New Orleans’ first playground, first after-school program, first integrated pool, first kindergarten — Kingsley House is responsible for them all.
Founded in 1896 as part of Trinity Episcopal Church’s effort to address the many problems inherent in multigenerational poverty, early successes for Kingsley House also included passing child labor laws, helping to eradicate yellow fever and helping many of New Orleans’ early immigrants overcome language, cultural, social and family displacement barriers as they settled into the city.
Throughout its history, Kingsley House has served as a recreational, educational and social center for thousands upon thousands of youth in the surrounding area.
“In particular, we served the residents of the adjacent St. Thomas housing development, which was built in the 1940s,” said Keith Liederman, the organization’s CEO. “In fact, the New Orleans Recreation Department got its start here.”
Most recently, we helped the preschool kids decorate ornaments to display at Audubon Zoo Lights. We had holiday music playing, every color paint imaginable, and huge smiles from the kids, staff and IBERIABANK volunteers.
— Megan Eustis, Community Relations for IBERIABANK.
Since its beginning, more than 500,000 people have received services through Kingsley House. Annually, 7,000 infants, children, youth, parents, senior citizens, veterans and medically fragile adults in the Greater New Orleans area benefit from the organization’s comprehensive array of nationally accredited and state certified programs, including:
Early Childhood Education For more than 100 years, Kingsley House has been at the forefront of early education and quality childcare in Louisiana. It currently provides services to 1,500 infants/toddlers and their families through the Early Head Start — Child Care Partnership (EHS-CCP) program which partners with local childcare providers.
Adult Day Care On the other end of the spectrum, older adults are welcomed at the state’s largest Adult Day Care and at the organization’s senior center. Participants can take advantage of nursing services, health monitoring, social services, case management and personalized nutritional consultations in a setting that is supportive and inviting.
Community and Supportive Services Program Kingsley House’s Community and Supportive Services Program (CSSP) offers comprehensive community-based services in New Orleans. CSSP works with individuals and families of the newly-developed Columbia Parc at the Bayou District and Heritage Senior Residences (formerly the St. Bernard Public Housing Development) to offer classes in topics including employment assistance, budgeting, GED preparation and housing assistance.
Programming that Changes Lives “Kingsley’s Adult Day Care staff treated my dad like their own family,” said Marques Celestine, Jr. “The staff even let him help them and assigned him certain tasks to make him feel useful and engaged as a team member. For a man who worked and felt needed his entire life, this was a crucial component to his success at Kingsley. Kingsley gave my dad a reason to get up every morning.”
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Some Ways Businesses Can Help
- Rent Kingsley House for meetings or parties — All proceeds from rentals go toward supporting the organization’s mission and a portion of the rental fee is even tax deductible.
- Volunteer to do landscaping or minor renovation projects
- Share and teach skills and knowledge
- Support the Career Pathways program or create an Adult Day Care sponsorship
- Offer a matching gift program by matching their employee’s charitable contributions.
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THE BASICS
Mission | Educate children, strengthen families and build community
Location | Main Campus — 1600 Constance St. / Phone: (504) 523-6221
Annual Budget | $14.5 million
Ongoing Partnerships | Include The United Way, Agenda for Children, Council For a Better Louisiana, Louisiana Covering Kids Initiative, Louisiana Department of Social Services, New Orleans Council on Aging and The City of New Orleans Office of Criminal Justice
Fundraising Events | April 21, 2020, Annual Friendraising Luncheon
There is no fee to attend, but a donation is encouraged. This event is the best opportunity to learn about Kingsley House and its far-reaching community impact.
Every November, Benefit Under the Stars
A private dinner that last year featured a four-course meal prepared by celebrity chefs Nina Compton, Donald Link, Maggie Scales, Susan Spicer and Stephen Stryjewski.
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BY THE NUMBERS
Success of Services in the Past Year
1500 infants, toddlers, preschoolers and their families provided access to high quality early learning services and supports.
90% of infants achieve essential developmental milestones in gross motor, fine motor, cognitive, language, self-help and social and emotional skills
100% of all enrolled children have health insurance
158 vulnerable senior citizens, veterans, and medically fragile adults found year-round day care
95% of Adult Day Care participants avoided unnecessary transition into a nursing home and were able to remain in their own homes or with family
100% of participants engaged in peer activities to reduce isolation and build social and emotional capital
64 single female-headed families received emergency financial assistance and ongoing support, preventing homelessness and future crises
225 children and youth, provided with full-day summer camp including indoor/outdoor sports, recreation and academic enrichment
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