Who We Are

The Cleveland-Rutherford Kidney Association started with a small group of concerned citizens who wanted to help others who needed dialysis or transplantation in order to survive. These Cleveland County citizens formed a chapter of the North Carolina Kidney Foundation. After a short while the volunteers realized 60% of all funds raised were to be sent to the state affiliate and the decision was made to part ways from the NCKF. Thus, the Cleveland County Kidney Association was born.

CRKA has dramatically expanded its services over the past 25 years to include: transportation, education, medication assistance, emergency identification kits, referral services, the Rainbow Newsletter, the Rainbow II email prayers/news chain, grocery assistance, holiday assistance, advocacy, crisis intervention, research updates, stress management consulting, recreational activities, healthcare needs, healthcare consumerism, the organ/tissue donor program, community services, professional and advocate training, and more. With your continued help the possibilities for this wonderful organization are endless. Click here to learn more about the founding family's personal story of how the CRKA came to be.