Grant Recipients

A Simple House -- www.asimplehouse.org
Although A Simple House is an inner-city Catholic mission to the homeless and poor, there is no food pantry, no clothes closet, no daily soup kitchen, no overnight housing.  When it comes to these particular services, the poor and homeless are not necessarily without assistance within our area.  Instead, the Catholic missionaries living at the house who participate in daily Mass, communal prayer, and voluntary poverty, spend their days visiting the poor and homeless where they are…much like Christ did.  They offer friendship, prayer, encouragement, and assistance with life skills and related needs where appropriate. 
Amethyst Place -- www.amethystplace.org
Amethyst Place was created to provide services to poor, homeless, recovering women and their children. Most women who come to Amethyst Place face significant barriers due to lack of transportation, probation and parole, felony convictions, housing evictions, poor credit histories especially unpaid utility bills, and physical and mental disabilities. The goal of Amethyst Place is for each woman who leaves the program to have a sense of dignity and self-worth. ​
AngelEyes Maternity Home -- www.angeleyeskc.org
The mission of AngelEyes Maternity Home is to give pregnant teens a safe place to live while providing them with the resources, education and job training needed to prepare for motherhood, successful independent living, eliminate future unplanned pregnancies and prevent homelessness.
CareKit KC -- www.visitation.org/social-concerns & www.sfx-kc.org/justice-life
Visitation Parish and St. Francis Xavier Parish regularly work together on common projects of charity and justice in our community.  This has included the creation of a community garden, the produce from which goes to the St. Francis Xavier food pantry, and the remodeling of the second floor of Morning Glory Ministries to provide space for a clothing store for the homeless and office space for MOCSA that benefits clients of Morning Glory.  The food collection ministry recently began facilitating collection drives to gather toiletries and personal care items for the homeless in our community.  The first drive collected enough supplies for almost 200 personal care kits for the needy.
Catholic Charities Employment Services -- www.catholiccharities-kcsj.org
Catholic Charities Employment Services program assists individuals as they seek and interview for employment.   Program components include: 1) Employment preparation to help participants identify career strengths/potential; prepare to seek/attain employment; build soft skills; learn basic computer skills; and access education/training; 2) Employment placement and retention services; 3) Financial literacy classes and benefits access; 4) Barrier reduction services provided through a wraparound menu of support; and 5) Optimism for the future. 
Catholic Radio Network -- www.thecatholicradionetwork.com
The injustice toward the dignity of the human person is often catalyzed by a lack of education and a lack of awareness. The Catholic Radio Network has introduced a Gabriel Billboard Campaign that is designed to effectively and efficiently promote morality and truth and by raising awareness about Catholic radio throughout our area.  ​
​Community Missions Corporation -- www.communitymissionscorp.org
Community Missions provides safe, affordable housing and supportive services for low and moderate income men with disabilities who have been chronically homeless. To accomplish this, Community Missions owns and manages two apartment buildings (Juda House and St. Joseph's Haven) providing housing to 34 men in 16 studio and 9 semi-private apartments. St. Joseph's Haven also incorporates a "Safe Haven" component into its repertoire of services, providing shelter for up to 7 additional men during crisis situations. 
Community Services League -- www.cslcares.org
Community Services League (CSL) has worked to provide economic security for the poor for 100 years. CSL provides help in four main areas: Income Supports, Employment Services, Financial Coaching, and Housing Counseling. CSL has 10 offices in Jackson County and serves 15,000 unique individuals annually.
Connecting for Good -- www.connectingforgood.org 
Connecting for Good provides free and affordable Internet connectivity to low income families, teaching digital life skills classes and providing affordable refurbished PCs to under resourced people and nonprofit organizations. Activities have focused on low income individuals living the Kansas City, Missouri's urban core, primarily East of Troost Avenue and the predominately Latino areas of the Westside. As a Microsoft Registered Refurbisher, they collect used computers to create high quality recycled PCs and then provide these devices to to qualified low income families for just $50.00.  
