Our Mission: To improve the ability of high-risk children from one parent and other non-traditional homes to succeed in life through the improvement of their self-esteem. This is accomplished through a long-term, one-to-one match with a qualified adult. Emphasis is placed on improved socialization and graduation from high school. Bigs and Littles spend anywhere from two to four hours a week with one another, hanging out, talking and sharing new experiences, just like friends. Children must be between the ages of 8 - 14.
Child Abuse Prevention Association of Jackson County
The Child Abuse Prevention Association helps children and their families overcome the traumatic effects of child abuse, especially in child molestation. CAPA also provides educational programs designed to increase awareness of abuse and how to prevent it as well as providing case management and other support services to help create strong families and decrease the chances of abuse/neglect.
Child Care Source is dedicated to providing:
•
Information and services for parents seeking child
care
• Information on professional development opportunities
for child care providers
The Children's Place - Kansas City MO
The mission of The Children's Place is to help eliminate child abuse and neglect through prevention and treatment services for young children and families. The Children's Place is a vital resource to support parents and caregivers in their efforts to nurture and develop the children in their care. Current programming includes day treatment, outpatient therapy, in-home services for children and families. Parenting support services and training activities are offered to parents/caretakers and professionals.
City Union Mission - Kansas City MO
The Mission provides extensive, compassionate service to low-income community residents. Relief efforts include the distribution of food, clothing, school supplies, household items, utility assistance, case management, help to find affordable housing, During the Thanksgiving and Christmas season, Mission supporters collect and donate thousands of pounds of holiday food for the low-income community. Children, ages 6 to 18, participate each week in organized play, crafts, drama and homework tutoring at the Vanderberg Youth Center. Low-income children throughout Kansas City benefit from the Mission’s summer camps, Camp CUMCITO (City Union Mission Camp In The Ozarks) and Tot Lot. Each July, around 350 children, ages 4-16, spend a fun-packed week at camp, located near Warsaw, Missouri.
Clay, Platte and Ray County Directory of Human Services
Community LINC is a old faith based organization founded in 1988. The traditional housing program is a 90-180 day residential program created to provide homeless families with shelter, comprehensive case management services, programs and follow up services.
Community Services League of Eastern Jackson County MO
Provides food, clothing and utility assistance to families in the Independence, Blue Springs, Buckner, Grain Valley and Oak Grove areas. Homeless/housing counseling, Work Express, Volunteer Services and Senior Services.
Dictionary Project Kansas City
Helping Kansas City-area children discover the meaning of "success", "respect", and "team" is the mission of the Dictionary Project Kansas City. The goal is to put a dictionary in the hands of each third-grade student in every elementary school in the five-county metro area every year. Knowing that a dictionary is, perhaps, a child's first reference tool, the Dictionary Project Kansas City helps set children on the path to lifelong learning. Kiwanis clubs can "adopt" an elementary school and purchase dictionaries for the third-grade classes.
Formerly called the Heart of America Family Services, provides Children's Services, Counseling, Parenting, and Child Care Training Classes
Family Net - Johnson County KS
This information service provides 24-hour access to community resources and legal information for Johnson County families of at-risk youth.
Friends of Yates, Inc. - Kansas City, KS
Cultural activities to promote self-pride in participants and the community in general; summer youth camp; youth, adult and senior services; emergency assistance; emergency housing for abused women and their dependent children; individual and group counseling, art and play therapy program for children of victims of domestic violence; battered woman's support group. (913) 321-1566
Services: Unmarried parents services; pregnancy programs; parenting/ family education;
Healthy Kids - A guide from Children's Mercy Hospital
Name changed in 2004 to The Family Conservancy. Children's Services, Counseling, Parenting, and Child Care Training Classes
The HOMEFRONT parenting campaign strives to create a Kansas City community where all adults are actively and effectively engaged in the lives of our children and youth. Family Conservancy and its 44 partners within the HOMEFRONT coalition are committed to improving parent/adult-child relationships in order to create stronger, more stable families and a more family-friendly, child-friendly community. HOMEFRONT partners work to: heighten awareness of parenting issues, simplify access to information and resources, and deliver services where people live, work and learn.
