Kids Off The Block, Inc. (KOB)

Curtis Elementary School / KOB Headquarters

Kids Off The Block was founded in 2003 by Diane Latiker. Ms. Latiker is the mother of eight children, a resident of the Roseland Community; she sought to find ways to make a difference in the community, and in the many youth that she came in contact with daily.

"Ms. Diane" as the kids refer to her, believes that no child should be deprived of his/her dreams. Looking at the children that were always at her home, she saw health professionals, doctors, lawyers, professional musicians, professional sports figures, politicians, and actresses, and the list goes on. Her mother, Evangelist Ruth Jackson , further shared this realization.

To date, we have assisted over 200 youth in the Greater Roseland communities and surrounding areas of Chicago . Due to limited resources and space, our program has grown beyond its capacity and we have 102 youth on our waiting list to participate in the various programs.

Kids Off the Block is committed to reaching out to those who have been labeled low to moderate income "at-risk youth", interacting with them through positive programs and activities. Engaging the youth in after school programs, weekend retreats, music, drama, sports and family/community-oriented events thus eliminating the influence of involvement with gangs, violence, alcohol, drugs, truancy and juvenile justice system occurrences

Tutoring/Mentoring, Music, Drama, Sports, Community Service Projects, Local/Out of Town Travel

Kids Off The Block services youth between the ages of 12-19. Our hours of operation are Monday thru Friday 4pm to 8pm during school months, and 12pm to 6pm during summer months. There are 111 active members in KOB, with a waiting list of over 100.