Our work
Community Empowerment
Connecting immigrant, refugee, and underserved families in Louisville with practical resources, trusted relationships, and opportunities to participate in community life.
Rooted in Community, Driven by Purpose
At More Than A Smile Foundation, community empowerment is at the heart of everything we do. We believe that when neighbors support neighbors, entire communities rise together.
Our community empowerment work helps immigrant, refugee, and underserved families in Louisville navigate resources, build relationships, and take part in community life. We focus on practical support, cultural connection, and clear pathways to trusted services.
Community Outreach
We meet families in neighborhoods, community spaces, and places of worship to share information, listen, and connect people with trusted local resources. Support is shaped by community needs and available partner services.
Resource Navigation
Navigating unfamiliar systems can be overwhelming. We offer practical guidance, language-access support when available, and referrals that help families understand options for education, health, benefits, legal support, and other local services.
Cultural Celebration
We honor the rich diversity of our community through cultural events, heritage celebrations, and intercultural exchanges that build pride, understanding, and unity among all residents.
Civic Advocacy
We create opportunities for community members to learn, share perspectives, and participate in civic life. Activities are designed to build confidence, connection, and awareness of local resources and community conversations.
Community in Action
For funders & grant reviewers
Community Empowerment — Program Summary
The information below is structured to support grant applications, funder due diligence, and partnership inquiries. For a full conversation, please reach out directly.
Louisville's immigrant and refugee families often arrive with limited knowledge of local systems, few trusted relationships, and no roadmap for navigating housing, healthcare, education, or civic life. Without community-rooted outreach, families remain isolated and underserved even when resources exist nearby.
Immigrant and refugee families across Louisville, with a concentration in Somali, Somali Bantu, and East African communities. Participants include newly arrived refugees, long-term residents, and mixed-status families.
South Louisville (Shawnee, Wyandotte, Parkland, Smoketown), West End, and surrounding neighborhoods with high immigrant and refugee populations.
- Community outreach and door-to-door resource navigation
- Resource fairs connecting families to housing, health, legal, and food assistance
- Cultural celebration events affirming community identity
- Civic advocacy workshops and voter education
- Back-to-school and holiday community gatherings
- Referrals and warm handoffs to partner organizations
Year-round. Outreach is ongoing; major community events are held seasonally (back-to-school in August, holiday events in November–December, cultural celebrations throughout the year).
Participation and outcome data will be published following the 2026 program cycle. Community events have drawn hundreds of participants annually since the Foundation's founding.
- Families connect to essential services they were previously unaware of
- Community members develop trusted relationships with local organizations
- Cultural identity is affirmed and celebrated publicly
- Residents gain civic knowledge and confidence to participate in local democracy
- Isolation decreases as families build peer networks through shared events
Participation and outcome data will be published following the 2026 program cycle. The program is designed using community-organizing principles with deep roots in the populations served.
- Somali Bantu Community of Kentucky
- Louisville Coalition for Immigrant Support
- Office of Safe & Healthy Neighborhoods
- Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky
- Hello Neighbor
- Louisville Development Club
Additional investment would fund a full-time Community Outreach Coordinator, expand resource fair capacity, support translation and interpretation services, and allow the Foundation to deepen civic engagement programming.
Amina Shale, Executive Director — [email protected] | 502-956-1414
Ready to invest in this program? We welcome site visits, due-diligence calls, and partnership conversations.
Help build a stronger community
Volunteer, donate, or partner to support practical resource navigation, cultural connection, and community-led opportunities in Louisville.