Here you can find out:
How to help yourself or someone you know.
How Hope House is helping abused women and their children.
How to help keep the workplace safe from violence.
How to help Hope House help abused women in our community.
How to identify the signs of abusive behavior.
The Kansas City BrainChild Campaign is a parent education campaign to help parents understand brain development in children and how their parenting can make a difference in the social, emotional, and intellectual growth of their children.
A project to fight infant mortality and improve the health of pregnant women and infants.
Kansas City, MO Health Department Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program
Lead Prevention Program for Kansas City MO Health Department
Lead Poisoning Prevention Program for the State of Kansas
Maternal and Child Health Coalition of Greater Kansas City
OUR VISION: Every mother and child in the Greater Kansas City area will be healthy.
OUR MISSION: The Coalition will strengthen the capacity of individuals and organizations to enhance maternal and child health in Greater Kansas City. The Coalition serves as a catalyst for bringing together resources to promote maternal/child and community planning that leads to better lives for women, children and families. It is the only area organization that focuses on both maternal and child health.
Mid America Immunization Coalition
Our Mission is that all of Kansas City's children be protected against vaccine-preventable diseases.
The mission of NEWHOUSE is to break the cycle of domestic violence by providing the tools that allow women to make positive choices and lead self-sufficient lives. Women and children who come to NEWHOUSE suffer from a variety of confusing emotions: fear, desperation, anger and shame. The services provided by NEWHOUSE are designed to address all of the complicated factors that keep battered women in abusive relationships. NEWHOUSE works diligently so that battered women and children are assisted in developing skills to empower themselves to make changes in their lives and truly believe that they have the wings to fly and touch the sky.
This program provides special dream trips to children age 3-18 who are facing life-threatening illnesses. The program, operated by a non-profit volunteer corporation, is funded by an annual dinner/dance/auction in St. Louis and by selling TWA merchandise (COLLECTOR'S ITEMS?). Kiwanians' job is to keep our ears open for children who could qualify and benefit from the program. The most popular program is a free flight to Disneyland in Orlando. Details, merchandise, and application forms are available at www.operationliftoff.com.
The Partnership for Children stands for the principle that children are Greater Kansas City's most valuable and vulnerable natural resource, and works for change on their behalf. Issues an annual report on the Status of Greater Kansas City's Children and Youth.
Ray, Clay and Platte County Directory of Human Services
Reach Out and Read Kansas City is an early literacy program affiliated with Kansas University Pediatrics, Children's Mercy Hospital & Clinics, Reach Out and Read National Center, and Reading Is Fundamental. As a not-for-profit program that reaches thousands of children through more than 30 sites in the greater Kansas City metropolitan area, ROR Kansas City is a member of the Children's Literacy Collaboration, sponsored by the Junior League of Kansas City, Missouri, and a Kansas City's Promise partner.
reStart, Inc. - Emergency Shelter for the Homeless - Kansas City MO
reStart grew out of the dream of individuals from the interfaith community who wanted to help the homeless by doing more than provide food and temporary housing. In 1991, the former Our Lady of Mercy Nursing Home was purchased at 918 East 9th Street in Kansas City, and today this building is the mainstay of reStart Housing and Offices. The shelter continues to grow as additional space is acquired to provide housing and programs for over 2,000 homeless people each year.
Rose
Brooks Center - Kansas City, MO
The mission of Rose Brooks is to break the cycle of domestic violence so that individuals and families can live free of abuse. Over the course of 20 years, Rose Brooks Center has grown from an
emergency hotline to a 24-hour shelter and prevention center. Today,
the center offers counseling and support groups for women and
children; outreach services and prevention programs for the entire
community. These services are provided in six locations.
