Bakers Journal

Kwik Lok donates $48K to philanthropy

January 25, 2021
By Bakers Journal

logo courtesy of Kwik Lok

Kwik Lok Corporation has provided $48,000 to 9 organizations as part of its philanthropy program.

Organizations chosen for gifts for this allocation are working on COVID-19 recovery or are striving to mitigate impacts of climate change. They demonstrate efforts that align with Kwik Lok’s ongoing commitment to:

  • Unlocking Opportunity
  • Improving Well-being
  • Protecting Resources
  • Fostering Innovation

Kwik Lok is proud to provide support to farmers who have been particularly impacted by wildfires, the economic stresses of a global pandemic and the lack of an economic safety net.

  • Traditional Native American Farmers Association, (TNAFA), was formed in 1992, an outcome of an intertribal meeting of native farmers and elders, representing 72 farming families from 17 different native communities in Arizona and New Mexico. Their mission is to revitalize traditional agriculture for spiritual and human need. Since their inception, TNAFA has been developing educational programs for native farmers to address these needs. ​
  • Kwik Lok has become a contributing member of Slow Money. As a member, our contribution will provide for 0 per cent loans to local farmers and food entrepreneurs. When the loans are repaid, funds are recycled into new loans. Over the years, this program will slowly grow into a substantial funding resource for the community. ​
  • Groundswell International strengthens the capacity of people, communities, and farmers’ organizations to create healthy farming and food systems from the ground up. They work with smallholder farmers – prioritizing marginalized women – to address the root causes of food insecurity, environmental degradation, climate change, and social and economic vulnerability. Their approach catalyzes a virtuous cycle of regeneration and growth, reversing the downward spiral of poverty and vulnerability. ​
  • In addition to food resources, legislative efforts to protect farmworkers, and more, the Essential Farmworkers Project also provides emergency financial assistance for farmworkers affected by the global pandemic. The $ 11.6 million program is funded by private sources and will provide more than 21,500 undocumented farmworkers in California, Washington state with a one-time $ 500 prepaid card if they qualify. ​

The COVID-19 pandemic has hurt small businesses owned by people of colour, immigrants, and women more than other groups. Between February and April, the number of active business owners in the country fell by 22 per cent, from 15 million to 11.7 million, the National Bureau of Economic Research study found.  The comparable number during the Great Recession was 5 per cent. ​ With this in mind, Kwik Lok has sought out organizations that are playing pivotal roles in their communities to help women, particularly women of color recover and thrive.

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  • Since 2016, Buy From A Black woman has empowered, educated and inspired Black women business owners and the people who support them. ​

Buy from a Black woman ensures that Black women have the tools and resources that will allow them to be successful. Through educational programs, an online directory, and funding, Buy From a Black woman continues to grow as a trusted resource that helps Black women in business. ​

  • Gyrl Wonder is a professional pipeline for ambitious young women of colour between the ages of 17 — 22. Their mission is to empower our girls through social impact, career exploration and objective alignment. They provide access and resources necessary for them to successfully enter a competitive workforce while teaching them how to leverage these tools to reach their personal and professional goals.
  • UPROSE promotes sustainability and resiliency in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighbourhood through community organizing, education, Indigenous and youth leadership development and cultural/artistic expression. Central to their work is advocacy to ensure meaningful community engagement, participatory community planning practices, and sustainable development with justice and governmental accountability. As lead advocates of climate justice, UPROSE views the just urban policy—ranging from transportation to open space—as the heart of climate adaptation and community resilience.
  • Black Girl Ventures Foundation’s mission is to provide Black/Brown woman-identifying founders with access to community, capital, and capacity-building so they meet business milestones that lead to economic advancement through entrepreneurship. Black Girl Ventures Foundation funds and scales tech-enabled, revenue-generating businesses (under $1M).
  • World Central Kitchen knows that a fresh meal is more than a plate of food — it is a sign that someone cares and that there is hope for the future.  As people across the country made their voices heard, Kwik Lok donated funds to support and uplift them and show them how much they matter by using the power of food to make Election Day one of community and hope. ​
  • Digitalundivided is a social startup that merges data and heart to develop innovative programs and initiatives that catalyzes economic growth in Black and Latinx communities. In 2020, as a response to the onslaught of COVID-19 and the global pandemic, Digitalundivided began the critical work of providing direct and unrestricted economic support to founders in our community through micro investment funding. In 2021, they are evolving support for founders by launching the Do You Fellowship Program!

“A global pandemic, unprecedented economic uncertainty, ongoing racial injustice, and climate change are all having devastating impacts on our families, our communities and our world. Now more than ever, it is that feeling of family, of respect, and of care that means everything. Caring about our Kwik Lok family means we must extend that care to their communities and the planet we share. We’re doing everything we can to do right by all three,” stated Kwik Lok Co-owners, Stephanie Jackson, Kimberly Paxton-Hagner and Melissa Steiner in a press release.


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