Our Partnership T.R.I.G.G.E.R Project
Beginning on October 1st, 2025, we commenced a partnership to ultimately help The T.R.I.G.G.E.R. Project (TP) expand their signature summer program to operate year-round. Currently, the TP's TRIGGER University runs as an intensive six-week summer program that offers social-emotional learning (SEL), trauma-informed care, workforce readiness, and mentorship to youth who are at high risk of becoming victims or perpetrators of gun violence. Expanding the TRIGGER University program to 52 weeks will allow the TP to double the number of youth served, while also providing them with continuous support and engagement throughout the year. This expansion will have an indirect impact on an estimated 1,500 family members, siblings, and other community members across Washington, D.C., as the lessons and skills learned will ripple out into their networks.
In addition to the Kiwanis Club of Washington, D.C.'s financial contribution to the TP, our club's members will engage in active "heart work" adjacent to the expansion of TRIGGER University. From Stop the Bleed training, community clean-ups, and resource distribution, to youth mentorship and coaching, guest speakers and workshops, and fundraising and resource development, the Kiwanis Club of Washington, D.C. will seek to multiply the impact of our shared time, talent, and treasure. Interested in directly supporting the TP's work or staying up-to-date on their latest work and accomplishments? Search for "The TRIGGER Project" wherever you get your apps.
About the T.R.I.G.G.E.R Project
The True Reasons I Grabbed the Gun Evolved from Risks (T.R.I.G.G.E.R) Project aims to denormalize and destigmatize gun violence in communities of color across the nation. They focus on changing the norm and narrative of gun violence in communities of color by authentically providing safe (physically + emotionally) space for youth survivors and through telling the untold stories of everyday gun violence users to all walks of life. Their intent is to build awareness and compassion for people who feel invisible without the gun. The T.R.I.G.G.E.R. Project states, "our nation and our community have accepted gun violence in communities of color as the standard way of life, yet, through understanding the everyday shooter's reality we can greatly reduce the number of homicides in the most affected population in the world." Learn more about The T.R.I.G.G.E.R. Project by visiting thetriggerproject.org.
