“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for Me.’ ” (Matthew 25:40 NIV).

This one scripture gripped a ladies Bible study group in 1957. It so captivated them that they decided to act right then and there. They looked outside at throngs of children in South Park, unsupervised, knowing many were impoverished and hungry. They threw open the doors and brought food for children to eat.

These women, stepping out in faith, brought their concerns to their respective congregations to look after these children. Friendship House was born in 1957 as an outreach of four downtown churches throwing open their doors to meet the needs of underserved members of our community. Now we are supported by more than 40 local churches, 25 community partners, and 15 service clubs. Since our inception, Friendship House has enabled thousands of youth and families to move from poverty to prosperity, helping to end the generational poverty so prevalent in our southside neighborhood. We build our community’s future by building our youth and their families as leaders for tomorrow.