The Kansas City Spirit – We’re All in This Together

Thanks to a microscopic virus known as COVID-19, our lives have been upended, but the “Kansas City Spirit” of kindness and generosity will help us get through this together. 

Kansas Citians are coming together to organize resources for all segments of our community. Check out the list below and discover how you can help.

Kansas City Regional COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund

Our region’s most vulnerable are being disproportionately affected by our current health crisis. The Kansas City Regional COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund will provide dollars for housing needs (including rent, utilities, and mortgages); food assistance; access to healthcare services and more.

A coalition of KC organizations – the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, United Way of Greater Kansas City, the Mid-America Regional Council, and LISC Greater Kansas City – set a fundraising goal of $10-million, hoping to exceed that as community needs require. Fund leaders say they may expand their scope as community needs are met, even as new needs surface.

The fund will support relief efforts in the Greater Kansas City area through grants made to 501(c)(3) public charities and public organizations. The needs are critical, and the fund hopes to deploy grants quickly.

If you’d like to make an individual donation to the fund, click here.

Area businesses who would like to donate can contact Denise St. Omer, Greater Kansas City Community Foundation at stomer@growyourgiving.org.

And if you’re a nonprofit in need, click here to apply for a grant.

Support for Small Businesses

Small businesses  are most at risk because of the ongoing health crisis – our business survey showed that clearly.

The Small Business Relief Fund has a goal of $5-million, and is intended to provide immediate relief to local small businesses experiencing extreme economic disruption and financial strain. Launched by AltCap, a local Community Development Financial Institution, the fund has been jump-started thanks to a $500,000 donation from the Ewing M. Kauffman Foundation. Supporting organizations include the KC Chamber, Civic Council of Greater Kansas City, and the Kansas City Area Development Council.

Applications are now closed, but donor inquiries should be directed to: Ruben Alonso III, AltCap President at (816) 876-8670 or ruben@alt-cap.org

Food Assistance

Harvesters – The Community Food Network is our regional food bank serving a 26 county area in northwestern Missouri and northeastern Kansas, providing food and household products to more than 760 nonprofit agencies, including emergency food pantries, community kitchens, homeless shelters, children’s homes and others.

Donating to Harvesters COVID-19 Response Fund will help them continue their mission of feeding the hungry. Your monetary gift is the most effective way to help.

• Click here to donate.
• Click here to find food assistance.

Children Mercy Hospital is offering free bag lunches or shelf-stable meals for kids 1 to 18 years old Monday through Friday at five area clinics in KCMO, KCK, and Independence. This link provides details.

Thelma’s Kitchen – A project of Reconciliation Services at 31st & Troost, Thelma’s Kitchen is providing meals to those in need during the COVID-19 crisis. It is the city’s first donate-what-you-can café in Kansas City, maintained through donations and volunteers. The restaurant is closed, but residents are still lining up daily for Thelma’s meals. Reconciliation Services also offers housing and utilities assistance, provides clients with needed medications and medical supplies, mental health services, and economic community building services. Here’s the link to donate.

Health Care in the African American Community

Statistics show that COVID-19 is taking a higher toll on Kansas City’s (and the nation’s) African American populations. These two health centers are both key for health services in the city’s African American community:

Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center - Dr. Rodgers founded the Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center in 1967.  It was the first federally-recognized community health center in Missouri and only the fourth such center in the country at the time. The center opened at the Wayne Miner Housing Project, in the belief that families deserve access to everything they need to thrive. Today, the Health Center offers comprehensive and quality medical, dental and behavioral health care to anyone who walks through the door. Because of the COVID-19 crisis, only the clinic at 825 Euclid Avenue is open; its four satellite locations are closed. Your donation helps provide high quality, compassionate, and affordable health care to all people. Click here to donate.

Swope Health – Founded in 1969 in the basement of Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church, Swope Health has grown from serving 2000 patients its first year to more than 40,000 patients in western Missouri and eastern Kansas. Swope provides medical, dental, and behavioral health services available to all, with fees based on the patient’s ability to pay. You can provide support through cash donations, in-kind giving, or donating supplies from their Amazon Wishlists for their homeless outreach and Adult Day program. Click here for more information.

Community Blood Center

In normal times, Kansas City’s Community Blood Center needs 500 donors a day to meet the needs of our area hospitals. Because of stay-at-home orders, hundreds of blood drives at local companies and other sites have had to be cancelled.

The Community Blood Center has adapted quickly to new circumstances. Appointments to give blood are now required; new protocols are in place to ensure the safety of both donors and staff.

To find out more and to make an appointment, click here.

What if you don’t have a home to shelter in? Help for the homeless

Hope Faith – Hope Faith Village provides essential services during the day six days a week at their campus at 7th & Virginia in KCMO, including services like hot meals,  clothing, telephone and mail access, housing and employment referrals, case management, a computer lab, private showers, and medical, vision, and dental care. They’ve seen a great increase in the need for services since the COVID-19 outbreak, expanding their operations outdoors to allow them the space to be able to safely provide for guests while maintaining social distancing practices. To support Hope Faith Village, click here to donate.

City Union Mission – Serving Kansa City’s homeless population since 1924, the City Union Mission works to provide meals and emergency shelters for men, women, and families.  Since the COVID-19 outbreak, City Union Mission has implemented a number of measures to keep people safe:  wearing face masks, social distancing in the shelters, classrooms, and at mealtimes, use of hand sanitizer upon entry and frequent hand-washing encouraged.  Here’s the link to donate.

restart – restart provides housing and supportive services for youth, families, women and men with a goal of ending homelessness in our community. The organization provides everything from emergency overnight shelter to transitional living and permanent housing. To donate, click here.

Help for your favorite restaurants

Restaurants have been seriously affected by the stay-at-home orders necessary to protect public health. But, though you can’t dine at your favorite eatery, many restaurants are offering pick-up and delivery. Here’s a list of Kansas City restaurants offering those services. (Some of them are offering wine and liquor as well!)