About Us

Our Mission

When Kids Unlimited CEO and founder Tom Cole created Kids Unlimited in 1998 with a grassroots pilot program at a low-income elementary school, it was to do one thing: empower kids to believe. Our belief is that all kids, despite their backgrounds and economic limitations, deserved accessibility to opportunities. Driven by the belief that, through education, we could empower children and their families, Kids Unlimited became a conduit to hope, and today our mission has become a community norm.

Meet Our Director

Tom Cole moved to Oregon in 1995. He graduated from Missouri State University with degrees in Sociology and Psychology. Tom, a former program director of a nationally recognized Boys & Girls Club in Missouri, moved to Oregon to develop the region’s first Boys & Girls Club. Tom soon realized the efforts to reach children needed to acknowledge the challenges of the local Southern Oregon community, rather than replicate a national model. In 1998, Tom established Kids Unlimited’s first afterschool program, designed to meet the needs of children of poverty with purposeful integration of Latino families.

Today, Kids Unlimited programs have been recognized for outstanding outcomes that continue to change the lives of kids, families and our community.

Our Story

It’s been 26 years since our first afterschool program opened its doors at Oak Grove Elementary for children of poverty in Medford. With the vision to ensure all children could find opportunity through education, Kids Unlimited was founded. Since our inception, Kids Unlimited has become more than a program; it’s become a movement capable of transcending barriers while transforming lives of our participants and our community.

Our greatest organizational asset continues to be our ability to grow and respond to immediate and emergent needs. Our programs and services have been a quarter-century learning journey, and the successes have been remarkable. Since the beginning, the foundation of our work has been the relationship to our kids and families. Together, we have shared, learned and evolved our programs to be responsive and conscious of overcoming the barriers of poverty.

As our programs grew, our children and their families grew with us, and their successes became a living testament to what can happen when opportunities for children are created. The successes of the mission have lifted spirits, inspired hope and changed norms.

Ours is a holistic solution for supporting children and families with integrated services that bridge school, afterschool and summer at a campus that provides education, afterschool programs, social-emotional supports, parent and family resources, early learning programs and community recreation. More than services, the expansion of our facilities and campus provide a greater capacity for children to learn, eat freshly prepared meals, play and dance, explore, dream and, ultimately, imagine their Unlimited futures.

Our Journey

1998
KU starts Afterschool Program

KU starts Afterschool Program

Kids Unlimited’s first afterschool program starts with a $500 venture grant at Oak Grove Elementary.

1999
First Summer Camp offered

First Summer Camp offered

Kids Unlimited creates its first summer camp that hosted 150 kids.

1999
Afterschool Programs grow

Afterschool Programs grow

Our afterschool program expands to Medford’s Washington Elementary School.

2000
VIBES Main 1 opens

VIBES Main 1 opens

VIBES Main 1 Center for the arts opens in downtown Medford at 1 E. Main St.

2001
KU nationally recognized

KU nationally recognized

Rolling Stone magazine and MTV gives KU a national award recognizing our innovative program model.

2001
Carpenter Dance Studio opens

Carpenter Dance Studio opens

Our dance studio opens, providing the first dance program inside the Main 1 Arts center.

2002
First Basketball Program begins

First Basketball Program begins

KU’s first basketball program begin with 15 kids.

2003
Rotary Pass to Play gains speed

Rotary Pass to Play gains speed

The Rotary Club-sponsored Kids Unlimited basketball Pass 2 Play program is created.

2003
Middle School programs begin

Middle School programs begin

KU middle school programs begin operating in Medford and White City

2004
Kids Unlimited has a new home

Kids Unlimited has a new home

KU opens its Medford campus at a former bowling alley.