1. Dear Friend of Columbus Kids,
I’m pleased to send you another short update on the wonderful progress we are making with Columbus Kids. Thank you for your
steadfast support of this very important and impactful initiative. I look forward to regularly sending you additional updates.
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Columbus Kids’ outreach is yielding great
results. As of April 19, 2013, Columbus
Kids has connected with 8,887 kids and
performed 12,780 Learning Checkups.
The program is on track to reach its
goal of serving all Columbus City School
attendance zones by the end of this year.
Significant progress has been made
in the newest zone on the east side.
Columbus Kids has formed partnerships
with several area organizations
including: the Eastland and Whitehall
Nationwide Children’s Hospital Primary
Bright red jackets and fresh faces joined
the ranks of the Columbus Kids staff
during the first week of April as City Year
corps members lent their support to the
cause of kindergarten readiness. Corps
members spend ten months each year
serving high school and middle school
students in Columbus schools as tutors,
mentors and role models. Spring break
offered them a chance to shift gears
and learn about working with younger
children.
These service-minded young people
arrived on their first day, dressed in their
uniform red jackets and khakis, prepared
Care Centers, local WIC Program offices,
Columbus Metropolitan Library branches,
Brookwood Presbyterian Church and the
Bishop Griffin Center Food Pantry.
On April 4, Columbus Kids birthday
parties were held at the Barack
Community Center and the Hilltop branch
of the Columbus Metropolitan Library.
Columbus Kids team members work hard
to learn where the 2½-through 4-year-old
children are in each zone and how best
to connect and reconnect with them. This
can be challenging due to family mobility,
but wellness and outreach coordinators
are undeterred. Thus far, they have
reconnected with 2,770 (40%) children,
and the reconnect rate is expected to
increase once all zones are covered.
While outreach takes intensive effort
by the dedicated CK staff and partners,
the outcome of preparing children for
kindergarten is having important impact.
Columbus Kids keeps growing and
helping to improve lives and strengthen
our community!
Columbus Kids’ Impact Continues to Grow
City Year Shares Spring Break with Columbus Kids
to learn about Columbus Kids and assist
the team. One group canvassed the
Hilltop and South Side neighborhoods,
handing out fliers and inviting families
to come to birthday parties later in the
week. Another made calls to Columbus
Kids participants. Others provided
much-needed administrative support
by scanning records. A final group
visited Franklin County Department of
Job and Family Services Opportunity
Centers where they shadowed wellness
and outreach coordinators performing
Learning Checkups.
Corps Member Yan Zhang found great
value in Columbus Kids. “…some
kids I work with at Linden McKinley
STEM Academy might not have had the
opportunities that they needed when they
were younger, so I think this is a great
program,” she said. (over)
Update II
May, 2013

2. It was a playful and constructive
day for preschoolers who joined the
Columbus Kids birthday party at the
Barack Community Center. In addition
to completing Learning Checkups and
doing crafts, the children chose a special
book to take home. Zena Rice attended
with her 4-year-old daughter Brianna
who delighted in being the center of
attention during the Learning Checkup
where she was able to show off her
tracing and cutting skills. In the end,
Brianna earned a near perfect score on
the assessment. Zena was proud of her
daughter’s progress. “Her dad and I work
with her as much as we can at home,”
she said. Mom was happy to reconnect
with Columbus Kids. “I think this is a
great program that really helps kids in
the community,” she added.
Jelan Malone also brought her son Ryan
in for a checkup. Although he was a little
quiet at the start, Ryan quickly perked
up when asked to balance and hop on
one foot. He also excelled at making
figures and lines. “The last time he had
a checkup, he needed to work on writing,
so we’ve been doing a lot of writing and
tracing activities,” said Jelan. She now
feels confident that Ryan will be ready to
enter kindergarten in the fall. “This has
been very helpful,” she concluded.
A Columbus Kids party is fun for all
& Individual Donors
The Motorists Insurance Group
AlfredL.WillsonCharitable,
Dinah Buehler Memorial,
Edna K. Jacobs, Mary Nancy
Davis Memorial Fund for
Childcare, and Mary Nancy
Davis Memorial Fund for
Children’s Health funds of
The Columbus Foundation
Juan Mosquera, a recent graduate of
The Ohio State University, found himself
assisting as a Spanish translator at the
West Opportunity Center. A native of
Colombia, Juan helped walk a Spanish-
speaking mother and her son through
a follow up Learning Checkup with a
wellness coordinator. They observed that
the child had a speech delay and were
able to provide the mother with resource
information. “I can see how he could
struggle in school with being behind his
peers,” Juan said. “It’s good to catch this
early. I work with ninth graders every day
who are behind, so I know how hard it can
be for them later.”
Later in the week, corps members were
in full “birthday party mode.” They
organized take home bags and Learning
Checkup materials and planned fun
party activities designed to develop the
children’s fine-motor and gross-motor
skills. During the parties, corps members
helped kids cut out paper flowers,
decorate them and lace them with ribbons
and pipe cleaners. Corps member Bobby
Wheeler, a recent graduate of Miami
University, had a very positive impression
of the Columbus Kids program. “It was
nice to see how United Way is touching
people in Columbus neighborhoods,”
said Bobby. “I’ve had fun learning about
the program and interacting with the kids
and staff.”
(continued)