Jen Ramming helps impoverished kids by embracing their families, too.

by Melanie McGee Bianchi . photo by Jesse Kitt

In a town full of nonprofits, the relatively new Open Doors of Asheville—an immersive mentorship program for socially at-risk youth—has already attracted a crowd of boosters. That’s because many folks who want to help don’t need a crash course in the group’s mission. “We’ve had families who’ve come to us saying, ‘Wow, we’ve been doing something like this already,’” says co-founder Jen Ramming.

Open Doors aims to help kids who live below poverty level—overwhelmingly in housing projects—by helping with tutoring or introducing and transporting them to extracurricular activities such as music, dance and sports. But it’s not a drop-off program. Short of providing concrete financial assistance, partner families are responsible for the children they help on a holistic level. They enfold the kids into their own families, having them frequently to dinner, including them on outings and helping them navigate the treacherous emotional waters of school and beyond.

Ramming and co-founder Kendra Sherrod launched Open Doors in December 2009. A few years before, Ramming and her husband had begun helping her eldest son’s friend, an inner-city kid who was severely dyslexic. (Properly nurtured, learning-disabled kids can go from special-ed classes to testing at an above-average I.Q.)

Sherrod notes the success of the group’s second major fundraiser, a decadent Valentine’s-themed soiree at the Haywood Park Hotel ballroom in February. Some 250 attendees helped raise around $50,000. Future events will be in an earthier vein, including a mountain-bike race that’s in the early planning stages.

Open Doors has also recently been collaborating with the soccer team at UNC-Asheville, who brought equipment over to Hillcrest Apartments. “They just set it up behind the housing development, and the kids came out to play,” says Sherrod. Now, on alternating weeks, UNCA players go to Hillcrest, and Hillcrest kids ride up to play at UNCA’s soccer fields.

If the mission relies on cumulative efforts, reciprocity is an enjoyable side effect. “It’s not just one-sided,” says Ramming. “Our children and our families are also absorbing the culture of the children and families we partner with.” Although the Rammings are upper-middle-class whites, their three sons’ best friends are African-American kids from disadvantaged backgrounds. Her eldest recently composed an essay as part of the admission requirements of a private high school. Through looming tears, she revealed what he wrote: “‘My mom helping these kids has been the most impactful thing in my life.’”

For more information, check out www.opendoorsasheville.org.