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ConnectiKids connects students facing systemic inequities and other barriers with people, places, and experiences that level the playing field and inspire academic achievement, positive life choices, and big dreams.

We fulfill our youth-empowering, equity-advancing mission in partnership with schools, families, and the community. We provide one-on-one academic tutoring, individualized mentoring, arts and enrichment programs, and community-based learning experiences during the academic year and summer. These connections and opportunities motivate historically underserved kids to embrace high expectations, overcome adversity, and reach their full potential.

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ConnectiKids programs provide:

Academic support through a creative, innovative, and quality after-school program with individualized 1-on-1 tutoring
Mentors and role models who support positive development, empowerment, and understanding of the value of education
Enrichment activities students would otherwise not be exposed to
Summer experiences thematically linking academic and enrichment components

Our students:

Develop positive attitudes toward learning, study skills, academics, and future aspirations.
Enhance comprehension of educational materials and concepts to strengthen foundations for academic success.
Develop positive self-image, identity, and decision making.
Have opportunities to develop positive relationships with successful and inspiring mentors and role models.
Are exposed to new environments and experiences to positively influence their outlook.
Receive artistic and recreational experiences that support their cognitive, intellectual and socio-emotional growth.

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We offer our free programming to students from schools across the City of Hartford, serving over 300 kindergarten through twelfth grade students annually with a student retention rate of approximately 90%.

This annual campaign aims to raise $25,000 to fund the many programs and services ConnectiKids provides with your help. We need you to walk beside us in this important work to ensure all kids have opportunities for a brighter future.

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2023 – 2024 Per Student Cost Breakdown

Entire Program

It costs $2,484 per child to receive a full year of ConnectiKids Programs.
That is a $207 per month recurring gift!

Tutoring and Mentoring

It costs $1102 per child to receive a full year of Tutoring and Mentoring.
That is a $92 per month recurring gift.

Arts and Enrichment

It costs $1032 per child to receive a full year of Arts & Enrichment.
That is a $86 per month recurring gift.

Summer

It costs $1401 per child to receive a full Summer Program.
That is a $117 per month recurring gift.

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So many of our youth have had an especially challenging time these last few years. It is up to us to pave a path together for our youth’s future. Since 1978 we have been doing just that with your help, and now we need you more than ever!

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The entire year!

Our Tutoring and Mentoring Program is a creative and innovative program that provides students with high-quality afterschool activities to support extended school hours and offer caring volunteers who help students develop personally and academically. ConnectiKids provides over 250 low-income, at-risk minority students in kindergarten through ninth grade in Hartford, CT and surrounding areas with one-on-one tutoring and mentoring each year. The core focus is to provide students with equitable academic support through individualized tutoring, which in turn, supports classroom learning. Students involved in the mentoring program are empowered from an increased understanding of education's value, thus forming a lifelong love of learning.

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ConnectiKids uses book clubs to encourage literacy and reading comprehension skills. Students read age-appropriate books together and participate in fun learning activities that bring the books to life. The chosen books highlight current issues during the school year and correlate with our program theme during the summer. All students are provided with new books for each book club and are able to keep them at the end of each program to add to their personal libraries at home.

ConnectiKids embraces the fact that social and emotional learning play a critical part in academic success for young people. Our Arts and Enrichment and Summer programs encompasses character-building activities that are often creatively linked to educational concepts in areas students would not have the opportunity to engage in.

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ConnectiKids Arts & Enrichment and Summer Programs provide outlets for youth expression, healing from trauma that inner-city youth disproportionately encounter, and exposure to experiences that black and brown youth are historically excluded from. These programs also provide students with the tools for setting and working toward goals and encourage them to use their voices and advocate for themselves. ConnectiKids strives to hire local and culturally representative talent and professionals as class instructors in order for children to see themselves in these fields and envision an attainable future.

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Many Hartford children are struggling academically. The pandemic has had a critical impact on student achievement. English Language Arts (ELA) and Math proficiency levels are down significantly compared to pre-pandemic, and Hartford students are well below statewide proficiency levels. A large percentage of Hartford students are considered high needs as identified by learning challenges, language barriers, or economic hardships. The pandemic has furthered the challenges for these students. There is also an achievement gap by race, with black students coming in at a 13 percent post-pandemic decrease compared to only 5 percent for white students.

Many Hartford children are living in challenging environments. Local studies have ranked the neighborhoods ConnectiKids serves as among the highest areas of poverty in Hartford and near the top for other detrimental factors for youth. It is estimated that nearly 3/4 of the city's youth live in areas of frequent gun violence which compromises children's sense of safety and forms the roots of setbacks in school.

ConnectiKids can help.

ConnectiKids serves Hartford children at no cost to them or their families. Our programs supplement and reinforce school-based learning and provide advantages that schools struggle to offer - personal one-on-one attention and greater flexibility with lessons. Both benefits have been proven to produce positive results among children.

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You can make a difference today by:

Donating what you can
Sharing this fundraiser with your networks via email and social media
Sharing our social media posts

Reach out to us at kaleithanb@ct-kids.org to discuss larger donations, donating via check, stock or crypto, organizing a fundraiser, company matching, corporate sponsorship, media/PR, grants.

Thank you for considering being part of children's success stories. Let's change the world together!

ConnectiKids
EIN: 06-1035985 (501c3)
*All funds raised will be used to support ConnectiKids Youth Development Programs*

About ConnectiKids

ConnectiKids, Inc. is committed to improving the lives of Hartford children and began in 1978 when volunteers initially got together to provide a positive summer experience for third grade students at West Middle School, a public elementary school in the Asylum Hill neighborhood. Upon completing their first summer, the volunteers realized there was a greater need for assistance and with help from local corporations, decided to provide occasional after-school homework help for those students. The group formed what was to be known for the next twenty years as the West Middle School Committee.

The name of the organization was changed to ConnectiKids in October of 1999 to reflect better the program's wide-ranging impact and the connections it makes among children and adults from many walks of life. ConnectiKids has now completed 45 years of operation, having grown to provide multiple schools with both afterschool Tutoring and Mentoring and Enrichment Programs, as well as a Summer Program for over 300 children annually. With the passion of the staff, volunteers, donors, and community ConnectiKids has been able to impact over 15,000 children's lives.

We fulfill our youth-empowering, equity-advancing mission in partnership with schools, families, and the community. We provide one-on-one academic tutoring, individualized mentoring, arts and enrichment programs, and community-based learning experiences during the academic year and summer. These connections and opportunities motivate historically underserved kids to embrace high expectations, overcome adversity, and reach their full potential. We hope you want to become part of our story as we continue to educate, enhance, and empower young people!

ConnectiKids 2023-2024 Annual Campaign

By ConnectiKids Inc.

ConnectiKids 2023-2024 Annual Campaign

Help children reach their full potential by donating to ConnectiKids!

Team Members