The first Great Kids program originated over 15 years ago from a local church’s outreach, then morphed into the program we know today. In 2001 several community-minded volunteers, experienced in working with neighborhood at-risk children created Great Kids Explorer Club---an innovative early intervention program that targets at-risk students from kindergarten through fifth grade. The group sought to bridge the gaps they saw between the efforts of schools and parents and to address ongoing issues that impeded the success of the community’s children, especially the low income ones. The vision was to develop a program relative to the children’s needs and easily replicated throughout Volusia County through partnering with elementary schools. The objective was to create a program that would help students improve academically, socially, emotionally, and to develop positive leaders.

Today: 

In our seven years, we have expanded from a single program site to five locations, where 60+ volunteers, many of them retired teachers, serve 150 - 175 children from eight elementary schools. In partnership with the County school system, our role is to work closely with our partnering schools in motivating disadvantaged young children to improve their lives by enhancing: self-image, behaviors, attitudes toward learning, ability to handle life’s challenges, and academic skills.