screenshot-2025-02-01-at-3-05-55-pm
screenshot-2025-02-01-at-3-05-55-pm

Wichita, Kansas

Communities in Action

Communities in Action provides an educational component to its youth football and cheer programs in Wichita, KS. Before officially becoming a nonprofit organization in 2023, the group had been operating for a decade, beginning as a wrestling club that morphed into youth football and cheer leagues. Serving about 60 football players and 12 cheerleaders, an educational component was added to address the dropout rates of some high school athletes who made it to college on sports scholarships but lacked the academic skills necessary to stay in school. Working with parents and volunteers from Wichita’s Unified School District, Communities in Action assists students before they get to college by checking athletes’ grades and offering tutoring services. During the off season, the group also provides “life skills” workshops that include etiquette lessons, 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)

In addition to its youth athletics and education programs, Communities in Action serves the Wichita area in myriad ways. For the past six years, the group has hosted an annual Music in the Park event that includes a resource fair offering health and wealth information and services to underserved communities. The group also is a part of a community watchdog coalition fighting for environmental justice in regards to an oil spill that occurred several decades ago that had been unknown to affected residents.The group also advocates for grocery stores in neighbors to alleviate their food desert status. And 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 led by United Way of the Plains between financial institutions, community organizations and the local government to protect the unbanked from predatory lending services by offering safe, affordable banking alternatives.

Contact
LaWanda DeShazer, Founder
Strategies
Legal/permit challenges to development/contamination/pollution etc, community organizing and education, legislation/policy reform
Environmental Justice Concerns
Hazardous/toxic sites, groundwater contamination
501c3 Tax Deductible
Yes
Accepting Donation
No