PAWKids

PAWKids began in 2015 as an after-school enrichment program for children in Grove Park, and has expanded over time in response to the needs of our children, their families, and the community we share. Our founder and executive director, LaTonya Gates Johnston, launched PAWKids in a neighbor’s backyard with 5 children. With support from two churches (historically Black, Paradise Baptist Church and majority-white Atlanta Westside Presbyterian are the basis for the “PAW”) she purchased a former trap house on Donald Lee Hollowell Blvd and renovated it to provide a safe, loving environment for the kids after school. 

As the program quickly grew, and LaTonya, who herself was raised in poverty, determined that the kids needed not only enrichment, but learning support, behavioral health support, and family support in order to thrive. In 2017, she opened another space, the Gathering Place, to provide respite for parents, parenting support groups, and opportunities for counseling. Later, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced PAWKids to pause after-school programming, we opened Claudia’s House food pantry to distribute food and hygiene supplies to all of our neighbors, including our children and house-bound seniors. 

Today, PAWKids serves 45 children three days per week for learning support, counseling, and enrichment. In 2024, we also provided the Grove Park community with summer programming for 87 children, 137 hours of counseling, and more than $250,000 worth of distributed food and hygiene supplies.