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KVC Kansas

Local organizations help prepare children in foster care for the new school year

As the summer comes to an end, KVC’s Community Resource Specialists are busy working with local community groups to collect enough backpacks and school supplies for the 3,100 children KVC serves who are currently in foster care.  For decades, KVC has equipped children and youth with the supplies they need to return to school confident and ready to learn!

KVC Community Resource Specialists have received numerous school supply donations including 450 backpacks from Costco and Pac Sun, over 2,000 spiral notebooks from American Eagle Distribution Center and more. The American Eagle Distribution Center in Ottawa created a company-wide competition to challenge each department to bring in school supplies.  After delivering a truckload full of school supplies to Dawn Cubbison, KVC Community Resource Specialist in Ottawa, American Eagle staff filled backpacks with supplies for more than 100 youth that are now being delivered by KVC’s case management staff.

rolling hills

KVC’s resource team received a generous donation of backpacks, notebooks, highlighters and more from Rolling Hills Presbyterian Church in Overland Park.

Rolling Hills Presbyterian Church in Overland Park welcomes Jackie Harwig, Community Resource Specialist for Johnson County, to their church each year to invite members of their congregation to pick up a few extra pocket folders, markers and crayons when they are doing their back-to-school shopping The congregation has been providing school supplies for children in the local community for several years.

KVC’s Community Resource Specialist, Alison Leach received a charitable grant from Westar Energy Foundation for $2,500 which will provide school supplies for over half of southeast Kansas children in foster care. “This is an incredible gift for KVC children and families!” said Alison Leach, “we are truly grateful for their support.”  The Westar Energy Foundation supports programs that encourage youth to stay in school and develop their full potential, promote STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education, develop workforce skills and enhance personal development to successfully participate in our society and improve the communication in which they live.

The kind folks from Kforce Staffing & Solutions and Validity Screening Solutions stopped by KVC to help stuff backpacks with supplies for over 500 youth!

The kind folks from Kforce Staffing & Solutions and Validity Screening Solutions stopped by KVC to help stuff backpacks with supplies for over 500 youth!

KVC would like to extend a huge thank you to all organizations that have helped provide school supplies for children in foster care for the coming school year including:

  • New Directions Behavioral Healthcare
  • National Council of Jewish Women – Kansas City
  • Wal-Mart
  • Dillon’s Marketplace in Andover
  • Lion’s Club of Independence
  • Via Christi Hospital