Our Chapter
History Of The Denver Alumni Chapter
Denver Alumni Chapter, 1950s
Denver Alumni Chapter, 2017
The Denver Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., a fixture in the Denver community since its chartering on February 20, 1954, is committed to community service. The Men of Kappa believe that:
"Helping each other as brothers, is part of our creed. By helping those who are less fortunate, we move closer to living up to our beliefs and function as responsible members of our community."
To this end, the Denver Alumni Chapter sponsors and supports a number of programs designed to give back to the community, including: distributing food baskets needy families in the Denver community during Thanksgiving and Christmas; and sponsoring local Guide Right and Kappa League chapters, which provide training and mentoring for middle and high school boys on achieving academic excellence, career development and interpersonal skills. Chapter members also participate in a number of community organizations and events throughout the year.
To better serve the community in other areas, the "Kappas" formed three other entities: the Denver Kappa Alpha Psi Scholarship Foundation, Kappa Housing Incorporated and Kappa Management Incorporated.
"Kappa Men embrace a civic and moral responsibility to perpetuate the education of our youth, and find it necessary to help young African-American men achieve their educational goals."
As a result, the DKAPS Foundation was formed to provide an institution with perpetual provisions for future maintenance and support of young African-American men who have excelled in high school and are enrolled in college. The Foundation was chartered August 20, 1987, in the State of Colorado and received its Federal 501c(3) income tax exemption status on April 19, 1989. The Foundation's mission is: "To Provide Scholarships to Deserving African-American Young Men, Honor Past Achievements and Promote the Development of Good Citizenship."
Each year, the Foundation provides 20-24 young African American men with scholarship money and, for the past five years, a full multi-media laptop computer for college. Over the past years, the Foundation has honored more than 700 young African-American men at its Annual Scholarship and Awards Luncheon, giving in excess of over $700,000 in scholarships.
"As concerned members of our community, the Men of Kappa believe it is our responsibility as men, to give something back."
Guided by this belief, members of the Denver Alumni Chapter of Kappa began a quest in 1978 that led to the acquisition of land at 2100 Downing Street, the formation of a not for profit organization called Kappa Housing Incorporated (KHI) in 1981, and the incorporation of Kappa Management Incorporated (KMI) in 1982.
After securing a HUD 202 Construction loan to build a six-story, 45-unit, one bedroom apartment facility for low-income senior citizens in 1983, construction began on Kappa Tower in February of 1984. The first resident moved in on November 5th of that year and the facility was fully occupied by November 27th. Today, KHI oversees KMI, which now manages three HUD properties for low-income senior citizens in Denver's African American community. KMI and KHI continue to be dedicated to providing and maintaining excellent affordable housing for the community's elderly and disabled. Today Kappa Tower is standing tall at 2160 Downing Street, with its 45 apartments fully occupied.