​Faith in Action -- @FIAstjoseph
Faith in Action is a coalition of Christian congregations in St. Joseph, Catholic parishes and Protestant churches alike, along with local health care organizations working together to share the love of Christ through church volunteers meeting the needs of community members in an effort to allow them to remain independent.   For more than ten years, this has included such things as transportation to appointments, providing ramps in homes to increase mobility, snow removal in the winter and yard work in the summer, small financial assistance to cover the cost of a utility bill one month, and weekly phone calls just to say, “hello”.
Foundation for Inclusive Religious Education (F.I.R.E.)​ -- www.firefoundation.org 
​The Foundation for Inclusive Religious Education (FIRE) is the only organization of its kind providing financial grants to schools within the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph to assist with the costs of Special Education services in an inclusive setting. During the school year, students with significant special needs at partner schools received direct support from para-educators funded in large part by FIRE. Additional students benefit from the presence of para-educators in classrooms. To create the very best educational outcomes and positive learning experiences, it’s critical for school community members / stake holders to more fully understand best practices and proven strategies for creating thriving inclusive learning environments. 
​Habitat for Humanity Kansas City -- Affordable  Home Ownership -- www.habitatkc.org
Habitat for Humanity Kansas City's cornerstone home ownership program involves the construction or rehabilitation of safe, decent, affordable  houses that are sold to Habitat KC's partner  families at a zero-interest  mortgage rate. Qualified  families must have 1) a need for shelter, 2) income  within the 30-80% range of Area Medium Income and 3) a willingness to partner with Habitat KC by completing 300 hours of sweat equity. These hours are completed  through volunteerism and 50 hours of homeowner education classes.
Holy Rosary Credit Union​ -- www.holyrosarycu.org
It has always been the mission of Holy Rosary Credit Union to help their member-owners with personal financial-service needs but the organization has often been called "the melting pot credit union" because over its 70-year history it has been instrumental in welcoming new members from various cultural and ethnic groups arriving to our diocese.  Though members have diverse backgrounds, they share a common bond of the Catholic faith, and today are members of one of the thirty Catholic parishes or membership groups that Holy Rosary currently serves in the Kansas City - St. Joseph diocese.   ​
As part of its mission to build power for immigrants, Innovation Law Lab is honored to provide legal expertise, software tools, and ongoing program management for the Deportation Defense Legal Network (DDLN) – a grassroots partnership launched in partnership with community members and organizations, which recruits and trains pro bono attorneys within the community to defend immigrants at bond hearings before the Kansas City Immigration Court, which encompasses Kansas and Missouri.
Jerusalem Farm -- www.jerusalemfarm.org
Jerusalem Farm strives to transform the lives of their members and the lives of those around them through the four cornerstones of Prayer, Community, Service and Simplicity as well as Catholic Social Teaching. Specifically, Jerusalem Farm is directly involved in two areas. They address the home-repair needs of their neighbors in the Historic Northeast neighborhoods of Kansas City, Missouri. Many families and individuals including single mothers, elderly, and disabled persons are on fixed incomes which barely provide for their necessities and when extra expenses come up, such as fixing a leaking roof, installing a handicap accessible shower or other home repair needs. Secondly, they host week-long retreats for high-school and college students that are focused on forming participants in their faith and in loving each other and God more fully. During the retreats the youth assist the members of Jerusalem Farm in their service of home-repair and they are trained in Catholic Social Teaching.  
KC Can! -- www.kcrm.org
The mission of KC Can! is to empower those who are poor and homeless to reach their full potential through meaningful job training and dignified employment; to provide the Kansas City community a valuable and necessary food scrap collection service that preserves our environment; and to create a sustainable revenue stream that supports the Kansas City Rescue Mission in its ongoing work in our
city’s urban core.
