Largest award in nonprofit’s nearly 20-year history is an endorsement of local efforts advancing health and well-being of area kids KANSAS CITY, Kansas, March 19, 2024 – KC Healthy Kids announces they have been awarded a $1 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott through her charitable organization, Yield Giving. KC Healthy Kids received this generous gift among more than 250 other U.S. nonprofits selected through Scott’s first open call for grants, which received more than 6,000 applications. “This award represents the largest gift in our nearly two-decade history, and recognizes and confirms our impact advancing the health and well-being of kids in our community,” said Danielle Robbins-Gregory, president and CEO of KC Healthy Kids. “This generous contribution sets the stage for expanding our efforts and deepening our partnerships to create environments that promote healthy living for kids and families in our region.” In March 2023, Yield Giving launched an Open Call for community-led, community-focused organizations whose explicit purpose is to enable individuals and families to achieve substantive improvement in their well-being through foundational resources. The Open Call was managed in partnership with Lever for Change, a nonprofit affiliate of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation that connects donors with bold solutions to the world’s biggest problems. “The past four years have reshaped our world, underscoring the critical need for resources and support to address the ongoing physical and mental health challenges facing our youth,” said Kavitha Dileepan, MD, MPH, chairperson of KC Healthy Kids’ board of directors and pediatric endocrinologist at Children’s Mercy Kansas City. “This remarkable gift from Yield Giving represents a significant moment, and will make a lasting and positive impact on our organization’s ability to address systemic obstacles for local kids and their families.” Discover more about KC Healthy Kids’ community-driven initiatives at the annual Eat Local & Organic Expo for KC Food Circle on Saturday, April 6 at Johnson County Community College. The Expo connects community members to local food and the people who grow it. Attendees can shop more than 30 KC Food Circle farmers representing some of the best local, organic, free-range farmers, ranchers and small-batch artisans in the area. This family-friendly event features activities for kids and is free and open to the public. Learn more at KC Healthy Kids. About KC Healthy Kids Founded in 2005, KC Healthy Kids is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit dedicated to addressing the physical and mental health challenges impacting children in the Greater Kansas City area. Through youth advocacy, food policy and local food initiatives, mental health support, and building and connecting active communities, KC Healthy Kids and their partners promote health for thousands of local kids and their families. Find out more at www.kchealthykids.org. Yield Giving Established by MacKenzie Scott to share a financial fortune created through the effort of countless people, Yield Giving is named after a belief in adding value by giving up control. To date, Yield’s network of staff and advisors has yielded over $16,500,000,000 to 1,900+ non-profit teams to use as they see fit for the benefit of others. To learn more, visit www.yieldgiving.com. Lever for Change Lever for Change connects donors with bold solutions to the world’s biggest problems — including issues like racial inequity, gender inequality, lack of access to economic opportunity, and climate change. Using an inclusive, equitable model and due diligence process, Lever for Change creates customized challenges and other tailored funding opportunities. Top-ranked teams and challenge finalists become members of the Bold Solutions Network — a growing global network that helps secure additional funding, amplify members’ impact, and accelerate social change. Founded in 2019 as a nonprofit affiliate of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Lever for Change has influenced over $1.7 billion in grants to date and provided support to more than 145 organizations. To learn more, visit www.leverforchange.org. Eat Local & Organic Expo
Johnson County Community College Saturday April 6 , 2024 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Free Admission, Free Parking, Free Kid Zone Hosted by KC Healthy Kids for KC Food Circle Access the gymnasium from North Campus Drive off of College Boulevard. The Eat Local & Organic Expo brings together area farmers and midwest eaters KC Food Circle kicks off farmers market season with the return of the Eat Local & Organic Expo Saturday, April 6 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Johnson County Community College. This family-friendly event is free and open to the public. The Expo is a great place to get to know farmers and find out how you can be more connected to your food and the people who grow it. At the Expo, shoppers can buy from some of the best local, organic, free-range farmers, ranchers, and small-batch artisans in the area. On Saturday, April 6 at Johnson County Community College, shoppers can…
