Our Story

Mission Statement: We are here to Invest God's love in our community.

We created a safe space for our youth.

Following the murder of a few youth in and around Redmond Park, a task force was formed in 2016. They are referred to as SET (Creating Safe, Equitable and Thriving Communities). SET stated that violence among youth in Cedar Rapids is a complex problem that, at its root, is caused by a sense of disconnectedness, hopelessness and despair exacerbated by the relative lack of opportunities and adequate resources. These issues are coupled with the easy access to weapons, which can lead to a negative environment for the youth the to grow up in.

By looking at the statistics and information provided by the community and SET, we believe that Cedar Rapids desperately needs a safe space for these teenagers to receive encouragement, learn life skills, and discover effective ways to find jobs. Help us bring hope to the Wellington Heights (WH),Mound view, and Oak Hill Jackson communities.

 

Core Values

Dignity

  • Treat each person with value, respect and trust because we are all created in the image of God.

Relevant

  • Address real needs through Biblical truth and understanding.

Compassionate

  • Do everything in love through active listening to gain understanding.

Hope

  • Look forward to an abundant life empowered by Christ.

Purposeful

  • Provide and organized environment that supports personal growth.

Community

  • Foster a healthy environment of trust, shared authority, humility and serving one another through relationships.

Perseverance

  • Consistently and intentionally committed to doing what we say long-term.

 

What KCC Believes

  • We believe the people of WH and MV have tremendous value which is why we are specifically focused on this community in coordinated programming to provide opportunity and hope.

  • We believe WH and MV have tremendous potential which is why we're focusing on providing after-school programs, a computer lab, gym and job training. We're doing this because we found these are the things that need to happen to create a thriving community.

  • We believe change happens when neighbor works with neighbor which is why all the staff will be required to live in the neighborhood.

  • We believe change happens when we raise up the youth which is why we want to create a place for students to be encouraged.

  • We believe that poverty is defined by broken relationships with God, with self, with others and with the rest of creation.