Legal Aid of Western Missouri -- www.lawmo.org/afh
The purpose of the Access to Health (A2H) Project is to improve the community’s overall health by resolving legal matters that negatively affect the health and wellness of low-income individuals. Project staff assists clients with various health-harming civil legal issues, including guardianships for minors and incapacitated adults, durable powers of attorney (POAs) and advance directives, DV intervention, and access to safe and healthy housing
Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (MADP) -- www.madpmo.org
MADP arose out of a statewide assembly of faith and community leaders who united in the early 1980s as the Coalition Against the Death Penalty.  Since 2005, MADP has been the only Missouri organization working to repeal the death penalty in the state by educating and informing fellow citizens and legislators about the costs and consequences of capital punishment.  They have helped establish various legislation which prohibits the execution of individuals with intellectual disabilities, eliminates juvenile executions and forbids the imposition of the death penalty on offenders who were under the age of 18 when their crimes were committed.
​​​Morning Glory Café -- www.morningglorycares.com
Their mission is to “Uphold the inherent, God-given dignity in every human life by providing not only physical nourishment and basic needs, but also by fostering hope and self-worth in the most disadvantaged and forgotten members of society." Morning Glory Ministries, which began over thirty years ago as Cathedral Social Services to address the issue of hunger in the downtown area, has expand their services to include a weekend hot lunch program, Emergency Assistance, a breakfast program that has more than doubled the number of guests served each week.  Morning Glory Café alone serves over 80,00 meals and the Emergency Assistance program helps thousands of its neighbors.
Mother's Refuge ​-- www.mothersrefuge.org
Since 1987, Mother’s Refuge has served more than 1,350 homeless, pregnant young women that are plagued by the injustice of an unstable, unsafe environment; physical, verbal and sexual abuse; poverty; and often pressured by family or the father to abort their unborn child. This level of homelessness leads to and continues a lack of education, income, and support structure. Most are behind academically, they lack work and successful life skills, and have no plans or goals for their future. Mother’s Refuge also provides a loving home that is safe from drugs and abuse. They provide nutritious meals, clothing, individual case management, 24-hour supervision and mentorship by trained women as house mothers, education, and a stable environment for the young and unborn.  
North Central Missouri Business Facilitation​ -- www.ncmbf.org
North Central Missouri Business Facilitation, founded in 2015, is a group of volunteers committed to championing the sustainable success of small businesses in the north and northeast part of our diocese in rural Harrison, Grundy, DeKalb, Davies, Caldwell and Clinton counties.  NCMBF strives to support and champion local individuals in sustainable business enterprise through facilitated coaching and the assistance of a local community-wide think tank.  The overall goal is to contribute to the stabilization and economic growth of the communities.   ​
Northwest Missouri Enterprise Facilitation -- www.nwmef.org
​Northwest Missouri Enterprise Facilitation, a group of over sixty volunteers who care passionately about preserving the economic success and sustainability of rural Northwest Missouri, was launched in 2006. This group of volunteers with a variety of skill sets and experiences, the NWMEF Board, meet monthly to provide feedback and assistance to the group’s facilitator who presents individual cases of current businesses and organizations being monitored by the group and proposed clients who are in need of assistance—like a combination board meeting and town hall. To date, over 650 entrepreneurs from Andrew, Atchison, Gentry, Holt, Nodaway and Worth Counties have been assisted.  
One Heart Project -- www.oneheart.com
The One Heart Project is an activation campaign to mobilize individuals and organizations across America to participate in a movement to positively impact incarcerated and at-risk youth in the U.S., ages 13-19, in public schools, after school outlets and juvenile justice facilities, through two initiatives -- redirection and reentry.
Operation Breakthrough -- www.operationbreakthrough.org
Operation Breakthrough provides a safe, loving and educational environment for children in poverty including hands-on-learning experiences with supportive teacher interactions.  They are also committed to providing quality health and wellness resources to allow children to develop to their full potential and parents are provided with a variety of opportunities designed to help promote healthy family relationships.  ​
Project Uplift -- www.uplift.org
The Uplift Organization acknowledges God’s providence and fidelity to his people, especially the homeless and those in poverty.  Their goal is to deliver basic human needs and care and compassion that are not usually received from other organizations.  ​
​Redemptorist Social Services Center​ -- www.kcsocialservices.org
The mission of Redemptorist Social Services Center is to prevent a temporary crisis from becoming a permanent tragedy. The Center's programs of assistance stabilize individuals, families and neighborhoods, with long-term results benefiting the entire community.
