‘I Am’ the domino effect: This changemaker wants to show youth impacted by redlining another reality

When Elijah Dormeus moved to Kansas City in 2019, he brought with him a nonprofit that provides mentorship and leadership training to students in underserved communities, with the end goal of empowering them to achieve their dreams.

“The I Am Foundation really came from leading, encouraging, and motivating students to see themselves greater than their circumstances,” said Dormeus, who founded the I Am Foundation in 2014 in Upper Manhattan, New York City, while he was a high school student in Harlem.

“The purpose of it all is to help them discover their ‘why,’” Dormeus added. “How can I help you discover your ‘why?’ How can I help you push past the things you don’t want to do?”

Dormeus honed the original model as he moved from New York to Atlanta in 2015 — where he attended Morehouse College — and eventually to Kansas City.

Along the way, the I Am Foundation has provided five college students with scholarships ranging from $200 to $5,000 based on need, Dormeus said, with plans to award as many more as financially possible on an annual basis.

The organization has focused its work locally on students in Kansas City Public Schools and the Hickman Mills School District, which serve areas of the city most impacted by redlining, Dormeus noted.

“A lot of students — especially in Kansas City, Missouri — don’t have an opportunity to see more than the impoverished homes, or what society and media is trying to tell them that they are,” Dormeus said. “They always want to show a Black person stealing something, robbing something, drug dealing, and gangbanging, but they never show them succeeding.”

Through the I Am Foundation, Dormeus aims to create a community for students to persevere through adversity so they can reach their full potential.

“I’m going to motivate you to be the greatest person you can be,” he said. “Why? Because this is only a test; even though your season may feel longer than it is, even though you’re depressed and anxious. Use it as fuel. You have to keep pushing past whatever the pain is to get to where you want to go, and that’s what the I Am Foundation teaches.”

Elijah Dormeus with students impacted by the I Am Foundation

‘Not for the faint of heart’

In July, the organization plans to host the I Am Leadership Institute, a six-day comprehensive summit open to all high school students in the Kansas City area, from rising freshmen to graduated seniors.

The leadership institute will take place at W.E.B. DuBois Center at 4510 Linwood Blvd. from July 17-22, with programming lasting from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.

Registrations are open through Friday, June 2. The program costs $50 per student.

“Anyone who’s coming in, they’ll be going into their school year with a whole better perspective,” Dormeus said.

Click here to volunteer or apply for the I Am Leadership Institute. 

Each day will have a specific focus, with topics and activities that include self-discovery, financial literacy, AI learning, professional development, resume assistance, a mental fitness obstacle course, and a redlining tour.

“This institute is not for the faint of heart,” Dormeus said. “This is going to be rigorous. … We’ll have a lot of good conversations and a lot of introspection.”

Students will also have an opportunity to pick out business casual attire at no cost to them or their families, Dormeus said, and then receive professional headshots.

At the end of the week, Dormeus hopes that students will feel prepared for not only what awaits them after graduation, but also begin thinking about what life they can create for themselves.

“I want them thinking, ‘I’m ready to go into, not the workforce, but my dreams,’” he said.

The organization is still seeking partners in the areas of transportation, food, and clothing, Dormeus said, in order to provide students with meals every day and ensure lack of reliable transportation is not a barrier to participation.

“These same students are also the leaders in the community when they graduate,” Dormeus said. “The opportunity is endless in what we can provide, so any support that we can get goes a long way.”

Elijah Dormeus with students impacted by the I Am Foundation

Getting from God, giving back

The organization’s origins are personal for Dormeus, who shared that he refused to let his family’s lack of income prevent him from chasing his goal of higher education.

“It started from a cry out of non-acceptance,” Dormeus said. “I couldn’t accept the fact that my mom may not have had the finances to send me to college, but that didn’t stop me from actually pursuing my college dream.”

One of nine children, Dormeus was raised primarily by his “diligent and determined” mother, Andrea, after his father died when he was seven years old.

“She would always say to us, ‘Whatever you want to be, you go after, but remember the God you serve can help,’” Dormeus shared. “That’s where the I Am Foundation comes from. You have a love within a love; you have a heart within a heart.”

High school guidance counselors encouraged him to consider community colleges, Dormeus recalled, but he was determined to heed his mother’s advice and strive for more.

Even after getting accepted into Morehouse College, Dormeus admitted that he faced intense challenges during his four years, yet always found a way forward.

“When I was at Morehouse, I financially struggled; I had a huge debt,” Dormeus said. “But God always sent someone to help me. It wasn’t from the organizations that I was a part of; it was from random strangers who believed in what I can do.”

Those blessings and resources further inspired Dormeus to give back to students from backgrounds similar to his own.

“I had a lot of opportunities that helped me hone in to who I am, which also helped me foster what the I Am Foundation is,” Dormeus said.

Those experiences also helped shape the organization’s structure, which usually sees college students mentor high school students, giving the older students a sense of servant leadership, Dormeus said.

“Some high school students have not even tapped into who they are or who they want to be,” Dormeus said. “That’s the thing with the I Am Foundation: It makes you call out your ‘I Am.’ I am great; I am enough; I am important. I can do more than what they say.”

Elijah Dormeus with students impacted by the I Am Foundation

Greatest gift: The heart of KC

Looking ahead, Dormeus plans to keep building his “passion project” into a national organization, while still keeping a local focus on the greater Kansas City region, he said.

Within the next two years, he hopes to have leadership institutes in both KCK and KCMO, and be partnering with school districts — and businesses — across Kansas and Missouri.

“There will be an ‘I Am’ everywhere, where students have a chance to discover what they need,” Dormeus said. “The best way to show the development is to put students next to a program with other business people and like-minded people who want to see them grow.”

Dormeus also expressed interest in partnering with area colleges and universities to provide need-based scholarships to students in the region.

In addition to his work with the I Am Foundation, Dormeus also serves as the vice president of individual giving for Kansas City G.I.F.T., a role he started in January.

Dormeus sees the organizations’ missions as complementary and intertwined, he said.

“Studying Kansas City history prior to joining G.I.F.T. just elevated my mission,” Dormeus said. “My students have a chance to discover who they want to be at an earlier age. After discovering who they want to be, they have a chance to funnel right to G.I.F.T. to utilize the existing resources to help them grow.”

Although he views the I Am Foundation as a national organization, Dormeus emphasized that both he and the nonprofit are firmly rooted in Kansas City.

“I’m not leaving,” he said. “The greatest gift I’ve ever gotten from Kansas City is the people. The heart of Kansas City is family, love, appreciation, support, and development, and the I Am Foundation taps into all of that.”

Ultimately, Dormeus stays focused and committed to improving the lives of young people, knowing that they will then go on to do the same for others.

“This mission with the I Am Foundation becomes a butterfly effect, or a domino effect,” he said, “where there’s going to be butterflies who are going to blossom to become activists in their own communities and change more lives.”