What is City Gate? What has changed?
Since its incorporation in 2000, City Gate worked to open doors of opportunity and empowerment for disadvantaged children and families, helping them access more fully the life and benefits of the larger community. We had a strong track record of engaging at-risk youth grades K-12 in quality afterschool and summer day camp programs, focusing on academics, social-emotional learning, life skills development, and off-site expeditionary learning.
After retirement of our Founder in 2024, new management decided to shift to a school-based model which was unable to generate funding. After all reserves were spent and debt incurred, the new management dissolved the corporation in October 2025 -- but prior staff, partners, and volunteers are continuing City Gate’s vital vision and some programs which for years provided a safe, structured environment where youth were empowered to realize their potential and become caring, confident, responsible adults.
Our Mission
Our mission is to engage and empower at-risk youth and families impacted by poverty to access the resources and opportunities of the larger community.
Our History
City Gate is proud to have been a part of the Washington D.C. community since 2000. Many things changed over our 25-year history but our dedication to empowering disadvantaged youth and families through educational programs never wavered. What started as a vision by our Founder, Dr. Lynn Bergfalk, became an organization which at times served up to 400 children and youth. Our initial program site in the Washington Highlands neighborhood expanded to as many as ten sites throughout most D.C. Wards as well as Prince George’s County. Sites included public schools, community rooms in public or subsidized housing, community centers, and church facilities. We look back with gratitude, and ahead to ways in which we and others will continue to embody the ancient vision voiced by the Hebrew prophets for communities characterized by compassion, inclusion, justice, and empowerment. Every sandcastle eventually is washed away by the tides of time but the ancient concept of opening the “Gate” of our cities to the poor, the stranger (immigrants), and widows and orphans (the vulnerable and voiceless) is a timeless vision of what society is intended to be, where all are included and none left behind.