Redemptorist Social Services Center has provided a lifeline to the poor and elderly of metropolitan Kansas City since 1986.  Their comprehensive programs of Emergency Client Assistance, Senior Services, Legal Assistance and Health Maintenance address their most basic needs by providing over 1,900 critical client assists each month with shelter, utility and medical needs, food, clothing and transportation. The staff of Redemptorist Center offers a combined total of over 50 years of experience dedicated to making a substantial difference in the lives of people in crisis.
Sheffield Place – www.sheffieldplace.org
Sheffield Place opened its doors in February 1991 as a community response to the growing population of homeless mothers and their children in the Kansas City area. Since then, Sheffield Place has assisted more than 1000 families in making the difficult journey from homelessness to self-sufficiency.  What makes Sheffield Place unique among homeless serving organizations is the commitment to Trauma Informed Care and trauma recovery as the first step in healing; the intense focus on mental health and addiction recovery services delivered by licensed, master’s level therapists; the exclusive focus on homeless mothers and children; the length of stay (averages 3 months); the delivery of all services onsite where the families live; and the provision of ongoing case management and other supportive services for as long as necessary once the families transition from the shelter to permanent housing in the community.
St. Gregory Barbarigo Nursing Home Ministry ​-- www.stgregorysmaryville.org
Several times a month, members of St. Gregory Barbarigo Parish travel to area nursing homes and assisted living facilities to conducts Bible study and prayer groups for both Catholic and non-Catholic residents.  Mass is offered at every nursing home and assisted living center by local priests and members of Conception Abbey Seminary and parish extraordinary Communion ministers make certain every Catholic resident receives the Eucharist once a week.  ​
St. Matthew the Apostle Parish​ -- www.stmatthewapostle.org
St. Matthew the Apostle Parish, located in the Hickman Mills area of southeast Kansas City, has experiences an increase in the number of parish families with non-English-speaking parents and adults. It is difficult, if not impossible, to obtain employment, to provide for the needs of a family, or to even carry out daily tasks with such a barrier to basic communication. As a result, St. Matthew’s has begun an ESL (English as a Second Language) program with the Spanish-speaking parents of children enrolled in the Parish School of Religion. The program is offered at no cost to ensure that any parent who needs to learn English may benefit from the classes. Parishioners and retired Spanish teachers volunteer their time to instruct classes and then solicit feedback from the students about what is working for them, what is not, and what changes can be implemented to make sure the needs of the adults are effectively met.  
St. Therese Little Flower Parish -- www.stlfkc.org
St. Therese Little Flower Parish, at 58th & Euclid, is a constant point of light and hope in the Blue Hills community. A large segment of the residents within the parish boundaries have, at one time or another, turned to the parish in times of dire need and many on an ongoing basis. The parish has actively sought out and embraced partnerships with local organizations that help broaden the scope of the services they can offer to the elderly in their community. Seniors who were already supporting themselves and other members of their extended family on a subsistence income, now find themselves dealing with additional economic and long-term health concerns. During the week, the parish hall now serves as a Senior Center operated by Catholic Charities, where home delivery meals originate for over 100 people each day, and congregate meals and activities are provided to dozens more.  
Tamale Kitchen -- www.thetamalekitchen.org
The Tamale Kitchen addresses the root causes of injustice towards the dignity of the person, particularly, women within the Northeast Kansas City Hispanic community.  Limited education, unemployment, and lack of community leadership roles are just a few of the challenges they face.  Specifically, as cited by a recent Greater Kansas City Hispanic Needs Assessment, the challenges also include a “hesitancy to integrate with the larger communities; a lack of understanding of community standards and mores, expectations, laws; and lack of communication for the immigrant community.”  The Tamale Kitchen provides a pathway to self-sufficiency by drawing upon the talents of the women, paying livable wages and empowering the women to develop leadership skills and engage in the broader community.