The Expo began in 1999 as part of a food system conference sponsored by KC Food Circle™ and Sierra Club. KC Food Circle is a program of KC Healthy Kids that connects local farmers with wholesale buyers, chefs and artisans who are vital to our region’s local food system. The Expo is hosted by KC Healthy Kids for KC Food Circle. Sponsors include Hartwig Family Fund, J.R. Albert Foundation, Bank of America, Helen S. Boylan Foundation, Children's Mercy, Rarified Creative for Kid Zone, Jim & Michele Stowers, AF Group/Ameritrust, Central Bank of Kansas City, Lamar Advertising Company. About KC Food Circle™ Since 1988, KC Food Circle™ has connected our region’s eaters and farmers to grow a thriving local food community. In 2019, KC Healthy Kids adopted the volunteer-led effort and continues to maintain the farmer directory, to uphold the integrity of KC Food Circle™ pledges, and to help farmers increase sales by leveraging our partnerships with area restaurants, schools and other institutions. About KC Healthy Kids KC Healthy Kids connects communities to close health gaps. The nonprofit invests in community education, local and regional advocacy and direct support. Their work addresses systemic obstacles through solutions-based focus areas of youth advocacy, food policy, mental health, local food and active communities for kids and their families. Kids and their communities need a strong local food system. That’s why KC Healthy Kids helps farmers grow thriving businesses and teaches kids & families the value of growing their own food and purchasing locally-grown food. Three metro early care centers are partnering with KC Healthy Kids to feature new “calming corners,” thanks to a grant from 15 and the Mahomies Foundation. Calming corners help children to pause, calm down and reassess difficult situations. These physical spaces can help children practice emotional regulation, which is critical for their long term growth and development.
“Providing children with these tools from an early age allows for countless teaching opportunities and helps to form more positive relationships with teachers,” said Shelby Nace, KC Healthy Kids’ licensed social worker. The calm corners will be installed at New City Early Learning Academy Shawnee, New City Early Learning Academy Raytown, and Bare Essentials Child Care early this summer, and will serve more than 100 children altogether. New City director DeKesha Picket and her son joined Shelby and Alissa Kooyenga, KC Healthy Kids’ program assistant, at the awards gala. They were thrilled to meet Patrick and Brittney Mahomes and celebrate with the other grantees. “Standing on the stage with all the grant recipients, it was heartening to know that the foundation recognizes the importance of fostering children's emotional well-being.” said Alissa Kooyenga, Since 2019, our mental health team has worked with staff at 17 centers in Missouri and Kansas and with nearly 900 children and family members. KC Healthy Kids’ trauma informed care program empowers people to understand the pervasive impact of trauma, its profound effects and how to interact with others sensitively and safely. The training series prioritizes self-care and provides valuable insights into personal well-being management. This project is just one way KC Healthy Kids connects communities to close health gaps. You can support our work in mental health, local food and food policy when you make a donation. Photos: On stage, Alissa, DeKesha and Shelby stand next to Patrick Mahomes and Brittany. DeKesha's son holds the presentation check. DeKesha's son shakes hands with Patrick as he accepts the award, and meets Travis Kelce. In the second week of December, our farm manager, Tracy Flowers, made one last harvest for the year, gathering the lettuce from the hydroponic system at Splitlog Farm. And it was a big deal! Here's why, in Tracy's words:
That little bit of lettuce was enough to push us over our goal of doubling last year's harvest! This year we grew, harvested and distributed 2,185 pounds of chemical-free, healthy fruits and vegetables. That's over 1 ton of food that went directly to local families, schools, food pantries and early care and education centers. Thanks to all our volunteers and everyone from KC Healthy Kids and Community Housing of Wyandotte County who had a part in helping out this year. I also want to thank our contractor Kaitlyn Keller for help and our interns: Amira Ahmed, North Kansas City Schools Sarai Thao, Donnelly College Jamee Hagen, University of Central Missouri Chloe Ridder, University of Central Missouri Jessi Rush, University Of Kansas Medical Center Rachel Anderson, University of Kansas Medical Center It was an amazing season with amazing people and I can't wait to see what next year brings!
Stakeholders from more than 16 community organizations worked together to identify needs, conduct an assessment, and chart this path to an equitable and sustainable regional food system.
