City Gate Partnerships
One of City Gate's major strengths is our collaboration with a broad range of community and faith-based organizations, providing an extensive pool of resources, expertise, and volunteers. Staying connected and earning trust with a neighborhood and its residents allows City Gate to develop positive and nurturing relationships, the foundation for real change.
Capitol Area Food Bank
The Capital Area Food Bank has included City Gate as a partner in its Kid's Cafe program, and provides menus, paper goods and the food supplies for nutritious, hot dinners for our school-year and summer programs. City Gate also participates in the nutrition programming offered by the Food Bank, such as visits to Clagett Farm each summer.
Winn Residential
In March of 2007, City Gate partnered with Winn Residential to establish coordinated services and opportunities to benefit the residents of the section 8 Southern Hills, Atlantic Gardens, and Atlantic Terrace Apartments in the far SE DC neighborhood of Washington Highlands. After successful after-school, summer day camp, evening youth and adult programs, Winn and City Gate are working to broaden programming to include services to seniors and open technology/computer access in the community rooms of all three complexes through HUD's Neighborhood Networks.
Marie Reed Elementary School and Westmoreland United Congregational Church of Christ
Marie Reed Community Learning Center is a K-5 public elementary school in Columbia Heights with a diverse student body with dedicated teachers and staff, but with 70% of their student families qualifying for free or reduced cost lunches. Marie Reed, with assistance from volunteers from Westmoreland United Congregational Church of Christ, has made great gains in mathematics over the last two years, achieving AYP (adequate yearly progress) in math this past school year. Through the combined efforts of the students, teachers, volunteers, and school leadership, we designed the science club to provide an additional boost toward the goal of achieving AYP this coming school year, hopefully resulting in Marie Reed being removed from "at risk" status.
Wisconsin Avenue Baptist Church (WABC)
Wisconsin Avenue Baptist Church (WABC) is both a partner and program site in Northwest DC in providing ESOL classes (English for Speakers of Other Languages), development of a Spanish immersion preschool, and a summer day camp that draws a diverse group of children and youth, including many internationals. WABC also has shared facilities and staff, co-sponsored events, and provided volunteers as well as board members, and various forms of support from the beginning of City Gate. The collaboration of WABC and CG to bridge language and culture is a contemporary application of the ancient biblical tradition of hospitality to strangers and guests — a practical way of opening the city gate to welcome the international community in our midst.
Caterpillar Coop
The Caterpillar Co-op is a parent cooperative program that provides full immersion in a foreign language for preschool aged children. Parents of children in the program share an on-duty rotation amongst themselves to serve as the instructor's classroom assistant each day; as a cooperative, there is one instructor and one on-duty parent assigned to each class at all times. The Caterpillar Co-op is particularly dedicated to its Tenleytown community. During the admission process every year special consideration is given to applicants from the immediate neighborhood.
In addition, City Gate has worked with many area churches and other community partners. We work with the DC Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation, which provides partial funding and technical support. Student missionaries, from colleges across the country, provide summer staffing for our day camps. We receive volunteers and mission groups through the Southern Baptist Convention and the American Baptist Churches USA.