Below is something our Urban Kids director Becky wrote about one of her students:

Darius comes to Urban Kids from the school across the street along with his three siblings.  They are a lively bunch, but Darius is the quiet one.  When we first met him last year, he was in the third grade and struggled to read books written on a first or second grade level.   Darius was unable to construct an intelligible sentence for his daily writing practice.   He was shy, rarely spoke directly to an adult, and was easily frustrated to the point of tears with simple academic tasks. 

Through the year, our youngest staff member at Urban Kids, Gary Harville, urged Darius to read to him.  Gary stayed by him each day to help him write a simple paragraph, drawing the thoughts out of him and coaching him to spell the words and put them together in good sentences.  Darius began to ask for Gary as soon as he came in the door.  On days when he came in from school angry and frustrated, Gary would calm him down and get him started to work, firm but supportive. 

Darius is being raised by his single mother and his grandmother.  He has only rarely mentioned his father.  On a recent field trip, when we saw a fire truck, Darius mentioned that his father is a firefighter in a nearby town.  I asked him if he gets to see his father often, if he visits him at his house. 

“No,” he said, staring ahead, “they don’t let me in.”

Now in the fourth grade, Darius has been “let in” to an important relationship with Gary, a fine male role model, a college student, a youth pastor, and a dignified young man.  Darius rarely misses a day of Urban Kids.  Every month, he makes our “Top Readers” list, for those who are the most committed to their daily reading practice.  He writes very neatly and intelligibly.  He can shout out his division facts faster than his older friends.  He can organize his daily tasks in order to have plenty of time for play.  He just made the honor roll at school for the first time.

Darius still has difficult days, but on those days, Gary is by his side, letting him in, never giving up on him.

One might expect, in a group of part time employees and volunteers, to find low commitment, absenteeism, and a high turnover rate.  At Urban Kids, this isn’t the case.

Experts on the effects of poverty on children emphasize that the only way for a child to break out of the cycle of poverty is through education and relationships with mentors who can help them develop the skills that they need to be successful.  At Urban Kids, our students desperately need a place that is stable and safe for them to gain confidence and competence.   They need people they can count on.  With our committed staff and volunteers, they can count on finding people they can count on at Urban Kids.

The students at Urban Kids have the important advantage of relating to a staff of four consistent, loving, and committed people who have been with them for as many as six years of their lives.  Each staff member makes being there with our Urban Kids a priority. The children respond to the relationships, to the consistency, and to the role models that our unusually committed staff provides.  Add to that a group of exceptionally committed volunteers—college students, working adults, retirees—and you have a family of relationships to surround each child.