Cultivate KC, Groundwork NRG, KC Healthy Kids, Mid-America Regional Council and New Growth, received funding from the USDA Regional Food System Partnerships program to coordinate the effort, to conduct an assessment and make the recommendations. “While we celebrate this milestone, it lays out years of work to come. I hope it leads to new connections and support for existing and future projects,” says Andrea Clark, director of food systems planning for KC Healthy Kids. Next, the group will seek funding to implement the plan region-wide. The project team will be coordinating efforts to apply for an implementation and expansion grant through the USDA Regional Food System Partnerships program in spring 2024. Each year around this time, families get together and ask each other the age-old question: “What are you grateful for?” For kids, this question may elicit a quick, almost knee-jerk response (family, friends, toys, etc.), but for adults, this question gives more pause. The world around us can feel grim at times, and sometimes a break in our daily lives is needed in order to see true joy. This holiday season, as KC Healthy Kids remembers the previous year and reflects on our joy, there is one clear answer: all of you. On Giving Tuesday, we want to show our appreciation for the people and organizations and our community partners who have shared their time, talents and financial resources this year. With your support, we can continue to connect communities to close health gaps for kids throughout our region. Our Board of Directors Special thanks go to our board of directors for supporting KC Healthy Kids as volunteers and donors.
Donating Organizations and Foundations
Donors
Greater KC Food Policy Coalition
Volunteers
Photo: MMGY helped our staff get Splitlog Farm ready for the fall season.
UPDATE: This position has been filled.
KC Healthy Kids is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the health and well-being of children and families through community-driven initiatives and advocacy where they live, learn, work and play. We also support a number of initiatives designed to improve the food and built environments, including the Kansas Food Action Network. Composed of over 30 local food, farm and policy councils, the Kansas Food Action Network is a statewide advocacy network focused on building resilient local and state food systems in Kansas. The Network provides technical assistance, coaching, peer-to-peer learning and network opportunities to support growth and development of food system leadership in Kansas. KC Healthy Kids seeks an enthusiastic and creative Director of Network Engagement to provide programmatic and administrative support for the Kansas Food Action Network. Reporting to the Senior Director of the Kansas Food Action Network, this staff person will provide critical outreach and engagement support to our growing organization. Duties and Responsibilities: Network Engagement
Technical Assistance
External Stakeholder Engagement
Communications
Desired Skills and Qualifications:
Reports to: Senior Director, Kansas Food Action Network Compensation: The salary range for this position is $65,000 - $70,000 based on experience. Benefits include paid time off; mobile phone stipend; health, dental, vision and disability insurance; and a contribution to a retirement plan. KC Healthy Kids staff work a flexible, 32-hour work week. To Apply: Email your resume and answers to the questions listed below to recruitment@kchealthykids.org. Incomplete applications will not be considered. The position will remain open until filled, but applications received before December 8, 2023 will be prioritized. No phone calls please. Inquiries should be sent by email. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted. Applicant Questions: In place of a cover letter, please answer the following questions and submit them with your resume. Please limit your responses to no more than one page per question. 1. Describe your knowledge of and/or experience with:
2. The Kansas Food Action Newtwork operates across a large geographic area, and mostly meets virtually. What strategies would you use to encourage authentic and enthusiastic engagement among members? Photo: Members of Kansas Food Action Network meet with Governor Kelly KC Healthy Kids seeks board members to help us expand our reach and bring about widespread changes that create a culture of health in our region.
We believe every child deserves to grow up in a healthy community with clean parks, safe playgrounds, walkable neighborhoods, bike friendly streets, school and community gardens, farm to school lunches, neighborhood grocery stores, farmers markets, high-quality mental health services, and accessible healthcare. Unfortunately, many of Kansas City’s children do not have access to these features, and the immediate and long-term implication is that this generation of children may be the first that won’t live as long as their parents. To address this, KC Healthy Kids mobilizes community advocates to speak out for healthier neighborhoods and we support their efforts to make their vision a reality. We help leaders in government, schools and communities make the connection between their decisions and the health of children. Do your values align with ours? Put your skills and talents to use as you support the work of KC Healthy Kids, helping raise funds and providing mission-based leadership, strategic governance. As a member of our board, you can grow your professional network as you connect with other members, staff and representatives at our many partnering organizations. We love to see you bring your friends and family along for special events or volunteer opportunities, too! KC Healthy Kids board members serve a three-year term and may be eligible for reappointment for up to two additional terms. Board meetings are held bi-monthly and committee meetings are held during opposite months. Ideal candidates will have the following qualification:
To apply, please contact Markesia Tatum at mtatum@kchealthykids.org for details. Photos: Jenny Pearson and Crystal Hart-Johnson help out at KC Healthy Kids' Kid Zone at the Eat Local and Organic Expo.
