The Table of Faiths event is our annual fundraiser to support our programs and partnerships designed to educate and break cultural barriers among all religious traditions. It is only through your donations that we are able to develop and provide resources, networking, and programs to increase appreciation for cultural and religious diversity.
May 8 • 5:30-8:30pm • Overland Park Convention Center
We ask ourselves what it would look like if every American, regardless of their faith or worldview, was inspired and equipped to:
- Come together in a way that respects different religious identities?
- Build mutually inspiring relationships across differences?
- Engage in common action around issues of shared social concern?
Interfaith cooperation is the key to transforming this religiously diverse society into a more just, kind, and pluralistic nation. It’s why we are so passionate about the work we do, and why we are inviting you to support us financially through your sponsorship and/or attendance.
The evening includes time to visit Faith Booths and network– last year we had 26 different faiths and traditions represented and over 350 attendees. It is a time to learn, make new friends and deepen our connections while strengthening the bonds of mutual trust and cooperation within our community. There is a dinner, a short program, and a time to acknowledge a local company and an individual for their interfaith contributions to the community.
THIS YEAR’S AWARDEES
Each year we give two awards to acknowledge members of our community working for interfaith cooperation and understanding. An individual is awarded The Steve Jeffers Leadership Service Award, named in honor of the late Director of Spirituality in Health of Shawnee Mission Medical Center, who was a major contributor to the interfaith community. This year’s recipients for the Steve Jeffers Award are Mindy and Melinda Corporon.
After reaching the pinnacle of her professional career as CEO of a successful wealth management firm, and in the middle of raising two talented boys, tragedy struck Mindy Corporon’s life. Her father and oldest son were murdered by a white-supremacist intent on killing Jews. The community rallied around her. Numerous religious organizations held support vigils and she was asked to speak at a mosque by a family holding services for their young son killed in a separate act of religious violence. She took action. Mindy started the Faith Always Wins Foundation and a community-wide event, SevenDays® Make a Ripple, Change the World. She formed high school programming for productive interfaith dialogue and now helps companies create healthy workplace environments so healing can occur after life’s tragedies.
Melinda Corporon was born and raised in Oklahoma – and continues to be a passionate Sooner to this day, even though she resides in Overland Park. Melinda is a true people person reflected by her welcoming smile and gentle manner. From her high school days, through her years as a physician’s wife and mother of three, Melinda has always been engaged with others helping them along life’s winding road. Melinda’s life took a dramatic turn in April 2014, when Bill, her beloved husband of 49 years, was gunned down along with their 14-year-old grandson Reat Underwood, Mindy’s son, by a white supremacist outside of a Jewish facility.
While her life was tragically altered, Melinda – together with her daughter Mindy – created the Faith Always Wins Foundation and its seminal event, SevenDays®. The annual celebration has been a fitting and rewarding reminder that the lives lost shall be remembered with activities of kindness and interfaith celebration. SevenDays is a challenge for young and old, to embrace diversity across races, religions and cultures. Through three events, Faith, Love & Song, Faith, Love & Kindness and Faith, Love & Walk, we hope to promote understanding and encourage kindness to Make a Ripple to Change the World.
Our second award, The Table of Faiths Award, is given to an organization that exhibits interfaith values in the community. This year’s recipient is Jewish Vocational Services, which is committed to engaging, encouraging and empowering people to achieve social, cultural and economic integration. JVS promotes independence by encouraging clients to participate in decisions and activities affecting their lives and JVS eases in the transition to the United States for refugees and their families. They value cultural competence and ethnic diversity and believe in creating strong collaborations with organizations and funding sources to better serve the needs of Kansas City. And, above all, JVS makes clients, staff and visitors from all walks of life feel welcome.