If you wait all that happens is you get older.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 19, 2007

BEST Kids, Inc. Mentoring Group for At-Risk Youth 

Receives Freddie Mac Grant for Peer Group Program 

Washington, DC – BEST Kids, Inc., a volunteer mentoring program in the District of Columbia, has been awarded a $25,000 grant from the Freddie Mac Foundation for the further development of a peer group curriculum to help at-risk youth in the District of Columbia’s Child Welfare System. All involved parties view this award as the start of a mutually supportive relationship. The Freddie Mac Foundation is known in the Washington, D.C. area for its strong support of high quality mentoring programs.

The Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) of the District of Columbia has called Best Kids a ‘trailblazer’ by becoming the first volunteer mentoring organization for at-risk children in the District’s foster care system. CFSA commends Best Kids for the quality of its mentoring services, including the number of volunteer mentor hours per month and mentor retention. BEST Kids thoroughly screens, trains and supports its mentors using a number of mental health professionals.

Todd Leibbrand, President of Best Kids, Inc., says, “We are thrilled to gain the trust, respect and financial support of the Freddie Mac Foundation. We are committed to providing a mentor in the lives of children from the time they are placed with us until they graduate from high school, enter higher education or take a job. It is critical that youth have at least one positive adult relationship, as they navigate adolescence, to ensure that they are moving in a positive direction.”

Best Kids includes a peer group component along with the volunteer mentoring service provided to at-risk youth. Children who are being mentored through Best Kids participate in a monthly peer group activity designed to help them develop positive social skills, motivate their desire to learn, establish friends with other youth, and be introduced to activities they might otherwise not have an opportunity to try. In the past year, Best Kids has taken the children, with their mentors, kite flying on the Mall, swimming at Cameron Run Park, bike riding on the Mount Vernon Alexandria trail, row boating at Burke Lake, building a model city at the National Building Museum, ice skating at Fort Dupont, navigating a ropes course at Hemloch Overlook, and flying radio controlled airplanes with nationally recognized flyers.

Many of these children have never been ice skating, boating, or had the opportunity to fly a kite, and most, if not all, do not own bikes. These activities help build confidence, enhance social skills and create smiles of enjoyment. These outings also assist in helping children recognize that there is an alternative path to the streets. Mentors reinforce important interpersonal skills, such as introducing yourself to others, saying ‘please’/‘thank you,’ joining in a conversation, listening, and other pro-social skills. The Freddie Mac Foundation grant will enable Best Kids to hire a part-time peer group coordinator to grow the peer group component, and to enhance the staff capacity of the organization.

Outcomes delineated in the grant are improved academic performance and an increase in positive, pro-social behaviors of the at-risk youth who are being mentored. At intake, caregivers and teachers are asked to complete a normed questionnaire which provides an objective measure of social skills and problem behaviors. The questionnaires are repeated after six months and after the first year of mentoring. Report cards and teacher comments are also used to evaluate the children’s improved school attendance and behavior changes.

Freddie Mac considers the grants it makes to be investments in the community, and its grantees to be its long-term partners. Renette Okelwicz, Senior Community Relations Manager, of the Freddie Mac Foundation, says, “We are pleased that Best Kids, Inc. is a new Freddie Mac partner, and look forward to seeing continued results in the lives of at-risk children whom Best Kids serves. Best Kids has already demonstrated that it is beginning to make a difference in the lives of at-risk youth in the District of Columbia.” 

Best Kids creates mentoring relationships that build better futures for children in the foster care system. For information about BEST Kids, Inc, visit www.bestkids.org or call 202.397.2999.

Created by Freddie Mac in 1991, the Freddie Mac Foundation is dedicated to opening the doors to hope and opportunity for children and their families. As one of the largest corporate leaders in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, Freddie Mac and the Freddie Mac Foundation have invested nearly $250 million in organizations serving the community. Visit www.FreddieMacFoundation.org.