After School Education and Mentoring Services to Expand for Kent Area Youth

KENT, Wash. -- At a time when human service agencies are struggling to provide youth programs in South King County, Kent Youth and Family Services announced today the receipt of a $90,000, three-year matching challenge grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant will support the Lighthouse, a drop-in program that provides access to tutoring, counseling and fitness/recreation resources to area junior high students in need.

This grant will allow the current Lighthouse program to expand into an after-school program, concentrating on educational and mentoring services to eligible youth. The Lighthouse Program operates at three local junior high schools in the evenings—Kent, Sequoia, and Cedar Heights Junior Highs. The funds provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will support afternoon services at each site beginning in the 2004-05 school year.

“We are thankful to the foundation for their support of the needs of youth in South King County,” said Michael Heinisch, executive director of Kent Youth and Family Services. “This grant comes at a critical time. As the demand for social services in South King County grows and traditional sources of revenue shrink, we are proud to have the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as a new partner.”

Kent Youth & Family Services is a community-based, private, nonprofit agency that provides professional counseling, education and support services to children, youth and their families in our community, developing programs that meet the evolving challenges of our diverse community in culturally sensitive ways.