DETROIT – Developing KIDS is an organization that has been serving children and families, but it has outgrown its original space.
They are in the process of renovating in order to help accommodate more families. Developing KIDS has been serving more than 1,000 children out of two classrooms in a community center and other schools to accommodate certain events, but that’s no longer going to be the case.
A building that has been an eyesore near the intersection of W McNichols and Telegraph roads will soon be the new location for the organization. Most people would run when they saw what was inside the building, but for founder and CEO Kimberly Johnson, all she could see was space and the perfect location.
“Well, it was an abandoned building that was filled with a lot of materials from illegal dumping for almost 50 years,” Johnson said. “It’s very close to several bus lines for children and adults to be able to access less. It has a large parking lot so that we can house a lot of the families that come to us. "
Developing KIDS purchased the building in May 2022 after receiving a variety of grants and donations. The transformation is expected to begin by the end of October.
“We make sure that we are providing activities and opportunities to support the whole child. And this facility will allow us to do so,” Johnson said. “We do literacy work with young people from kindergarten through 12th grade. We do life skills activities, we make sure that we’re engaging them in activities around careers and college exposure.”
It’s taken a lot of work to get to this point. About 17 years ago, Johnson knew she needed to do something for the children in her community.
“I was living in a block near the facility where we’re running programming right now and what I noticed that the kids were just going back and forth to the corner store on their bikes, and they were asked to play with my children and I said to play where so I ended up with a lot of the kids in my front yard. And it let me help and start something and do something for the families.”
After starting on her front lawn, her first fundraiser raised $750. Now, thanks to the new space, she’s not turning any child away.
“A lot of times we hear from our alumni who come back and say, ‘I remember when you told me this six years ago,’” Johnson recalled. “Or they finished college and they come back to say thank you and ‘You don’t know what you did for my family.’”
Developing KIDS’ new location is expected to be finished in 2024. You can find more information on the nonprofit’s official website.