OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Nineteen Black-founded organizations in Omaha are receiving a total of $225,000 in grant funding from The Omaha Community Foundation’s African American Unity Fund.
Two organizations shared how they plan to use their portion of the funds.
Whether it’s twisting braids, or shaping up a fade, the art of styling hair is a valuable skill for barber Jermaine Bell. It's so valuable he wants to make sure the new generation has the opportunity to learn how to do it.
He started All In the Family Mentoring and Support. The organization promotes a career path that doesn’t require a college education.
“Everybody's not meant to go to college,” Bell said. “It’s a lot of kids that are looking to do something, but they just don’t know what.”
More than $10,000 in grant funding will go to keep the nonprofit’s beauty camps up and running. The money will also go to a Backpack Giveaway which provides free school supplies for families in need once school starts.
The Omaha Community Foundation accepts applications each year from organizations seeking funding.
A Mother's Love is a support agency for women who are pregnant. It provides needs that go beyond the basics such as food and clothes. Executive director Shanika King said the nonprofit also provides support through groups, during postpartum and with doctor visits.
The nonprofit is using its $30,000 portion of funding to fix up its pregnancy wellness space.
“We wanted to have that so moms would have a space and be able to have a culturally specific area to come to be able to feel themselves and be able to ask questions that they might not be able to ask anyone else,” King said.
King said many moms-to-be, especially those of color, face more stressful pregnancies because of socioeconomic factors. She hopes the work her nonprofit is able to do can save lives.
“I’ve had clients that have died and we’ve had babies that have died,” she said. “We feel the impact as a community, so we want to be able to help them be successful with their pregnancy, birth and postpartum care.”
The Omaha Community Foundation’s websitehas a full list of all 19 organizations that received funding this year as well as how much they received and how they're using it.
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