The center is one of 12 established across the nation in 2023, with funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to support development of a more resilient, diverse, and competitive food system. In addition to 14 key partners, more than a dozen collaborating partners are part of the center’s work to build a more robust and responsive support system for farm and food businesses in local and regional markets. Local Leadership KC Healthy Kids believes that kids and their communities need a strong local food system. With our local food programming we help farmers grow thriving businesses and teach kids and their families the value of growing their own food and purchasing locally grown food. Our planning initiatives bring together partners to work towards a resilient and equitable food system. We engage advocates and decision makers to promote good food policies that put healthy local food within reach and remove barriers so food businesses may thrive. KC Healthy Kids will support the center by identifying existing resources, engaging food policy councils, coordinating community partners, providing technical assistance, promoting local farms and food, and administering Business Builder Subawards across our bi-state region. “As a nonprofit that works in both Kansas and Missouri, KC Healthy Kids appreciates the support of a strong regional partnership. Having organizations from five states working together means we can further invest in our local food system," says Rachael McGinnis Millsap, vice president of programs and policy for KC Healthy Kids. Core Functions The center's purpose is to connect and strengthen small, mid-size, and diverse farm and food businesses, as well as local and regional food sector initiatives. It aims to grow the farm and food enterprises, markets, and community connections needed to make local food an everyday, easy choice. The growing five-state resource network will provide farm and food businesses with:
Local Economy and Food Security
Building local and regional food supply chains is critical for long term growth and the sustainability not only of our region but the country, said Steve Schulz, Associate Professor in the Department of Management at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. His team will support the Heartland Food Business Center’s work to analyze and assist in developing local and regional food supply chain logistics. “We’ve seen how vulnerable our supply chains can be since the pandemic; the school lunch program being shut down, restaurants closing, empty grocery shelves …,” he said. Adding more food and farm businesses and building shorter, local and regional supply chain links will build resilience and strengthen communities, he added. Reliable and ready access to fresh, healthy and affordable food is a major objective of USDA’s $400 million investment in establishing Regional Food Business Centers to serve the entire United States. “USDA recognizes that local and regional food systems are essential to the overall food supply chain, and the new Regional Food Business Centers are the cornerstone of our efforts to support them,” said Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Jenny Lester Moffitt. The five-state center will advance the region’s ability to put local food on more tables and help smaller rural and urban farm and food businesses thrive, said Katie Nixon, Food Systems Director at the rural Missouri community development corporation New Growth. She is co-director of the center with Mary Emery, executive director of Rural Prosperity Nebraska at University of Nebraska Extension, which administers the Center. “Over the last several decades, the power and control of our food system has increasingly gone to large agri-business,” Nixon said. “The small to medium size farms and food entrepreneurs, who often embrace social, environmental and economic sustainability, have been left to fend for themselves in an increasingly challenging system. This center is for these businesses, to help them succeed and provide good food for their communities in a way that helps them sustain their operations.” Regional Resource Network Co-director Mary Emery said a large part of the effort is to support and advance work that is already underway and to connect more entrepreneurs to existing resources. “You have all these different entities working with local foods — producers, grocery stores, local distributors, non-profits, business developers … and these are all puzzle pieces,” she said. “But we’ve never put the pieces together. What we want to do with this project is put the puzzle together and see the picture of how regional food systems work.” The Heartland Food Business Center invites collaboration with other organizations that work with small businesses and in agriculture and community and economic development. Outreach efforts will include learning about other resources and how to support them in working with food and farm businesses. Throughout November, you can support KC Healthy Kids when you shop at The Merc in KCK or Lawrence and tell them to round up!
When shoppers round up to the nearest dollar, donate online, donate their reusable bag refund or drop spare change into the jars at the Lawrence store, the Merc will give 100% of those donations to KC Healthy Kids. The Merc Co+op in KCK has been a great partner to KC Healthy Kids since the KCK store opened in 2020. Here are some examples:
How You Can Help The more people who shop and round up during November, the more The Merc will be able to donate. We'd be so grateful for any help you can give!
Locations Downtown KCK 501 Minnesota Kansas City, KS 66101 Open daily 8 a.m.–9 p.m. Lawrence 901 Iowa St Lawrence, KS 66044 Open daily 7 a.m. - 10 p.m. |