Angling for Success

Photograph by Michael Ventura

T he Fishing School teaches needy youngsters in Washington, D.C., how to cast a line, but that is only one of the many ways that the charity aims to improve the lives of the inner-city poor.

Started in 1990 by Tom Lewis, a retired Washington police officer, the Fishing School operates programs for kids after the end of the school day, on weekends, and during the summer. It takes its name and its mission from the biblical proverb, “Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime.”

At the Fishing School, youngsters can work on their homework, learn how to use a computer, study the Bible, dance, paint, and sing. Mr. Lewis hopes to teach the children that through education, as well as through cultural and spiritual enrichment, they can overcome poverty and achieve their dreams.

The school serves 60 children from ages 5 to 15. Mr. Lewis estimates that his charity has served some 500 kids since it opened.

The organization’s $432,000 annual budget is financed by private contributions.

The Fishing School also runs separate programs for adolescent girls and boys that are designed to help them navigate the difficult years of puberty.

And the charity offers a full-day summer program, in which kids receive academic tutoring and take field trips to museums, libraries, theaters, and amusement parks. They are also treated to fishing lessons from the fisheries division of the Department of the Interior.

Here, two boys work on an art assignment to sketch each other’s faces.