SAFEHOME, Inc - Overland Park KS
The mission of SAFEHOME is to
break the cycle of sexual and domestic violence and abuse. The goal of shelter
services is to provide a healing atmosphere where survivors can gain inner
strength, build self-esteem, explore options and establish a life free of
violence
Samuel U. Rodgers Community Health Center
Samuel U. Rodgers Community Health Center was founded in 1968 and was the first community health center in the State of Missouri. Rodgers Health Center serves almost 17,000 patients each year in 13 locations. Rodgers Health Center offers comprehensive outpatient primary care and several specialized services in a convenient one-stop shop, including Health Start.
Here's a really good hands-on volunteer activity for Kiwanis clubs - helping with Special Olympics activities. Check the calendars frequently to learn about volunteer needs in your community. For more information, contact Dawn Jones, Area Director at 913-789-0330 in Merriam, KS.
Swope Health Services - Kansas City, MO
Swope Health Services is a nonprofit system of outpatient health centers located throughout a five-county area in Missouri and Kansas. Our mission is to improve the well-being of individuals and families by providing compassionate, quality and affordable physical and behavioral healthcare that is accessible to all community members.
Synergy Services Inc. - Parkville, MO
The mission of Synergy Services, Inc. is to eliminate family violence, abuse, and neglect by providing quality services for persons of all ages. We seek to empower the individual, strengthen the family, and develop our community through crisis intervention, shelter, counseling, advocacy, and education.
The mission of TLC is to provide shelter and social services to children and youth who are facing abuse, neglect or family disruption. TLC strives for the preservation and healing of families by providing services, to the extent allowed by our resources, that compliment existing community services while maintaining a responsiveness to changing community needs.
UMKC Institute for Human Development
Focuses primarily on issues related to young children with special needs (ages birth through eight) and their families. Examples of issues may include community training and technical assistance to promote family-centered and interagency systems of care and inclusive early intervention and preschool programs.
More than 150 local member charities are being funded by United Ways in the Greater Kansas City area. An alphabetical directory of services lists useful information about each agency, its level of United Way funding for the year, and services it provides.
YouthFriends connects adult volunteers with students 5 to 18 years old. Adults act as positive role
models by connecting with kids through various activities. Most school districts in the Kansas City
area participate. For more information contact YouthFriends or check with your child's school.
1740 Main St, Kansas City, Mo 64108
816-842-7082
Youth Net of Greater Kansas City
YouthNet is a nonprofit organization that works to improve the life opportunities of Kansas City young people by promoting quality youth development programs that occur in the after-school hours. We do not provide any youth programs ourselves. Rather, we support the work of a number of existing community-based agencies whose missions include serving children, youth and families.
Founded in 1990, the Alliance is a national public interest organization formed by leaders in public health, environmental protection, affordable housing, and civil rights to protect all children from lead poisoning. The Alliance was designed to have the technical capacity and comprehensive reach across disciplines needed to effect change.
The mission of Bright Futures is to promote and improve the health, education, and well-being of infants, children, adolescents, families, and communities for children and adolescents from birth through age 21.
Childhood Obesity Prevention: A Guide for Parents
As of 2012, one-third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese. Over the past 30 years, obesity rates for 6-11 year olds have more than doubled, and for 12-19 year olds, has more than quadrupled. And because of obesity, for the first time in US history, children have a shorter lifespan than their parents.
Having good hygiene is important for your physical health and well-being as well as your self-esteem and confidence. This site contains lots of ideas to help your child learn good life-long habits.
The site describes several steps that can be taken to make traveling in a car or truck safer for kids. As long as parents and caregivers make use of the right equipment and take the right precautions, they can be confident that their children will not be facing any unpreventable dangers when driving about town or traveling by car for long distances. For additional information see http://www.nhtsa.gov/Safety/CPS
When you have children, you spend a great deal of time making sure that your house is safe. You put plastic caps in your electrical outlets and locks on your cupboard doors. But what about your backyard and garage? According to the Centers for Disease Control, around 15 children under the age of 14 die from pool drownings every year. If you want your child to avoid being a statistic, then you need to learn how to childproof your backyard and your garage. You need to develop an eye for the hazards that exist and devise effective ways to eliminate them.
