A Kansas City nonprofit that serves the growing challenge of homeless Black women has received funding from Chick-fil-A.
Sisters in Christ KC has three facilities providing transitional living and credits their growth as a ministry to the support of the local community.
The group received a $175,000 grant from the 2022 Chick-fil-A True Inspiration Award. A total of 34 organizations — all of which are either Black-led or serve communities of color addressing education, hunger, or homelessness, received funding. Collectively, they will receive a total of $5 million in grants to further their community efforts.
“Despite the challenges these organizations have faced in the past few years, the 2022 grant recipients have demonstrated incredible passion, perseverance, and leadership as they have continued to enact meaningful change in their communities,” said Rodney Bullard, vice president of corporate social responsibility for Chick-fil-A, Inc. “We are inspired by the impact these organizations have on their communities every day, from providing essential items to those affected by Hurricane Ida, to enabling access to online education for students during the pandemic. We’re honored to invest in the future of these organizations and help them grow their incredible impact.”
Sisters in Christ was a Top Category Winner in the Homelessness Category with The Maui Farm in Makawao, Hawaii, and Project Hope Alliance in Costa Mesa, CA. Chick-fil-A Operator C.T. Taylor in Overland Park nominated Sisters in Christ in September for a regional True Inspiration Award. Sisters in Christ became a regional finalist and voting took place from September 4th to September 24th, 2021 on the Chick-fil-A One app. This year, nearly 500,000 voted through the app to help select the regional nonprofit grant recipients for the 2022 True Inspiration Awards recipients.
“We’re thrilled to receive this grant,” said Carolyn Whitney, founder, and CEO of Sisters in Christ KC. “ Our long-term strategy to address the needs of Black women experiencing homelessness is to affect systemic change by transforming the housing, economic, and mental health services landscape of the Kansas City metropolitan area. Our long-term strategy also involves fostering genuine sisterhood and creating opportunities for racial and cultural understanding of Black and minority groups in the Kansas City community.”
The True Inspiration Awards were established in 2015 to carry on Chick-fil-A Founder S. Truett Cathy’s legacy of generosity and community service. Since that time, 204 grants have been distributed to organizations located across 36 states, Washington, D.C., and Canada, impacting more than 2.4 million individuals. Individual grants range from $50,000 to $350,000.
“I nominated Sisters in Christ KC because I’ve seen firsthand their impact serving youth and women,” said C.T. Taylor. “My wife and I taught a class about customer service to their Youth Life Link program last summer. We’re ecstatic to see this nonprofit receive resources to expand their services.”
–Metro Voice