WINGS Program history

In 1995, WINGS founder Ginny Deerin attended a women’s leadership conference and heard Johnetta Cole, then president of Atlanta’s Spelman College, give a keynote address where she spoke about how girls and women often keep themselves locked up in small birdcages.

Dec 1, 1996 | WINGS Founded by Ginny Deerin.

Jan 1, 1997 | Summer Camp Model Developed: Kids attend summer camp for a week at a time, with monthly "refreshers" to practice and build on the skills they learn.

Aug 1, 2002 | Model Replicated at 2 More Elementary Schools: WINGS runs afterschool programs at Wilmot J Fraser Elementary School and Murray-LaSaine Elementary School.

Aug 1, 2006 | Field Testing at 8 Programs Not Operated by WINGS: WINGS runs Developmental Partnerships at 8 schools in Charleston and Washington, D.C. acquiring important lessons on how to replicate effectively.

Here are some interesting metrics since the automated program was launched in 2007 that help gauge the success of WINGS:

Sep 1, 2011 | WINGS Receives $1 Million Donation to Replicate the Program in a New Region.

July 18, 2013 | $2.5 Million Grant from the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation: WINGS slated to use the grant from EMCF to expand to 16 schools in four communities during the next three years.

Sep 1, 2015 | The Kindred Kids Program is Born: WINGS created the Kindred Kids pen pal program in response to the tragic June 2015 Emanuel AME church shooting.

Mar 30, 2017 | WINGS Garners National Press: When the White House announced their proposed FY18 budget, eliminating all afterschool funding, WINGS spoke up and several news outlets listened including CNN, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.