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Karin Walser is the founder, Executive Director, and President of Horton's Kids, Inc., a popular non-profit tutoring and mentoring program that serves over 300 underprivileged children who live in one of the most impoverished neighborhoods in Washington DC The organization's purpose, as reflected in its mission statement, is to, "instill in southeast Washington's disadvantaged youth the knowledge, the support, and the sense of hope to realize their full potential and to live productive lives."
Ms. Walser founded Horton's Kids in 1989 while working full-time on Capitol Hill by recruiting friends and coworkers to take a small number of children on field trips in their cars. Later, Tuesday night tutoring sessions were added. Today, each week busloads of children from Anacostia participate in Sunday field trips and tutoring sessions in federal office buildings. They also receive emergency medical and dental care, enjoy birthday and Christmas celebrations, participate in community service projects, and attend summer camp activities including a three week trip to a Wyoming horse ranch. Most importantly, these children benefit from the attention, love, and dedication of over 350 volunteer mentors who help make their childhood as enriching, educational, and secure as possible. Horton's Kids was formally incorporated in 1991 and received its 501(c)(3) status from the IRS in 1993. In 2001, Ms. Walser became its first full-time Executive Director after Horton's Kids was honored with capacity-building grants from the Fannie Mae Corporation and the DC Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation.
The organization depends on the financial contributions of individuals, corporations, and civic groups, but its greatest resource remains a large group of dedicated volunteers, many of whom work on Capitol Hill. Through partnerships with other non-profits, corporations, Members of Congress, and community organizations, Horton's Kids has been able to grow and expand the services it provides. Over the years, the organization has been highlighted in stories in national news outlets such as The Washington Post, The Washington Times, CNN, and National Journal, as well local news outlets such as Roll Call, The Hill, Fox Morning News, Channel 9, WETA, and NBC Nightly News.
While on Capitol Hill, Ms. Walser served as longtime Press Secretary and Communications Director to Representative Joe Moakley (D-MA), who was the top Democrat on the powerful House Rules Committee, where she created the House Democratic Press Secretaries' Manual. Ms. Walser also worked as Communications Director to Senator Byron L. Dorgan (D-ND) and Representative Vic Fazio (D-CA).
For her work, Ms. Walser has received a number of honors and awards, including the WJLA-ABC 7 Working Women Award, the Bryn Mawr School Young Alumni Award, and a briefing with President Bush followed by a Presidential mention as a "social entrepreneur" in a national speech on mentoring. She was chosen as WETA's Hometown Hero for April 2005 and featured on NBC Nightly News' "Making a Difference."
Ms. Walser grew up in Baltimore, Maryland and graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in Foreign Affairs. She attended graduate school at Catholic University's School of Social Service and has a certificate from the Sorbonne University in Paris. She is married and is the mother of three young children, all of whom very much enjoy the Sunday field trips.
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