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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. During the academic year and summer, we provide one-on-one academic tutoring, individualized mentoring, arts and enrichment programs, and community-based learning experiences. 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.
They are exposed to new environments and experiences that influence their outlook positively.
Receive artistic and recreational experiences that support their cognitive, intellectual, and socio-emotional growth.

We offer our free programming to students from schools across the City of Hartford. We serve over 250 kindergarten through twelfth-grade students annually and have a student retention rate of approximately 90%.

This annual campaign is a call to action! We are asking YOU to be a Champion for Change and help us raise $25,000 to support the many programs and services ConnectiKids provides! We need you to walk beside us in this vital work to ensure all kids have opportunities for a brighter future.

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Each $100 gift will support one of 250 students!

Kindergarten - Second Graders will receive:

Educational pack (supplies and lessons)
A mentor
Homework help
Field trips
Dinner
And more!

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Third - Fifth Graders will receive:

Educational pack (supplies and lessons)
A mentor
Homework help
Field trips
Dinner
Off-campus enrichment
And more!

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Middle Schoolers will receive:

High school readiness
Career exploration
Life skills classes
Field trips
Dinner and snacks
And more!

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Counselors-in-Training (CITs) will receive:

Leadership experience
College readiness
Career exploration
Paid work experience
Educational and personal development
Exposure to colleges
Professional profile
And more!

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 their 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 after-school activities to support extended school hours and offer caring volunteers who help students develop personally and academically. ConnectiKids provides over 200 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.

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 Connecticut State Department of Education has reported on pandemic recovery and the critical impact the experience had on student achievement. English Language Arts (ELA), Math, and Science proficiency levels are still down compared to pre-pandemic scores, and Hartford students are well below statewide proficiency levels. Historic and structural inequalities have furthered the challenges for students. A large percentage of Hartford students are considered high needs as identified by learning challenges, language barriers, or economic hardships. There is also an achievement gap by race, with Black and Latinx students having significantly lower scores compared to 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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Become a Champion for Change!

Donate $100 for one of our 250 kids! Or give more to help MULTIPLE kids!
Share this fundraiser with your networks via email and social media
Share 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, and grants.

Thank you for considering becoming a Champion for Change! Let's positively impact 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 46 years of operation, having grown to provide multiple schools with after-school Tutoring, Mentoring, and Enrichment Programs and a Summer Program for over 300 children annually. With the passion of the staff, volunteers, donors, and community ConnectiKids has impacted 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!

Champions for Change!

Give $100 per kid for 250 kids to help raise $25,000 for ConnectiKids' 2024-2025 Annual Campaign focused on Youth Development, Decreasing Disparities for Children, Making Impactful and Lasting Connections, and Building Community Legacy!

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