levels of education and dense housing. Most of the residents we serve are low-income and Latino (although the Bishop Manor site does serve a significant number of Cambodian families as well).The following outlines the four core pillars of KidWorks:

Academics & Arts: Preschool-12th grade students participate in classroom instruction, tutoring, art projects, STEM-based learning (STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), instrumental music, dance, and cultural programs.

Health & Fitness: Children, youth, and parents participate in healthy eating and active living activities including soccer, dance, running, strength training, karate, and baseball. Youth and parents also promote policy changes to impact building a healthy community.

College & Career Readiness: Children and youth participate in financial literacy training, college campus tours, job site visits, college application assistance, SAT preparation classes, and mentoring.

Leadership & Character Development: Youth and parents are trained as leaders through partnerships with service groups, churches, government agencies, and businesses. Leadership teams carry out community service projects and influence policy makers.

What We Do

The mission of KidWorks is to restore at-risk neighborhoods one life at a time. We build on the strengths and potential in the community through education, character formation, and personal development. Our goals are to:

be a model of community transformation by building on existing community assets;
be a safe haven for youth and families; and
be a place for learning, nurturing, and leadership development.

KidWorks is an independent organization although we regularly collaborate with other organizations to make our programs as robust as possible.

KidWorks’ outreach programs began in 1993 from a rented apartment unit in central Santa Ana. Since then KidWorks has expanded to operate three community centers that combined serve over 800 children, youth and parents in weekly programs and over 3,000 community members annually.

Our three centers, the Dan Donahue Center, the KidWorks Center on Townsend, and the KidWorks Center at Bishop Manor, are all safe havens where children and families receive education and support to help them succeed.