Good in the ‘Hood is dedicated to changing lives together with simple acts of kindness. Although our service opportunities are not solely limited to the urban community, we do have a purposeful inner-city affinity and a commitment to serve those with the most need.
We believe that goodness and kindness are inspirational, change-agent qualities and it is our belief that communities are made safer and better for everyone when a focused and contagious momentum of genuine kindness is made manifest. Our desire is to inspire individuals, families and entire neighborhoods to continuously work towards growth, improvement and well-being of their personal lives and community. Through partnerships and kindness-based initiatives, we believe the physical, emotional, and spiritual climate of an entire community can be changed for good.
To initiate and sustain the greatest good, we offer the community the following 4-point approach:
PROMOTION: Advancing our mission and our message of intentional kindness by every means, to everyone, in every place, at every opportunity, and in every way.
PROVISION: Offering essential resources including groceries, hot meals, holiday help, basic foot care, footwear, wellness services, youth programs, referrals, and more.
PARTICIPATION: Engaging the community with user-friendly volunteer experiences and internships that promote intentional kindness, healthy community engagement, service learning and social responsibility.
PARTNERSHIPS: Collaborating with action-minded communities to plan, work and inspire intentional kindness in others that helps to foster neighborhood decency and a better local community.
Since our inception in 2003, we have continued to expand our efforts to provide essential resources for the economically disadvantaged communities and for all those who have been marginalized by difficult circumstances.
Our food programs and support services, holiday help outreaches, basic foot care, and shoe programs continue to grow and offer much-needed relief for hundreds of people in need every month.
Still, our highest priority is to intentionally invest our time, talent and treasure towards those who are interested in making the key next steps to move forward in life towards a meaningful, significant and purposeful future. In short, we seek to do “WITH” those in need rather than merely “FOR” them.
To best accomplish this objective, we place an emphasis on establishing healthy partnerships. With this in mind, we collaborate with a number of difference-making organizations. Each month, with the help of these dedicated partners, we provide practical resources such as new or gently-used shoes, groceries, meals, food for hungry college students, backpacks of food for students, medical foot care, holiday support and more for over 10,000 individuals. In addition, we make user-friendly volunteer opportunities available for a variety of individuals and church, school, civic and corporate groups. It’s truly a joy to be able to work together with the many generous volunteers to influence, inspire and impact individuals, families and entire communities for good.
Board of Directors
Doug Stewart, Board Chair (Term: 2022 – 2025)
Director of Operations, Church of the Open Door
Jonathan Behnken, Board Vice Chair (Term: 2023 – 2026)
Thrivent Financial
Mark Cross, Board Treasurer (Term: 2022 – 2025)
C.O.O., Think Small
Kathy Jo Bissen, Board Secretary (Term: 2022 – 2025)
Retired Registered Nurse/Director of SoleCare for Souls, Good in the ‘Hood
Renson Anjere, Member (Term: 2021 – 2024)
Senior Territory Manager, Safeco Insurance
Kelly Neufeld, Member (Term: 2021 – 2024)
Owner, Neufeld Construction, LLC
Leona Martin, Member (Term: 2022 – 2025)
State Program Administrative Supervisor Principal, DEED
Laena Gennrich, Member (Term: 2023 – 2026)
Registered Nurse/Charge Nurse, Ridgeview Medical Center
Carrie Callahan, Member (Term: 2023 – 2026)
Retirement Plans Operations Manager, Capital Group | American Funds
Reverend Shawn Morrison (Term: ex-officio member as the founder)
Founder and Executive Director, Good in the ‘Hood
Thank you so much for taking the time to learn more about us. I hope you will join with us in our efforts to inspire intentional kindness.
Rev. Shawn Morrison
Founder and Executive Director
Rev. Jamie Morrison
Director of Operations/Human Resources