Communities in Action (CIA) is transforming lives in Wichita, Kansas through comprehensive youth development in neighborhoods where opportunities are scarce, illness rates are high from decades of groundwater contamination, and huge environmentally worrisome utility poles loom overhead. What began as a wrestling club that morphed into youth football and cheer leagues, CIA officially became a nonprofit in 2023. Through football and cheerleading programs serving 70+ athletes each year, combined with tutoring and life skills workshops, CIA takes a holistic approach that ensures students develop athletic prowess and educational foundations for long-term success. Working with parents and volunteers from Wichita’s Unified School District, CIA assists students before they get to college by checking athletes’ grades and offering subject-specific support services. During the off season, the group also provides “life skills” workshops that include etiquette lessons, financial literacy, proper nutrition and other tools to help students become healthier and more productive citizens.
Communities in Action founder LaWanda DeShazer has been vocal against local power company Evergy’s installation of unsightly 125-foot transmission poles and lines in primarily lower-income black communities that pose possible environmental threats and could lower property values. (Photo courtesy of LaWanda DeShazer)
Beyond youth programs, this Black, female-led organization serves Wichita through comprehensive community advocacy. For six years, they’ve hosted annual Music in the Park events featuring resource fairs providing health and wealth services to underserved populations. The group advocates for grocery stores in neighbors deemed food deserts and joins community watchdog coalitions addressing environmental injustices where Black and brown families in Wichita face toxic pollution and hazardous waste at rates 90% higher than similar communities nationwide. Realizing that low-to-moderate income workers spend more than $40,000 in lifetime earnings on cash-checking services, the group supports Bank On ICT, a collaboration between financial institutions, community organizations and the local government to protect the unbanked from predatory lending services by offering safe, affordable banking alternatives.