Our Story

Founded in 2009, KCIYA is a collaborative nonprofit of individuals who want to change the conversation about faith, values, and spirituality in the public square by encouraging and mentoring youth in the areas of leadership development, orienting around the shared value of service, and growth in personal beliefs.

We were inspired by the vision of the founder of Chicago's Interfaith Youth Core, Eboo Patel, and his discussion of the modern context of interreligious dynamics in his book Acts of Faith. Watch the video below to hear several members describe their stories of why they were motivated to join an interfaith youth leadership team.

Our group is led by a leadership council of young adults from the KC metro area. We frequently partner with local youth groups, service organizations, and high schools. The leadership council meets on a monthly basis to plan community service projects, hands-on interfaith learning experiences, and social events to meet youth of different backgrounds and faiths. We believe working toward a common goal of serving our city community allows youth to bridge barriers and build relationships, in turn enabling us to have conversations about our religious differences.

Annual Reports (also linked at the bottom of the page)