Blog post

Meet AKF's First Kidney Health Coach Health Equity Grant Awardees

November 18, 2024

By Jenni Muns

AKF launched its pilot Kidney Health Coach Health Equity Grant program to help expand the reach and impact of KHC by enabling organizations and coaches across the country to reach at-risk communities and spread health messaging in CKD prevention and management.

AKF's Kidney Health Coach (KHC) community health education program is a free, online training course that provides information about preventing, managing and treating chronic kidney disease (CKD), as well as living a healthy lifestyle.

In November 2023, AKF was pleased to launch its pilot KHC Health Equity Grant program to help expand the reach and impact of KHC by enabling organizations and coaches across the country to reach at-risk communities and spread health messaging in CKD prevention and management.

In the first year of the KHC Health Equity Grant program, AKF awarded 29 coaches and four organizations with grants. We're excited to share highlights of how these four organizations used their grants for projects that educated community members about kidney disease.

Kidney Champion Foundation

Educating historically marginalized and underserved communities of people living with kidney disease while fighting for inclusive and equitable access to care is the mission of the Kidney Champion Foundation. The Foundation offers free kidney health education workshops in community settings such as churches, libraries, community centers, corporations and online that focus on kidney disease, kidney disease prevention, treatment options and the importance of early detection.

"[The Kidney Health Coach grant] enables us to expand our reach and provide vital resources to at-risk populations that we were not able to reach before," said Crystal King, founder and executive director of the Foundation. "With the support of AKF, we have been able to enhance our outreach efforts and connect with communities that are often overlooked in kidney health education. The grant has contributed significantly to the success of our program by providing the resources we need to set up professional workshops, distribute educational materials and engage with the community in meaningful ways. It has truly amplified our impact in promoting kidney health awareness and disease prevention."

Kidney Disease Screening and Awareness Program (KDSAP) at University of California (UC), Berkeley

UC Berkley's KDSAP is an undergraduate student-run organization that provides free kidney disease screenings and educational presentations in underserved communities across the Bay Area to improve kidney health and promote health equity. The presentations focus on educating community members about kidneys and CKD, prevention and treatment. KDSAP also partners with local community churches, senior centers and clinics to offer kidney screenings.

"AKF has been so generous and resourceful," said Tanvi Yalamanchili, vice president of Berkley's KDSAP. "We have used the information they provided us to edit our awareness presentation slides, and we have relied on them as a source of funding for our screenings. During our spring 2024 screenings, we have served 173 patients and have conducted further outreach through our awareness presentations. During this current fall semester, we have already served 71 patients in our past two screenings, and we have five more screenings coming up. The AKF KHC grant has been instrumental in helping us serve this past year."

KDSAP at the University of Southern California (USC)

USC KDSAP is led by students and provides free kidney health screenings and health education to underserved communities in Los Angeles. The organization offers free nephrologist consultations at screenings and provides health education at follow-up events. Currently, USC KDSAP is in the process of expanding its reach to elementary and middle school students by incorporating engaging scientific experiments for kidney health awareness in collaboration with USC's Health Sciences Education Program.

"We applied for a Kidney Health Coach grant to fund both our education and screening efforts," said Mugil Shanmugam, secretary of USC KDSAP. "The money from this grant will help us develop new educational materials and flyers, as well as purchase equipment for our screenings, such as blood pressure cuffs, gloves, glucometers, lancets and so much more. The money from the grant goes a long way in ensuring that we can conduct screenings for years to come."

Pine Bluff (AR) Chapter of the Links, Incorporated

Established in 1969, the chapter focuses on education, cultural enrichment, health and wellness, and civic involvement. The Links, Incorporatedlaunched its health and human services arm in response to the chronic health disparities that continue to exist in Black communities. The main goal of the Pine Bluff Chapter is to spread awareness about chronic kidney disease prevention and educate those who are at risk of developing it. Pine Bluff hosts in-person kidney disease education sessions in the community, including conferences, libraries, health fairs and banquets.

"African Americans are at higher risk for chronic kidney disease and disproportionately impacted by the disease," said Nicole Bates, a chapter member. "These are reasons why the Pine Bluff (AR) Chapter of the Links, Inc. has joined the fight to spread awareness of CKD in our community. We can share free fact-based information to our community on prevention and early detection of CKD through a health equity grant made possible by the American Kidney Fund. We have been able to reach more of our community by providing kidney disease education in local churches, schools, libraries, health fairs and community centers. We are grateful for the opportunity to expand our community outreach through the funding received from American Kidney Fund's Health Equity Grant."

The Kidney Health Coach grant program is a priority outreach initiative under AKF's Kidney Health for All™ campaign. We are grateful to our corporate sponsors Boehringer Ingelheim and Lilly and Company, Travere Therapeutics, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, AstraZeneca, Merck and Co., Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. and Sanofi, who have made this work possible.

The second year of the health equity grants launched on October 30, 2024. AKF awarded four organizations and 20 coaches with grants.

AKF looks forward to announcing the third year of KHC grants in 2025.

For more information on the Kidney Health Coach program, click here.

Click here to hear from Kidney Health Coaches on how they reach and educate communities affected by kidney disease.