Month: June 2023

Richland County, S.C. – On Thursday, June 22nd officials from Richland School District Two and Serve & Connect were honored to come together at Richland Northeast High School to announce a formal partnership between the two organizations. This partnership will work together to promote the safety and well-being of students, staff, and parents in the Woodfield and Dentsville areas. Together Richland Two and Serve & Connect will strive to create an environment where learning can flourish and where everyone feels secure, safe, and supported.

Speaking at the event Nancy Gregory, Interim Superintendent for Richland Two promoted this partnership:

“Serve & Connect’s mission resonates deeply with our own as we believe in fostering positive relationships and mutual trust among all members of our community. Together, we will implement comprehensive programs and initiatives designed to secure an environment that promotes learning and personal growth both inside our schools and in the area surrounding our schools. One of the key focus areas of this partnership will be collaboration. It is essential to emphasize that this partnership is not just about safety and security: it is about strengthening the fabric of our community.”

It was just over a year ago that thanks to the incredible support and advocacy of Forest Lake Presbyterian Church and Reverend Ellen Skidmore Serve & Connect was able to launch a COMPASS site focused on the community surrounding Richland Northeast High School. COMPASS is the Serve & Connect model for supporting the development and implementation of community-driven initiatives where police and communities work together as one team, one community, to address local challenges. The Woodfield and Dentsville communities have such rich diversity and beautiful history. After a year working within the community, we recognize that there is so much potential for this area but in order for COMPASS to bring the potential to life we must come together and break down the divides that have been created among us and build bridges of hope and trust.

Kassy Alia Ray, Founder and CEO of Serve & Connect spoke of her personal connection to the area:

“Many of you may not know that, in fact, Greg was a graduate of Richland Northeast High School. Richland Northeast JROTC program offered him a foundation to give him the opportunity to pursue his dream of serving as a police officer in the very community where he grew up. Greg believed in service to others was greater than service to self. He bravely and selflessly gave his life protecting the community that gave him so much. This is the same community that supported our family during our darkest days and it is also where I am proud to be raising my two boys. Right here.”

Serve & Connect is grateful to Richland Two for this incredible opportunity to strengthen and formalize our partnership and we look forward to working as a team to make a transformative impact for this community. Just as police cannot build safe communities alone, Richland School District Two cannot promote safe schools alone. We need more partners to join our effort to build a better tomorrow. So today, in addition to this momentous signing of the MOU Serve & Connect challenges the community at large with an ask: For those that may be reading about this and learning about it out in our community – we NEED YOU.

Together, Serve & Connect and Richland Two will collaborate to provide a brighter future for our schools to stand as a beacon of safety, excellence, and unity. With this formal partnership, we will create a community that thrives on mutual respect, security, and strong support. Thank you to everyone who helped to make this vision a reality and to formalize this partnership and may this mark the beginning of an extraordinary chapter in the history of our community.

Links To media:

Richland Two and Serve & Connect Announce Formal Partnership Media Advisory

Richland Two and Serve & Connect – ABC Columbia (WOLO) News Story

Safer Schools the goal of Columbia-area nonprofit’s partnership with local district – Post and Courier

SERVE & CONNECT SELECTED BY STAND TOGETHER FOUNDATION TO BECOME CATALYST IMPACT PARTNER
Serve & Connect joins the first group of Catalyst Impact Partners, receiving management training, access to new customer-first impact measurement approach, and up to $300,000 in grants over the next three years.

Columbia, SC – Serve & Connect CEO and Founder Kassy Alia Ray is proud to announce that the Columbia, SC based non-profit has been selected to participate in Stand Together Foundation’s new Catalyst Impact Grant Program, an initiative cultivating a group of the country’s most transformative nonprofits that demonstrate a better way to transform individual lives and create lasting change.

The Catalyst Impact Grant Program awards each incoming Catalyst Impact Partner with Principle Based ManagementTM coaching and consulting, access to a new customer-first measurement approach created by Stand Together Foundation to understand and differentiate their impact and grants up to $300,000 over three years. By 2025, Stand Together Foundation’s goal is to invest in up to 100 Catalyst partners who have successfully completed the Catalyst Program, committing up to $30 million to accelerate nonprofit impact and transform how society thinks about addressing poverty and social barriers.

