By The Hand Club For Kids one of city’s best kept secrets

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Employee headshot, Mark Brown. (Photo by Richard A. Chapman/Sun-Times)

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Updated: March 13, 2012 10:34AM

Seventh-graders Jaylen Murphy and Jamara Johnson were my helpful tour guides recently when I visited a non-descript building hiding an oasis on the grounds of what used to be the Cabrini-Green housing development.

Though the surrounding landscape was as bleak and forbidding as ever, Jaylen and Jamara led me through a world of delighted squeals and relaxed smiling faces.

Not just anyone can join this special members-only club. To gain admission, children have to be recommended by their teacher or principal, must be performing poorly in school and testing in the lowest 25th percentile.

But as the saying goes: membership has its privileges.

If history holds, nearly one-fourth of these same students will soon make the honor roll, three-fourths will have passing grades and on average their test scores will double.

In between getting help with their education, they take field trips, attend summer camp and even make visits to the dentist and eye doctor.

Most importantly, though, every single one of them has a safe, nurturing environment three days a week in which to take refuge in those critical and dangerous hours after school.

The folks who run By The Hand Club For Kids would like to think it’s one of the best kept secrets in Chicago.

I’m inclined to think they’re right.

This non-profit program has been helping some of the city’s most at-risk kids in some of its most challenging neighborhoods for 11 years now with very little recognition.

Also impressive is that only a small portion of the group’s funding comes from government sources.

That, however, is clearly one reason the organization’s founder, Donnita Travis, has decided to step out front to start calling attention to the group’s successes.

Any charitable endeavor that has grown from serving 16 kids in 2001 to 851 in four locations this year — with a goal of growing to 5,000 in 10 neighborhoods by 2020 — can’t afford to be bashful.

And Travis, 51, who quit a successful advertising career to start the club as a church ministry, admits that’s been an adjustment.

“Coming from advertising, I had a sense I needed to keep my head down so somebody wouldn’t knock it off,” she said.

Travis still dresses the part of a corporate exec with an MBA from Kellogg, but she mixes easily with the children, who give lots of hugs to “Ms. Donnita.” She takes no pay.

As the name implies, the philosophy of By The Hand Club is to take each participant “by the hand” at an early age and walk with them all the way through college, doing whatever it takes to help that child succeed — whether that means safe passage to the club, anger management counseling or college financial aid.

“It’s caring for the whole needs of the child,” Travis said. “Mind, body and soul.”

The “soul” part is a little awkward for me.

By The Hand Club is a faith-based, Christian organization with religious teachings a prominent aspect of the program. You may have figured out over the years that my column is not the place to turn for faith-based reporting.

But I’d like to think even a heathen can recognize people doing good work when he sees them — and also appreciate that spiritual guidance is an important aspect of what they provide these kids.

Every session at By The Hand starts with chapel. All 80 members of the staff are required to have a Christian background. Most of the 400 volunteers are students from area Christian colleges.

“Everything we do is based on Biblical values,” Travis said.

For the mostly African-American families By The Hand Club serves, the religious programming has been welcomed.

“We have found our communities to be very faith friendly,” Travis said, hastening to add that accommodations are made for any child whose parents do not want them participating in the religious teachings.

Students pay nothing to attend. Parents are told their child is receiving a “scholarship” covering the $5,700 cost.

Although kids must be referred through school, enrollment is entirely voluntary, Travis said. Nobody makes them attend, except maybe parents.

Originally called Kids Club when it started serving Cabrini children at The Moody Church in 2001, the organization’s budget quickly outgrew that of the entire church and spun off on its own.

Now with a budget of $5 million, the club also has locations in Altgeld Gardens, Austin and Englewood. The only taxpayer support is a daily meal provided through a grant from the state Board of Education.

“We’re growing, and we need to get the word out,” Travis said.

We can do that.