From the Field to the Table
Piper Middle School
Laurence Breedlove, Jr., Principal
4420 North 107th Street, KCK 66109
Phone: 913-721-1144
Program Overview:
The project was established for 108 eighth grade students at Piper Middle School. The focus was to create a hands on activity that would bring the study of careers, nutrition, marketing, and community service to an application level. Through Consumer Science classes, all students studied about careers in agriculture, marketing strategies used in food stores, studied how nutritional value is analyzed and determined in the processed food purchased, and experience the joy of volunteering with agencies in the greater Kansas City area by donating food and time to help.
Students raised 5 pigs, 3 baby calves, and 1 market steer during the fall and winter of the 2001-2002 school year. Students studied the daily weight gain as compared to the amount of feed consumed by each animal. Once butchering weight was gained, all animals were processed by Bichlemeyer Meats.
When all the animals were processed, nearly 1600 pounds of beef and pork were available to be distributed. The 108 students along with their teachers were split into 5 groups. Each group took between 250 and 300 pounds of meat to one of the following agencies: Crosslines Services, Catholic Charity Services, El Centro, City Union Mission, and Harvesters. Students passed out food and provided 2 hours of voluntary service for the agency by cleaning, stocking shelves, serving meals, or doing any other work that needed to be done.
KCK Study Circles
United Way of Wyandotte County - lead agency
Brandi Fisher, Director
P.O. Box 17-1042, KCK 66117
Phone: 913-371-3674
Program Overview:
KCK Study Circles is a citizen engagement project to connect parents and community to the public schools. The goal is twofold, first, to create a dialogue where people can come together in open, honest discussion to share their ideas, concerns, and visions for the schools, and second, to move the dialogue process into actions that create change. The Study Circles is innovative in that, instead of providing a direct service, it creates a framework where individuals in the community can put defenses and agendas aside and work proactively together towards the common goal of success for all students.
For each Study Circle round, they partner with local churches, nonprofit organizations, schools, businesses, and individuals to host study circles though the community. Each host site recruits 8-15 people to attend that group’s circles, which meets four times – once a week for a month. They provide dinner, childcare, and two trained study circle facilitators to guide each discussion through topics including: what are the challenges and strengths facing our schools; how can we deal with issues of race and diversity in our schools; how can we address issues of safety; and how do we provide a quality education with limited resources?
At the end of each round, they host an Action Forum where the groups from that round can come together to report their ideas and concerns. The event is an opportunity for individuals to connect with others in the community who might have a shared vision and an interest in working together. It also provides a venue for the study circle participants to report to the School Superintendent, Principals, School Board members, and other community leaders.
Ruby Avenue Community Arts Program
Ruby Avenue Community Services
Cindy Peterson, Executive Director
1154 Ruby Avenue, P.O. Box 6165, KCK 66106
Phone: 913-281-2541
Project Overview:
Ruby Avenue Community Services (RACS) offers a program to bring youth together in a safe, supervised environment during after school hours to learn leisure, vocations, and educational life skills such as instrumental music, cooking, drama, sewing, crafts, woodworking, outside sports, writing and computer classes. A new class is being added for youth and adults on making toys for special needs children. The target population is K-12 children in the Argentine, Armourdale, and Rosedale areas due to the location of the building, however, anyone in the Kansas City metro area is welcome. Currently serve over 100 children during a calendar year and serve youth from 20 different schools.. Classes are held two afternoons a week.
RACS seeks to help youth and their families become productive members of the community by teaching life skills and expanding their horizons past what is available to them in the immediate area. The youth and adults who become involved in RACS tend to become part of one large family unit. They play, learn, solve problems together, share meals, and provide educational enrichment through a variety of activities. The program assists with: enabling and strengthening families since the group operates like a large family unit working together; youth development by teaching life skills and by having youth help plan and assist with teaching younger children; and violence prevention by providing a safe, structured, and caring environment after school hours.
The second program RACS operates is a Pediatric Therapy Home Health Agency. Currently occupations therapy services are provided to children birth through 17 years of age in the metro area. Service agreements are held with Wyandotte County Infant Toddler Services, First Steps in Missouri, and Johnson County Infant Toddler Services. Services are provided in the natural environment of the child, which could be the home or day care setting.
Citizenship Award 2002
Michael Simmons
Michael Simmons is a lifelong Kansas City, Kansas resident who takes pride in the making things happen for our youth and seniors in this community. Michael has been with the KCK Police Department for 17 years and is currently assigned to the Community Policing Unit, where he worked for the past 7 years. He is the president of a youth group known as the KCK Ravens and Junior Cadets. The primary focus of this organization is to develop an interest in police work at an early age and help bring minorities on to the police force. In addition to the Ravens, Michael organizes annual toy and food drives for the holiday season each year. He makes personal food deliveries to the senior facilities throughout the metro area on Christmas day. He spearheads the annual Summer Night Hoops, Safe Night Parties, Take it to the Streets 3 on 3, Halloween Safe Night, and the Back to School Book Bag Program. Michael has received numerous awards for his countless off duty hours that he so willingly devotes to citizens of this community, and surrounding areas.