Serve & Connect is one of the first 25 Catalysts to have been selected to join the new Catalyst Impact Grant Program, which officially kicked off in January 2023. Nonprofits selected have the key ingredients to break the cycle of poverty. They put people at the forefront, see the unique potential in every individual, and are changing the way the country thinks about, talks about, and tackles poverty. The grant program is designed to provide resources for increased effectiveness, including management training and customer feedback tools to help nonprofits grow, scale, and replicate their success. Click here to view a full list of the first 25 Catalyst Impact Partners.

“Stand Together Foundation including Serve & Connect in their first ever Catalyst Impact Partner program is an incredible benefit to Serve & Connect, our staff, and the community that we serve,” stated Kassy Alia Ray CEO and Founder of Serve & Connect. “Stand Together Foundation and Serve & Connect share similar goals with a belief in people, seeing those closest to a problem as the source of solutions, and promoting unity. We are excited by the opportunity to learn with changemakers across the Nation and know our relationship with Stand Together Foundation will strengthen the capacity of Serve & Connect.”

Stand Together Foundation partners with the highest impact nonprofits around the nation, all committed to empowering the individuals they serve through a principled approach. This means that instead of treating people as problems to be managed with sweeping, top-down plans, these organizations help people realize their full potential through bottom-up empowerment and solutions that help individuals transform themselves and the world around them. Today, Stand Together Foundation partners with almost 300 nonprofits, across all 50 states.

Serve & Connect was selected through an extensive vetting process and accepted into the program after a rigorous evaluation focused on impact, customer surveying, reach, and principle alignment. Stand Together Foundation’s Catalyst Impact Partner Initiative represents an investment in the diversity of nonprofits, audiences, and solutions as the way to end poverty. The 25 Catalyst Impact Partners have diverse program models across the nation and are uniquely suited for rapid iteration and experimentation based on data collection and customer feedback. Each of these organizations focus on relationships with their customers and prioritize individual transformation rather than transactional services.

“Our Catalyst partners take a unique approach to helping people overcome barriers that is anchored in a strong belief in people,” said Evan Feinberg, executive director at Stand Together Foundation. “This initiative is about deepening our partnership so that Catalysts can scale their reach, better understand their impact, and ultimately transform the way society thinks about addressing social barriers. If these organizations continue to grow in their effectiveness, and everyone in the country hears about what they are doing, we can transform the entire social sector in America.”

Catalyst Impact Partners will be expected to:

 

• Model a “customer-first” impact vision. Catalyst Impact Partners will participate in Stand Together Foundation’s pioneering measurement approach to understand impact through customer feedback.

• Advance a management culture that empowers employees. Catalyst Impact Partners will focus on leveraging Principle Based Management to empower their employees to empower the people they serve.

• Build the movement toward empowerment. Identify with and advocate for a culture of openness, dignity, mutual benefit, and empowerment among philanthropists, nonprofits, and the broader social sector.

Click here to learn more about Catalyst Impact Partners.

 

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About Serve & Connect
Serve & Connect is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that aims to ignite positive change through police-community partnerships. Kassy Alia Ray founded the organization in memory of her late husband, Officer Gregory Alia, who was killed in the line of duty in 2015. Backed by evidence-based practices designed to fuel collaboration, Serve & Connect provides the tools, training, and technical assistance necessary for police departments, local organizations, leaders, and residents to work together to improve community outcomes.

About Stand Together Foundation
Stand Together Foundation is committed to breaking the cycle of poverty in America by driving change from within communities. We are building a community of social entrepreneurs who believe in people, work from the bottom up, and unite with anyone to do right. Since 2016, we have committed over $120 million and counting to fuel the innovation of nonprofits throughout the country to build stronger, safer communities where all people can learn, contribute, and realize their full potential. Our goal is to help nonprofit leaders maximize their impact to transform more lives out of poverty. Learn more at www.StandTogetherFoundation.org.

Serve & Connect a recipient of Sisters of Charity Foundation of SC’s 2023 Systems Level Change Grant

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Serve & Connect received a $20,000 grant from the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina. The foundation awards grants to nonprofits that strive to reduce poverty throughout the state of South Carolina and beyond. Serve & Connect was awarded a grant as part of the Systems Level Change category.

