The Denver Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi
Fraternity, Inc., a fixture in the Denver community since its
chartering on February 20, 1954, is committed to community service.
The Men of Kappa believe that:
"Helping each other as brothers, is part of
our creed. By helping those who are less fortunate, we move
closer to living up to our beliefs and function as responsible members
of our community."
To this end, the Denver Alumni Chapter sponsors
and supports a number of programs designed to give back to the
community, including: distributing food baskets needy families in the
Denver community during Thanksgiving and Christmas; and sponsoring
local Guide Right and Kappa League chapters, which provide training and
mentoring for middle and high school boys on achieving academic
excellence, career development and interpersonal skills. Chapter
members also participate in a number of community organizations and
events throughout the year.
To better serve the community in other areas, the
"Kappas" formed three other entities: the Denver Kappa
Alpha Psi Scholarship Foundation, Kappa Housing Incorporated and Kappa
Management Incorporated.
"Kappa Men embrace a civic and moral
responsibility to perpetuate the education of our youth, and find it
necessary to help young African-American men achieve their educational
goals."
As a result, the DKAPS Foundation was formed to
provide an institution with perpetual provisions for future maintenance
and support of young African-American men who have excelled in high
school and are enrolled in college. The Foundation was chartered
August 20, 1987, in the State of Colorado and received its Federal
501c(3) income tax exemption status on April 19, 1989. The
Foundation's mission is: "To Provide Scholarships to Deserving
African-American Young Men, Honor Past Achievements and Promote the
Development of Good Citizenship."
Each year, the Foundation provides 20-24 young
African American men with scholarship money and, for the past five
years, a full multi-media laptop computer for college. Over the
past 33 years, the Foundation has honored 641 young African-American
men at its Annual Scholarship and Awards Luncheon, giving in excess of
$675, 000 in scholarships.
"As concerned members of our community, the
Men of Kappa believe it is our responsibility as men, to give something
back."
Guided by this belief, members of the Denver
Alumni Chapter of Kappa began a quest in 1978 that led to the
acquisition of land at 2100 Downing Street, the formation of a not for
profit organization called Kappa Housing Incorporated (KHI) in 1981,
and the incorporation of Kappa Management Incorporated (KMI) in 1982.
After securing a HUD 202 Construction loan to
build a six-story, 45-unit, one bedroom apartment facility for
low-income senior citizens in 1983, construction began on Kappa Tower
in February of 1984. The first resident moved in on November 5th
of that year and the facility was fully occupied by November 27th.
Today, KHI oversees KMI, which now manages three
HUD properties for low-income senior citizens in Denver's African
American community. KMI and KHI continue to be dedicated to
providing and maintaining excellent affordable housing for the
community's elderly and disabled. Today Kappa Tower is standing
tall at 2160 Downing Street, with its 45 apartments fully occupied.
