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Mission
Interstages provides opportunities for early adolescent girls in low-income neighborhoods to discover talents, strengthen and develop skills, and heighten self-awareness, setting the stage for a successful transition into young adulthood.
To fulfill this mission, Interstages operates a daily afterschool youth development program for middle school girls in Southeast DC. Three key elements make the Interstages model uniquely effective in engaging our girls:
1) Exclusive focus on early adolescence.
2) Academic personalization.
3) Connecting to history through music.
Key Facts
Geographic areas served:
Southeast Washington, DC
Target demographics:
Middle school girls (grades 6, 7, and 8) living in Southeast Washington, DC.
Results to date:
1) Interstages’ first graduating class finished 8th grade this year! Many of the girls had participated in Interstages since our pilot program when they were 6th-graders.
2) Each year, our girls set their own academic goals --and achieve them.
3) Our girls perform publicly at least twice each year, building their confidence and self-esteem as well as their poise and performance skills.
4) Using the DC BEST youth assessment tool, the girls consistently rate Interstages highly regarding the opportunities and supports we provide for their development.
Note: Through a grant from the Washington Area Women’s Foundation’s Open Door Capacity Fund, Interstages is embarking on development of more thorough program evaluation tools to help us quantify and communicate the qualitative evidence of growth we see in our girls.
Direct beneficiaries per year: 25
Indirect beneficiaries per year: 100
Obstacles:
We are working hard to diversify our revenue streams and grow our programs during a down economy. It’s a challenge, but we’re meeting it!
Your donation of 35 enables us to:
purchase journals for each of our girls to record their feelings, poetry, song lyrics, and personal reflections.
Your donation of 50 enables us to:
take 18 girls on Metrobus for an educational scavenger hunt at the Smithsonian.
Your donation of 175 enables us to:
ensure the safety of our girls by training and certifying two staff members in First Aid and CPR.
Board Members and Affiliation:
Herb Scott, Peyton McCall
Camelia Mazard, Doyle, Barlow & Mazard
Patrick Linehan, Steptoe & Johnson
Eugenie Lewis, Commonwealth Emergency Physicians
Kamila Thigpen, Ogilvie & Mather
Past and Current Funders:
Catalogue for Philanthropy
Commonweal Foundation
DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities
Escheated Estates Fund of DC
ExxonMobil CSJP
Fair Chance (Compassion Capital Fund)
Philip L. Graham Fund
Harman-Cain Family Foundation
Harman Family Foundation
Hitachi Foundation
Horning Family Fund
Humanities Council of Washington, DC
Jacob & Charlotte Lehrman Foundation
MARPAT Foundation
Open Door Capacity Fund (Washington Area Women’s Foundation)
Palmer Foundation
Rainmakers Giving Circle (Washington Area Women’s Foundation)
Ronald McDonald House Charities
Spring Creek Foundation
Hattie Strong Foundation
World Bank Community Connections Fund
Key Staff
Ms. Noel M. Tieszen, Executive Director
Ms. Dionne N. J. Kirby, Deputy Director
Ms. Edith Hancock, Teaching Associate
Ms. Rayona Young, Teaching Associate