During her first pregnancy, Mercedez Milling-Robinson realized that she needed a different sort of care if she were ever going to have another child. Her first born, Marcus S. Robinson is doing well today, but throughout her pregnancy Mercedez felt her care was too impersonal — at times, even disrespectful. The ability to have caregivers who are supportive of expecting parents’ wishes, are willing to listen, and work with them during their entire journey is something all parents deserve. Mercedez and her husband, Marcus Robinson were hoping that they could find that experience next time.

When she became pregnant a second time, she chose Community of Hope’s Family Health and Birth Center, the only free-standing birth center in Washington, D.C., and currently the only place where a person can give birth in the entire eastern half of the city.

Becoming a parent is a daunting endeavor, and in the district, which faces a maternal mortality rate 50% higher than the national average, the challenge is great. Black women in Washington are three- to four-times more likely to die from childbirth-related complications than non-Hispanic white women. Meanwhile, babies born to families who live in Washington’s lowest-income neighborhoods are 10-times less likely to make it to their first birthday than their peers in wealthier areas.

To meet these challenges head-on, the Family Health and Birth Center partners with families throughout the prenatal and postnatal periods, from prenatal care to lactation support and home visiting. Expectant mothers enjoy comprehensive medical care, certified nurse midwife services, perinatal care coordination, doulas and pregnancy support groups. Mercedez joined Community of Hope’s CenteringPregnancy® group that combines community support, health education and medical care in a one-of-a-kind program. Community of Hope also provides family healthcare, emotional wellness and other critical family supports.

With the support of her midwife and the trained doulas, Mercedez’s second and third pregnancies and births went according to her wishes, without stress or worry. Her young children are healthy and growing fast.

Stories like those of the Milling-Robinson family make the Clark Foundation proud to partner with Community of Hope. Learning that the Family Health and Birth Center would lose its lease in 2022, the Clark Foundation invested $7.5 million to help purchase and renovate a new permanent site for the center that is just one mile away and along the same bus route as the current facility, ensuring uninterrupted continuation of care.

Through this investment and others, the Clark Foundation has committed $93 million in total over the next five years through its Parent-Child Health Initiative to help local health care providers improve health outcomes for children and their families with low incomes and limited access to care in Washington, D.C. Community of Hope, along with other partners in the initiative, is committed to achieving this goal not only through its own great work but through meaningful, intentional collaboration with other leading health care providers across the city.

Mercedez is a testament to the value of such investments. “Community of Hope is like no other,” she says. “Even if it’s just a conversation, they are there to help.”

Media Contact: Sarah Elbert, Communications Manager Sarah.Elbert@clarkfoundationdc.org

Based in Columbia Heights, Latin American Youth Center (LAYC) is a multi-service community anchor that has been supporting the social, academic, and career needs of young people since the late 1960s. In 2018, Lupi Quinteros-Grady took the reins as President and CEO. Ms. Quinteros-Grady has a 20-plus year history with the organization: she was a participant in LAYC’s summer youth employment program at age 14 and was hired to teach and coordinate LAYC programs after graduating from college. As her career progressed, she continued in her commitment to young people. “I could talk about youth empowerment all day!” she noted.

During Ms. Quintero-Grady’s first months as LAYC’s President and CEO, she worked with the Foundation to develop a 3-year plan for its support of LAYC. Year one of the plan included external support for organization-wide strategy, fundraising, and financial planning. Within two years, LAYC made great strides in their fundraising and financial management.

Since March 2020, LAYC has been a consistent force in our communities, quickly shifting to direct virtual programming due to the COVID-19 pandemic and adding layers of services to respond to the needs of their youth and families. “The inequities that have been present in our most vulnerable communities, in particular communities of color, are now more pronounced than ever,” says Ms. Quinteros-Grady.

Even amid the current crises, LAYC is looking to the future and their vision for youth. The organization’s three-year Strategic Plan is set to focus on six areas: Development, Finance, Youth Voice, Racial Equity, Emergency Preparedness, and LAYC’s Maryland Sites. LAYC plans to continue building upon the progress made in their development and finance departments, understanding the challenges ahead in having to engage virtually with individual donors and funders.

“I’ve learned so many lessons along the way—I’ve seen first-hand the reality of how resilient our young people are” she said of her career in youth programming and advocacy.

The Foundation is proud to partner with leaders like Ms. Quinteros-Grady, whose commitment to creating opportunity for the next generation of leaders in our community is an inspiration. Learn more about the Latin American Youth Center here.

Media Contact: Sarah Elbert, Communications Manager Sarah.Elbert@clarkfoundationdc.org

As part of its broader commitment to support DC public and charter school graduates succeed in college, the Foundation invested $10 million in the DC Public Education Fund to launch DCPS Persists, a new program that provides college-bound DC Public Schools graduates with a support network to help them graduate from college. Starting with the class of 2020, students will be connected with coaches and additional resources to help them navigate the transition to college.

During this process, DCPS worked with another Foundation grantee, KIPP DC’s KIPP Through College & Career, to learn about their program structure and best practices.

The program will also offers college-bound graduates:

• A pre-college orientation to get a head start on what to expect in college and meet other college-bound students;
• Access to the DCPS Alumni Network so that students can stay in touch with other graduates for tips, career networking, and more; and
• Access to a wealth of information on scholarships and other important college focused content through Forever DCPS, a new monthly alumni publication.

Learn more about the program and the DCPS Persists coaches here.