What if the Church Partnered with Schools?
As schools slowly open this month – some in person, some completely online, and others in a blended model – the pressures facing today’s youth are more apparent than ever. In many cases, the pandemic has magnified social and economic pressures for children across the Kansas City metropolitan area while creating new challenges for community partners working to help.
An organization focused on this issue is Caring for Kids Kansas City. Caring for Kids Kansas City launched out of a prayer movement started by Gary Schmidt in 2012. A small group of faithful prayer warriors began meeting weekly to pray for the city and area schools. A divine mix-up brought together that small group and Olathe school district board members. The district had some 450 homeless families and was struggling to figure out how to help. Upon learning of the significant needs in Olathe, the prayer group got to work and created a simple model: find two churches and one business to adopt each school. But one thought nagged the group. If the Olathe district, located in the wealthiest county of Kansas needed community support, what about other districts?
Today, Caring for Kids directly serves seven Kansas City metro area school districts, encompassing 82 schools. Additionally, a new pilot program with Westside Family Church has enabled the group to expand that reach, launching three additional school districts (and 15 schools) this year.
More than 160 churches today serve as community partners with Caring For Kids, wrapping the love of Jesus around schools, students and educators. These churches are a tangible example of what it means to serve as the hands and feet of Christ, helping the least and the oft forgotten.
This month, Porsche Seals, became the new Executive Director for Caring for Kids. Seals first became acquainted with Caring for Kids as a volunteer and was later hired as the School Partnerships Director for three districts on the Missouri side. The position is what she considers to be a divine course-correction for this mom of four who was on course to open a bakery.
Porsche Seals and her Family.
“I’ve seen what we can do, and I’ve seen it work at its highest level,” Seals said as she recalled several experiences over her tenure with the organization.
“When I first began, one school was partnered with a small church,” she said. “While in a meeting with the counselor and someone from the church, we found out a family would be homeless by the time school was let out that day. The organizational champion asked if they could help, and the counselor suggested that the two boys really needed shoes and socks.”
Seals explained how the community partner went into immediate action, bought the requested items and had the unique opportunity of being there when the boys received the shoes. Watching them rip into those gifts deeply impacted that community partner, and also made a lasting impression on Seals.
New Shoes- a young family was struggling and the church partners found out about their need for new shoes for their school age sons. This picture is the boys in their new shoes.
“I kept thinking, if I can put the right people around the table to support these kids, we can have an incredible impact here,” she said. “Every time [we execute a plan] I am able to reimagine how it can work when we are strategic about how we serve. The church is the greatest mobilizer of volunteers on a regular basis.”
Some of the projects Caring for Kids regularly helps schools with include mentoring/reading to students, providing clothing closets onsite, facilities projects (i.e. landscaping, classroom projects and painting), assisting teachers in the classroom, providing supplies, encouraging teachers, serving as lunch buddies for children, morning greeting and more. They have also helped with large projects like field day, carnivals, fund raisers and movie nights. Since its inception, community partners have invested nearly a million dollars through in-kind and cash contributions to area schools.
Holliday Montessori- Quality Health Carnival- Kansas City Public School- It was the principle goal to have an all-school carnival that would promote health and family. Over 200 students and their parents were in attendance and it became an annual event after the 2017-18 school year.
Caring for Kids works off of a four-step process to help school principals to identify support opportunities that help them accomplish specific and strategic goals. Some of the traditional programs and tools have shifted this year due to COVID-19, but the group is not slowing in its effort to be a powerful connector between the schools and community members with a heart to demonstrate love and care to children.
For example, this past spring when one school’s field day was cancelled, the principal wanted to host a career fair to help kids dream bigger. Caring for Kids partners took on the challenge, building a virtual career fair with professionals from all around the country. Children heard from people they wouldn’t have been able to meet in a traditional setting, including actors, lawyers, a pilot from Southwest Airlines, NFL representatives and even someone from the Pentagon!
4 Step Process- this is the process that we use as an organization to engage community partners: faith, business, and civic. We continue this process on a fly-wheel repeatedly to also grow partnerships at all schools.
During COVID, Caring for Kids community partners have also hosted resource drives for students, honored graduating seniors with gift cards and special signs, and sent letters of encouragement to teachers and staff.
“Our communities are healthy when faith, civic and business come together so schools have the support they need to do what they need to do to educate and care for the next generation,” Seals said. “We can go so much further together.”
If you would like more information on how your church or business can become a Caring for Kids partner, please visit https://www.caringforkidskc.org/contact/
