Educate & Enrich A Child in Houston's 3rd Ward

On July 8, 2024, Houston, Texas, was hit by Hurricane Beryl, a Category 1 hurricane that caused unprecedented damage. Some of our staff members were among the millions of people who were without electricity for up to 10 days. As quickly as possible, staff members began relief efforts in any capacity that was available to them.

When electricity was restored, the program resumed with approximately 50 children from 7am – 6pm, Monday-Friday. We provided hot nutritious meals for the children and their families because many did not have electricity at home or had lost their food to spoilage because of the power outages.

Partnering with Children’s Museum Houston and Talento Bilingüe de Houston, the children were able to go on daily field trips for STEM, arts, and enrichment. At the end of the summer, we took 55 children and chaperones on a 7-day bus tour through 7 cities in the Deep South of the United States, to explore important moments in Civil Rights history.

School resumed in August and we transitioned back to our After-School Enrichment Program. During this term, we are experimenting with program adjustments that can help ease some of the challenges caregivers face after the school day ends. We extended our hours from 3 PM – 6 PM to 2:30 PM – 7 PM. We hope the later pick-up time gives caregivers some relief from rushing to pick up their children at 6 PM, and fosters a less stressful environment for families to reconvene at the end of the day. With the extended time, we also hope children will be able to complete their homework before going home, and have any tutoring or resources needed to help them successfully complete their courses.