Kids of the Community (KOTC) is a non-profit organization co-founded by Barry Dishman. The program provides food, love and attention to at-risk youths. Despite not having many donors or funding, Dishman and his team strive to provide all they can to the children. The KOTC building is nestled on six acres of land which provides the children with a playground, community gardens, a volleyball and gaga court, a small soccer field, a warehouse full of supplies, a community closet and a game room.
On Thursday, Crystal Byars, owner of Legacy Gymnastics and Cheerleading, volunteered her time to KOTC with a small cheerleading squad as a means of giving back to the community. “This is a group of girls I have brought with me, and they do all-star competitive cheer. Our community helps us, because we do fundraising and we wanted to give back and do some service projects, so we chose Kids of the Community as our organization to lend a hand to today.”
The program has helped many children over its 25-year history. Many children who have graduated from the program have furthered their time within KOTC by becoming counselors for the other children. Kayla West stated the program provides necessities for the children that they may not be getting at home. “This program has done a lot. Growing up in this program has helped me meet a lot of new people who were like me. They welcome anybody in. They receive a lot of love here that they may not get at home. Working here now, and being able to provide that love that they need and seeing them happy just warms my heart. This program definitely helps and matters. The kids are just so happy here. It gives them a free place to go and it helps everyone out.”
Jaylynn DeSantiago, another former KOTC member turned counselor, said the program helped her blossom as an individual. “When I was little, I was pretty shy. Being here and being around the other kids drew me out of my comfort zone and helped me a lot with being able to talk and be around others.” She said the program is good for the other kids because it helps them explore new and exciting things. “This program really helps. There are a bunch of kids here that don’t want to listen at first, but they really start behaving as the program continues. Many of them show up and don’t want to talk. They may be really shy. When they come here we help them. Some of my kids had a difficult time reading when they got here, but now they read much better. I have them read in turns and I help them. They are able to read more and more, and so it just helps them out so much being here.”
KOTC is a program that puts the success of the children first and accepts all walks of life. As Dishman said, in regards to the program, “If you don’t feel like you fit in anywhere else, we have a spot for you here.”
