Loaves and Fishes History
Over 25 years of helping children succeed in Raleigh, NC
Doing homework at Loaves and Fishes.
From summer program to year-round service:
Loaves and Fishes began in 1982 as a summer enrichment program for twelve first and second grade children living in the Halifax Court federal housing community in downtown Raleigh, N.C. The children's reading and social skills improved noticeably—spurring co-founders Betty Anne Ford and Nancy Newell to hunt for expansion funds, to support students year-round.
Within months they won a grant from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation and expanded Loaves and Fishes into a daily after-school program for grades K-2. Ford and Newell officially incorporated Loaves and Fishes as a nonprofit organization in 1984.
Stretching support beyond second grade:
As the original twelve children moved past second grade and out of the program, their school performance dropped. They needed and wanted ongoing support. But Ford and Newell did not have funds to develop and staff complete after-school programming for older children.
To meet these students' needs they created highly structured mentoring programs. By 1990 Loaves and Fishes ran mentoring programs for children in grades 3-5, and middle school and high school students.
Today: Support for 48 students through high school
Over the next ten years, Loaves and Fishes won more civic funding and raised enough money from individuals, faith communities and businesses to expand after-school programming to all ages. Now Loaves and Fishes provides a vital network of services to 48 Raleigh at-risk children through:
- Individualized academic support
- Enrichment activities
- Family support
And we're proud that our Enrichment Coordinator is one of the original twelve Loaves and Fishes students!
Tomorrow: Expanding the network
We have a waiting list. We know that our network of service and support helps children achieve. As we continue to meet the needs of our current enrollment, we are recruiting volunteers and raising more funds to include more children from that waiting list.