ConnectiKids began in 1978 when volunteers from the Asylum Hill Congregational Church initially got together to provide a positive summer experience for third grade students at West Middle School a public elementary school in the neighborhood.  The group formed what was to be known for the next twenty years as the West Middle School Committee.  Upon completing their first summer, the volunteers quickly realized there was a greater need for assistance; with help from corporations located on “The Hill” they decided to have occasional after-school tutoring sessions for those students. The name of the organization was changed to ConnectiKids in October of 1999 to better reflect the program’s wide-ranging impact and the connections it makes among children and adults from many walks of life.  ConnectiKids is currently in its 42nd year of service and works with over 300 children from West Middle, MD Fox Elementary, and Martin Luther King Jr. Middle Schools through both, year-round, and summer programming.