Co-founders, Michelle K. Mitchell, M.S., and Ellie Burke, M. Ed., have both worked in the public and private education systems and organizations serving youth including non-profits aimed at working with at-risk youth and group homes for kids in crisis. Through over twenty years of combined experience in the field, they have both acquired a significant amount of experience working with children, especially those who have been underserved, marginalized, and troubled. Both Co-founders are also highly trained and certified yoga instructors registered with the Yoga Alliance and have personally experienced the profound benefits of yoga in our lives.

Founded in 2006, YoKid aimed to extend the well-known benefits of yoga and meditation to youth, especially socio-economically disadvantaged youth, in an effort to help them settle their minds, improve their focus, and respect their minds and bodies. The Co-founders developed an organization that would provide yoga services to area schools, after/before school programs, and community centers, with a specific emphasis on programs for youth who attended schools where 50% or more of the student body receives free or reduced lunch.

To date, YoKid has facilitated over 200 programs in the DC Metro area, bringing yoga to more than 2,000 youth. We have a teacher pool of approximately 30 teachers and have trained 83 teachers through our YoKid Teacher Training and Mentoring Program.

Since 2007, we have more than doubled our number of programs annually to reach more deserving youth than we had ever anticipated. We have grown substantially with no marketing or outreach to secure programs, indicating a great need for our services. Additionally, we have developed a comprehensive teacher training and mentoring and apprentice program that is designed to teach individuals how to effectively teach yoga to youth from Kindergarten through 12th Grade.

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