We were lucky to catch up with Kai King recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kai, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?

Building a nonprofit begins with the why, and once Janelle and I found a shared purpose in providing resources to people in need, it became our collective mission and pursuit.

There’s so much energy and effort that goes into building an organization, let alone a nonprofit. Neither of us had much experience with starting a business, but I knew what was possible because my mom co-founded one years back.

It takes a pioneering spirit and relentless drive, Janelle took the wheel because she is natural leader in that type of terrain. Her professionalism and grit outshines most people I know. My efforts were better served on the ground, connecting with people and having dialogue. Since I grew up in the Inland Empire, I understood the needs and issues plaguing each city. Both Janelle and I have done a fair share of travel internationally, and are solution-oriented, so it was easy for us to come up with ideas to help bring community together in a safe and inclusive way.

The problem we anticipated but never fully prepared for, was and still is, the backlash. There are a handful of people who despite all our efforts, and all our success, take personally the things we didn’t do or the way we chose to do it. We will call these people the unnamed, because in our experience, they live in the shadows as online anarchists. They are masked behind social media handles and logos. Most of them carry a torch for specific movements or campaigns but don’t understand that their mission is not always aligned directly with ours.

Stronger Together Now stands for justice and collective efforts, but we are a 501(c)3, not a politically-affiliated nor religious organization. There are some issues we can take a stand on, and others that we have to support indirectly without carrying the mantle.

We had missteps in the beginning because we wanted to take on everything, but we realized through experience and from the advice of mentors, that is neither safe or sustainable. Perhaps some of our choices confused our initial followers and team members, but we honestly were discovering the true north of our organization with each event, program offering, city clean-up and interaction.

We don’t pretend to know everything, and we certainly don’t expect everyone to understand the how and why behind every choice we make. We have a strong board and rely on their collective feedback and perspective to ensure our actions align with our mission. It’s impossible to please everyone, and these detractors make it known when they are not happy.

Honestly, this one aspect of business is the draining piece of precious energy and time. We believe anger is an important emotion that can lead to progressive change, when it’s channeled with purpose and people feel empowered. But with detractors, it seems this anger is being misdirected and creates unwavering division. Instead of supporting outreach efforts, these individuals fixate on the details which leads to further divide. They attempt to weaken the idea of being stronger together.

Our team is as diverse in backgrounds as it is in perspectives and experiences. We don’t represent any one given culture more than another, but we do understand where the most efforts need to be focused.

Our continued mission to help underserved communities in the IE by providing access to programs, organizations, resources and events, is ever-present in our consistent work. It is most apparent in historically disenfranchised communities, as STN dedicates itself towards educating, enabling and empowering marginalized, and often silenced, individuals with emphasis on those who identify as Black and Brown.

People see these efforts and have expectations on who we are and what we should do, and when they don’t get their say in it, or when we don’t respond to them with the reactions they crave, we become targeted by their misdirected anger and frustration.

Kai, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

We are a 501(c)3 community outreach organization that aims to improve connectedness and provide resources for the people of the Inland Empire. _______________

OUR PURPOSE:
We work collectively to provide resources that support the community as a whole. ​ We highlight social injustice and the need for local, positive change. We create a sense of community through inclusivity. We demand change at local levels and influence local leadership.
​​
OUR MISSION:
To help underserved communities in the IE by providing access to programs, organizations, resources and events.
________________

​Two diseases drove a wedge in our society in 2020: Racism & COVID-19.
BOTH changed the world as we knew it & BOTH created opportunities for change.

We are Stronger Together Now, a ground roots collective within the Inland Empire who created a community outreach nonprofit.

Out of disconnect, from uncertainty,
and against intense fears –

We service all of the Inland Empire with the intention to “Enable, Educate & Empower”.
​
STN uses these core values to restore communities, especially those most heavily impacted by racism, COVID and inequity.

These are examples of outreach that have immediately benefited the IE:

One, we promote Community Outreach. This includes Clean-Ups & Park Restoration in inner city areas that are plagued with trash (quarterly). Book Drives (biannual), & Community Events (monthly) in Redlands and San Bernardino via our Giving Market.

Two, Youth Enablement which initially took shape through mentorship programs & Book Drives run by the local Black Student Union, who provide books K-12. Now, with partnership through SB Valley College, students can enroll into dual enrollment curriculum under the STN Youth Empowerment Program. Students receive college credit for the following: 1) Impactful Community Service, 2) Career Readiness, 3) Socio-Emotional Learning & 4) Financial Literacy.

Three, Local Leadership Accountability which is evident through community events like the SoulFood Fest, Giving Sundays, Juneteenth Jam! & La Más Festival, where local leadership is directly involved.

Four, we Empower the People to share dialogue on important local issues. One example would be our “All Inclusive Park Project”, where surveys filled out focused on the community’s wish list for park upgrades.

Stronger Together Now reminds people how good it feels to:
work together towards a common goal & vision
uplift & restore our communities
show up & demand local changes that will have positive impact

We dispel the notion that one cannot thrive and is unable. We are enablers.

We help others to find their own strength and purpose, by reminding them of their part in the greater whole.

We remind the people of their power.
And they remind us, of ours.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Protesting on the heels of George Floyd resulted in my arrest. It catapulted me into a fight for my life that was not anticipated, nor was it warranted.

The extreme nature of my arrest was debilitating and it was painful for our team to witness – it shell-shocked our sense of norm and added an extra weight to all we were enduring.

It also was more painful for me to experience. Even though I made every single effort to avoid it – and conscientiously made decisions to ensure I would remain clear of it – I was now the stereotypical black man with a record and that’s what the system wants, it deadlocks my people in situations where we have no choice but to fight and protect ourselves, and then become the problem, the issue, and the threat.

There’s not much more to say on this topic, since 400+ years of enslavement means very little to those in power. Since publicly displayed murders of our people garner very little empathy from the collective society. We have a strong adversary in power at the root of our country, and it is fear. But what I know, and what those collectively aligned in this mission know, we have a stronger ally, and it is love.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

The pandemic changed our life’s canvas across the board and it certainly impacted me. My days of playing basketball internationally was put on hold. I never experienced this long of a disruption from something I enjoyed so much, the only brief hiatus I had was with the passing of my mother. The pandemic hit soon after that and I felt, trapped.

Naturally, I was confused about the uncertainty, but I found moments of purpose through protests in the summer of 2020. Janelle and I both contributed to the cause, but I was very active supporting in person at many protests across SoCal. It was a time to be angry and to use our voices.

At the same time, Janelle’s role shifted as elective medical procedures became less prevalent and her work shifted to remote support. Things were upside-down and we were sometimes looking inside-out.

The pivot happened by noticing a problem. Kids were withdrawn, depressed and anxious. They needed to connect somehow in person again. When we became a nonprofit, we were given COVID tests through the county and other sources, we used these to create the STN Kids Sports Bubble, which allowed kids to play sports and do activities together as long as they tested negative each week.

Our program took place outside in local parks, to ensure fresh air and less chance of exposure. It had its time and place because when things opened up, this program was no longer needed. But the STN Kids Sports Bubble honestly put our org on the map locally. No one was providing this resource, school districts didn’t implement COVID testing until fall of 2021 into winter of 2022. We were the first to lead in this space, and it is how we connected with so many small businesses and artists early on.

It definitely was an early example of how we took a problem, provided a solution and pivoted to ensure its success. Looking back, we are very proud of our creativity at a time when things seemed impossible and everyone was so isolated in their thoughts. It felt good to make such a positive impact on our local communities.      

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.strongertogethernow.online/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/strongertogethernow_ie?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==