About Us     

Kid City Hope Place is a secular direct-service program of the Urban Foundation founded in 2008. Located in the heart of Los Angeles, Kid City Hope Place encourages teens and young adults to find their voice, share their stories, and become self-empowered leaders. Providing services in college access, college persistence, job and career readiness, music and arts, Kid City Hope Place brings together the gifts and talents of staff and volunteers to cultivate a supportive and welcoming environment for the youth we serve. Most participants are first-generation college or college-bound students living in Central and South LA. To address education inequity and severe economic hardships in our communities, we strive to provide ways for students to access opportunities, explore their intellectual curiosity, and discover their ability to advocate for themselves and their communities.

Kid City's Program Mission

The mission of the Urban Foundation’s Kid City program is to help low-income and youth of color to develop personally, academically, and professionally within a nurturing community.

Through culturally relevant programming and services, we foster agency in youth and first-generation college students to navigate and overcome systemic barriers in their education and careers. Kid City’s college access and persistence, career readiness, and music programs are responsive to the holistic needs of youth and young adults and amplify the unique voices and experiences of each of them.

We know that higher education is a key predictor for families to achieve economic stability, yet the road to college has multiple financial and institutional barriers. Kid City nurtures and develops student leadership and self-advocacy so that participants claim their education and become engaged, effective life-long leaders, who in turn, and open the doors to education for others.