NEW HANOVER COUNTY — Kids Making It, a Wilmington-based nonprofit that teaches woodworking, vocational, entrepreneurial, and life skills to disadvantaged youth, has been awarded a $900,000 grant from the New Hanover Community Endowment.
The three-year grant will support general operations, fund new staff positions focused on mental health and community outreach, and advance KMI’s vision for “transformative expansion.”
“This investment from The Endowment comes at a pivotal moment for Kids Making It,” Executive Director Kevin Blackburn said in a press release. “We, like many nonprofits, have faced significant disruptions to the fundraising landscape. This grant provides the stability we need to keep serving the young people who need us most, and it challenges us to match that generosity with the broader community support our growth requires. The Endowment’s belief in our mission validates what we’ve known for 30 years, that investing in disadvantaged youth through hands-on skill-building and comprehensive support transforms kids’ lives.”
The grant will be distributed over three years, with funding supporting KMI’s three core programs that annually serve 950 young people through outreach, an afterschool program for teens, and an apprenticeship program for young adults facing employment barriers.
Grant funds will also enable Coastal Horizons to provide KMI with a part-time licensed therapist, who will integrate into the afterschool program to elevate KMI’s ability to support their teens’ mental health.
Additionally, KMI will hire a full-time community health worker to build relationships with students and families in public housing, and a full-time outreach trades specialist to expand skilled trades components of the organization’s mobile Woodshop on Wheels program.
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