We were lucky to catch up with Onika Nicole Craven recently and have shared our conversation below.
Onika Nicole, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what is the background story behind how you developed the mission behind your brand?
O’nika’s Angels, a nonprofit organization, was established to serve the underserved in our community. This organization was formed after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the civil unrest and riots that followed in the community in May 2020.
After helping people affected by the riots‘s O’nika’s Angels expanded to help families during the holidays and support high school seniors interested in higher education with scholarships. In addition, our organization provides individuals a chance to help them with their community service. We also partnered with the St. Paul school district to provide internship opportunities.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
I grew up on the Northside of Minneapolis with my mother, a single parent, who worked every day to make sure I had everything I needed. However, there were times despite my mother’s best efforts we needed help. Family members, state assisted programs and people in the community stepped up to help us. Little did I know as a child that this would have a major impact on my life until May 2020.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
When we were awarded $50,000 for food insecurities from Hennepin Counties Care Grant we were able to reach more families and partner with additional organizations. We understand that hunger in our community is a daily occurrence but our mission is to support families the best way we can.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
Something that I am proud of is that we are supported by many people in the community. Just recently we received a $5,000 donation from the recipient of the NFL and Minnesota Vikings Change Maker Award winner. We know that every time we are able to meet a need and help others we are doing what God calls us to do as Christians. In Isaiah 58:10 it reads if you offer yourself to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted then your light will rise in the darkness and your gloom will become like the midday.
O’nika’s Angels is blessed to provide this kind of service in our community.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://onikasangels.org
- Facebook: O’nika’s Angels
Image Credits
Photo credit: O’nika’s Angels
Onika Nicole Craven