Knowledge Quest – Memphis, TN

Since its inception fifteen years ago, Knowledge Quest has…

2012

• Marlon Foster, Executive Director, is selected as the City of Memphis’ Champion of Change as a part of President Obama’s “Winning the Future” initiative to prevent youth violence and make our communities safer.
• Christian Man, Green Leaf Learning Farm program coordinator, is placed on the Memphis Flyer’s “20 under 30” list, an annual distinction given to twenty young Memphians who are shaping the city’s future.

2010

• Memphis Theological Seminary establishes the Reverend Marlon and Sheila Foster Professor of Pastoral Theology and Homiletics in honor of their humanitarian efforts. Dr. Lee Ramsey currently occupies the Chair.
• After several months of extensive field research in urban agriculture, Knowledge Quest founded its third program, Green Leaf Learning Farm.

2009

• Bellevue Baptist Church (Memphis, Tennessee) through their “Bellevue Loves Memphis” outreach efforts partnered with Christ Quest Community Church to sponsor an “outdoor classroom” for K.Q. students.

• Carnival Memphis honors Knowledge Quest as one of eight organizations of distinction in the Memphis Metropolitan Area operating in the “Community Service and Non-Profit Industry.”

2008

• Meritorious programming for youth enabled K. Q. to receive the International Paper Exploring Innovation Award for “helping youth succeed”.

• Knowledge Quest receives the Lottery for Education: After School Programs (LEAP’s) grant, a three-year award worth $50,000 annually.

2007

• Initiated the K. Q. Teenage Academy as a pilot programming effort with the $25,000 monetary award from the G. Bradley Wanzer, Jr. Award of Excellence.

• United Way  increase its annual allocation to K.Q. to include $45,000 in support of our Teenage Academy

2006

• K.Q. received the inaugural G. Bradley Wanzer, Jr. Award of Excellence from the United Way of the Mid-south.  Of the more than 100 eligible agencies, this award recognized the top achiever in regards to partnerships with United Way and within the agency’s local community, organizational capacity, and outcome measures.  This acknowledgement yielded a $25,000 monetary award.

2005

• K. Q. initiated a partnership with Valero Corporation to address a massive renovation project to enhance our campus. To date, Valero’s corporate efforts value nearly $50,000 in materials, service, and labor toward the beautification of our campus and structural integrity of our facilities.

2004

• Reverend Marlon Foster, founder of K. Q., founded Christ Quest Community Church (a separate faith-based initiative meeting the spiritual needs of the K. Q. community).

2003

• K. Q. was featured in the Memphis Downtowner magazine as a worthy nonprofit beneficiary of philanthropic efforts.

2002

• Local efforts in partnership with the federal government, afforded Memphis Housing Authority an opportunity to revitalize housing developments.  This community rebuilding initiative propelled K. Q. to relocate to a community church where space was shared.  The subsequent purchase of the church and surrounding property led to K. Q. owning its own campus.

2001

• K. Q. partnered with KaBOOM!, a national playground coordinator, in garnering a 400 member volunteer force made up predominantly of public housing residents to undertake the building of a $50,000 playground on the Fowler Homes property.  This effort raised $10,000 from area business, churches and schools to support services to children of the community—many of whom investing for the first time in their immediate community.
• Just three years beyond inception, Knowledge Quest’s budget and participant enrollment tripled.

2000

• K. Q. hosted President Bill Clinton’s National Campaign Against Youth Violence and organized the painting of a “Peace Mural” on the Fowler Homes public housing development property in South Memphis, one of eight sites in the nation. This effort united a cross-section of youth across the City of Memphis.
• On “National for Stand-up for Children Day”, K. Q. kicked off a massive gang graffiti removal project in the Fowler Homes public housing development. This local youth reconciliation movement became a precursor to the current teen programming effort.

1999

• K. Q. became a United Way of the Mid-South member agency, positioning us to apply for annual grant awards.
• K. Q. founder Marlon Foster received the Pinnacle Award for Excellence from Youth United Way of the Mid-south.

1998

• Established the K.Q. School Age Academy; the “flagship” program. It became a model program recognized for promoting academic achievement.
• In Knowledge Quest’s first year of operation, private donations surpassed $25,000 and continue to grow.