These grants are intended for organizations that work to influence and guide change in structural systems that have created, sustained, or reinforced the marginalization of families and individuals experiencing poverty in South Carolina. The Sisters of Charity Foundation awarded $475,000 to 18 different organizations in this category.

The mission of Serve & Connect is to foster positive change through sustainable police and community partnerships. We envision a future where police and citizens are working together as one community to address root causes of crime and promote safety, so everyone thrives. We believe that when police and community partners stand together, they have the power to make real, lasting change happen. This grant from Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina will fund programming to spread a culture of community policing throughout South Carolina and to showcase tangible examples of how police and community partners are working together to make a difference in their communities.

“We are grateful for our continued partnership with Sisters of Charity Foundation, and we are honored to use these funds to support Serve & Connect’s COMPASS program to address community-level change to address poverty, violence, and quality of life in South Carolina through increasing relationships with local law enforcement and their community,” said Kassy Alia Ray, CEO & Founder of Serve & Connect.

In this cycle of funding, the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina awarded 92 grants totaling $1.4 million to nonprofit organizations across the state. 16 of the 92 organizations to receive a grant are in the Midlands, a $282,000 commitment to the region.

“The Sisters of Charity Foundation is proud to support nonprofits in South Carolina that are making a difference in their communities by seeking to address the factors contributing to poverty,” said Donna Waites, President of Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina. “Through the support of these grants and the strength of working together, we believe we can build a stronger and more compassionate community where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.”

Macon Lovelace, the Chairman of the Board of Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina, added, “these grants represent our unwavering commitment to addressing the root causes of poverty. Along with our core values, our grantmaking is rooted in humility, transparency, equity, and trust, and we are proud to partner with such vital organizations in this cycle.”

These Cycle 1 grant recipients serve all 46 of South Carolina counties, and many of these nonprofits provide services across the state.

About Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina
Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina is a ministry of the Sisters of Charity Health System, founded in 1996. Its mission is to address the needs of families and individuals experiencing poverty throughout the state of South Carolina. Through the strategic use of resources, they seek to reduce poverty through action, advocacy, and leadership.

Uplift Lexington County, a program under Serve & Connect thanks to the support of Lexington Medical Center, hosts Mental Health Pop-Up Events free to the Lexington County community!

Many people in our community may see their stress levels rising due to a variety of economic, social, and political issues. Uplift Lexington County’s Mental Health Pop-Up Events create a safe space for anyone in the community to talk about struggles that may take a toll on their well-being. Uplift Lexington County offers these to reduce stress and provide a personalized, confidential, and impactful mental health conversation. If resources are appropriate or needed, the trained professional from Uplift Lexington County can provide a customized resource list – or if someone just needs a listening ear or to vent without judgment, they will do that too! The Mental Health Pop-Up Events prioritize mental well-being and aim to give our community awareness and tools to take care of themselves and others around them.

 

The benefits of Pop-Up Mental Health Events include:

• A comprehensive understanding of the pain and fears that our community is experiencing.
• A normalization and acceptance of our struggles.
• An inspired belief that sharing any struggle does not lead to shame.
• A tailored resource list of other services that are identified as a need.
• An deeper understanding of our communities needs by accumulating data.

Last year UpLift Lexington County hosted nine mental health pop-ups throughout Lexington County at designated Walmart locations interacting with 115 individuals of which 77 received additional resources provided.
Responses from participants last year indicate that individuals were grateful for the help and friendly faces:

• “Yes, felt great to talk about what I have been going through.”
• “Yes, very friendly and offered help :)”
• “I made great contact for help!”

Announcing the 2023 Mental Health Pop-Up Event Dates and Times:

• June 22nd 12pm-4pm – Leesville Walmart, 115 E Church St, Leesville, SC 29070
• July 8th or 22nd – Food Lion in Gaston, 5204 US-321, Gaston, SC 29053
• August 8th 12pm-4pm – Walmart in West Columbia
• September 2nd- Food Lion in South Congaree, 675 Main St, South Congaree, SC 29170