Across the world, death and serious injuries occur from Consumer Product all too often. This site is dedicated to help raise awareness to these products that we hope will decrease the amount of these tragedies. Child safety is a special emphasis. Education is the key to consumer protection.
Disease Control and Prevention Center
CDC's Mission: To promote health and quality of life by preventing and controlling disease, injury, and disability by working with partners throughout the nation and world to monitor health, detect and investigate health problems.
Head Start and Early Head Start are comprehensive child development programs which serve children from birth to age 5, pregnant women, and their families. They are child-focused programs and have the overall goal of increasing the school readiness of young children in low-income families. Kansas Head Start Missouri Head Start
17 Rules to Protect Your Child Online
A program dedicated to preventing injuries and deaths that occur due to children being left unattended in or around vehicles. Public education is essential to end these preventable injuries and deaths. WIth the help of Kiwanis, their educational material could be distributed throughout our community and help eliminate these tragedies.
The Kiwanis Children's Council of Hampton Roads, Virginia is a coalition of local Kiwanis Clubs and community agencies. The Council was formed in 1999 with a mission of identifying unmet needs of children and families in Hampton Roads. In addition to the database of local agencies, access to countless other state and national resources are also available through KidsPriorityOne. Whether you're a parent, grandparent, teen, tween, or professional who works with children and families, we think you'll find KidsPriorityOne to be a useful resource.
Lead Poisoning Information - U.S. Federal Government
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Resources are available to help keep children safe and provide guidance on the issues of missing and
exploited children.
National Mentoring Partnership
A mentor is an adult who, along with parents, provides young people with support, counsel, friendship, reinforcement and constructive example. Mentors are good listeners, people who care, people who want to help young people bring out strengths that are already there.
As a mentor, you can help connect children with the other four America's Promise Fundamental Resources: safe places and structured activities during non-school hours, a healthy start, a marketable skill through effective education and an opportunity to give back through community service. Use the zip code search to locate mentoring groups near you.
When most people think of taking their children to the playground, danger is the furthest thing from their minds. Unfortunately, playgrounds and playground equipment can prove deadly to unsuspecting children. Parents, teachers and caregivers must understand what factors can make these areas unsafe and how to ensure that playgrounds are a safe place of fun and reduce the risk of injuries.
Pregnancy and Medication Safety
Pregnant women need to be especially careful with the type of medications that they introduce to their bodies, as some can be extremely harmful to the child. The more a pregnant woman can do to avoid medication altogether, they better. However, there are some that must be avoided at all costs. Recently the FDA has been encountering more and more problems with prescription medications having an effect during pregnancy. Drugs such as Paxil are capable of causing devastating birth defects. In fact, birth defects are the leading cause of death in a child’s first year. The FDA also has a long list of other drugs that are harmful to both mother and child. DrugAlert.org describes medications and drugs that are especially dangerous to the health of a baby.
This guide is a resource offering useful advise for travelling in different trimesters, as well as a list of frequently asked questions that will help any pregnant traveller enjoy a safe and comfortable journey.
This can be a great hands-on program for Kiwanians who read to children.
SafeChild.net is a project of the Consumer Federation of America Foundation (CFAF). The mission of CFAF is to provide information to the public on consumer issues, assist state and local organizations, and conduct research projects. Child safety and health is an important part of this mission, and CFAF and CFA both have a long history of educating the public on child safety and public health issues.
ZERO TO THREE's mission is to promote the healthy development of our nation's
infants and toddlers by supporting and strengthening families, communities, and
those who work on their behalf. We are dedicated to advancing current knowledge;
promoting beneficial policies and practices; communicating research and best
practices to a wide variety of audiences; and providing training, technical
assistance and leadership development. ZERO TO THREE is a national non-profit
organization and is a Kiwanis International Young Children Priority One Partner.