Saint Francis Ministries is pleased to receive a $2,189 Alleluia Grant from the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas to help fund pop-up shops for foster families in the Wichita area. The child and family services nonprofit formally received the award during the recent Diocesan Convention in Wichita on October 18-19.
Each pop-up shop will provide children in care with new clothes, shoes, and other items free of charge. The grant award will cover the purchase of undergarments, a tent and table, rolling racks, hangers, and other necessary equipment.
“Saint Francis is honored to be an Alleluia Grant recipient,” said Executive Director of Development Ginny Ellis. “This project will innovate the distribution of new clothes and shoes from our retail partners, giving kids in care an excellent shopping experience- free for them. Besides having the funds for shelves and racks, we are excited to have churches willing to host us and the foster families for these pop-ups. We look forward to bringing more area churches alongside us in our mission as we provide for kids in this tangible way.”
Saint Francis Ministries currently supports 135 foster families in Sedgwick County. The SFM Foundation has established relationships with local retailers to regularly receive new clothes and shoes to address challenges in securing practical items for growing children. By creating pop-up shops, Saint Francis aims to address the gap in accessibility by ensuring that foster children can select new, well-fitting clothes and shoes in a setting and outreach design that supports case managers and foster families.
The Saint Francis Ministries Pop-Up Shop project will be ongoing, with pledged support from multiple community partners, such as St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, hosting sites.
