Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Kansas City
- Big Brother Big Sisters of Greater Kansas City works to match at-risk children with an adult mentor to help them learn valuable life skills, receive guidance, and ultimately forge a path to a successful future. They plan to host various events and information sessions throughout the summer.
Earnest Shepherd Memorial Youth Center
- This youth center serves Kansas City area youth by providing educational, leadership, and team building programs for school-aged children. It offers eleven different summer camps for youth to participate in, offering scholarships to those who qualify. These camps are for children who have graduate kindergarten through sixth grade. They have been modified for the summer due to Covid-19, but more information can be obtained by calling 781-7733.
- Alternative education program for students in 9-12 grade that are either credit deficient or not on track to graduate from high school. Located in the Kansas City, Kansas School district, Fairfax provides its students with an individualized learning opportunity so that they can recover lost credits. There is also a community service component and a behavioral incentive program. Fairfax offers summer school educational programs.
- This organization serves as a unique childcare option for youth and their families across the KC metro area. For up to four hours at a time, parents can drop their kids (aged 5-14) off. While here, they participate in fun and educational learning activities. The organization also offers camps in the summer months of June and July.
- Located in Parkville, this organization offers both day and overnight camps for youth in the Kansas City area. Some camps for the summer have been canceled due to Covid-19, but Heartland is moving forward with others for the time being. The organization primarily aims to help children build lasting and meaningful relationships in a “Christ-centered environment” through its different camp and programming options.
- This organization is the largest provider of paid internships in the KC region. This summer, despite the Covid-19 crisis, Hire KC is pushing forward with virtual internships and projects, along with some online experiences for high school students to gain invaluable experience while also getting paid.
Jewish Community of Greater Kansas City/ The J
- Among many other offerings for children throughout the summer and the year, the J is holding a Youth triathlon that will provide a fun and healthy opportunity to help children stay active this summer. It will include biking, swimming, and running, and will permit children of many different age groups and levels of athletic performance to participate. It will be a tremendous opportunity for children in Kansas City to benefit from well-rounded fitness workouts and stay busy this summer.
Kansas Children’s Discovery Center
- The education team at this museum has taken the time to design daily tutorials for parents and their children at home. The series they created is called “Discover at Home” and is available for free on the organization’s social media platforms and its website.
Kansas City Royals Summer Slugger Program
- The program offered by this organization seeks to provide an online learning experience that is engaging and uses the game of baseball to prepare youth students (ages 8-11) enter the next school year on track.
- This organization will host virtual classes available to all students ages 2 and up throughout the entirety of the summer. Children who participate will learn the joy of dance, self-discipline, listening, and coordination through these learning opportunities.
- This rescue shelter organization allows children to volunteer at the shelter, foster a pet in their own home, or participate in any number of programs that involve animal caretaking. Children under the age of 15 must be accompanied by an adult but are still permitted to assist in volunteering.
- This organization offers STEM-focused summer camp opportunities to youth in the KC metro area. Through these camps, KC area children get the opportunity to learn about video game development, coding, career exploration, and countless other aspects of technology. Some offerings, of course, have been altered or moved offline for the summer due to Covid-19. But KC Stem is still offering many opportunities across the metro area.
- This organization, an online guide for children, teens, and families, has put together hundreds of virtual experiences – including zoo webcams, museum tours, exhibits, online activities for kids, streaming performances, and reading/story time – from North American and all over the world that are available 24/7. This has allowed to the organization to fully adapt its services to the circumstances brought on by Covid-19.
- This organization provides a safe and healthy childcare environment for youth growing up in poverty in the Kansas City region. OP offers a summer school program, which it has recently expanded. The organization offers five different educational programs: early childhood education, school-aged education, SmartLab, MakerSpace, and Outdoor Classroom.
- The education team at this organization has adapted to the circumstances brought about by the Covid-19 crisis by developing programming for the digital world, including video content and weekly downloadable outdoor activities for kids to complete in their own backyard.
- This arts education organization designs and administers theatre performance classes for youth (ages 4-18) in the KC area. While their summer schedule was not yet clear on the website, Storybook hosted virtual classes throughout the Spring to adapt to Covid-19.
The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Kansas City
- This organization aims to create and provide a safe, fun learning environment for kids to learn and develop into adults. From sports to education and group activities, the Clubs provide quality programs to thousands of area kids every day. In particular, the organization seeks to provide for children who may otherwise lack the resources for such opportunities.
The First Tee of Greater Kansas City
- This organization seeks to teach young people valuable and necessary life skills using the game of golf. Through camps and instruction, the First Tee works with youth to utilize golf as a tool to prepare students for future academic, personal, and professional success. The organization has canceled its start date for summer camps, but it plans on producing online instructional video to facilitate virtual learning experiences around the game of golf for youth in Kansas City.
United Way of Greater Kansas City
- This organization looks to connect members of the community to various service organizations that are in need of help. Any of the projects taken on by United Way provide an excellent opportunity for youth and families to serve the community. Children and teenagers can create food bags for people in need, organize donations, and complete many other tasks throughout the summer. Some volunteer opportunities may be cancelled temporarily, but the United Way KC is offering special Covid-19 volunteering opportunities.
- The area’s leading privately funded, independent nonprofit serving homeless animals in Kansas City, this organization provides multiple opportunities for youth to volunteer and become involved in the community in a meaningful way. Children can become “kid in action”, foster an animal, and participate in educational programs look to teach proper care for domestic animals, among other opportunities.
- This organization serves the urban core of Kansas City focusing on exposing technology, cyber security, and computer science concepts to area youth. Children are afforded the opportunity to learn about the basic concepts of coding and problem-solving skills, while also building the confidence they need for a positive future. The organization has transitioned all of its programs for the summer onto an online platform in order to adapt in light of the developments surrounding Covid-19.
- Innovative collaboration of community partners in KC that formed a non-profit employment plan for at-risk youth. It aims to administer its educational programs during non-school hours when youth are most susceptible to negative influences. These programs build professional personal skills, healthy habits, and processing skills, among other important life skills.
- Located in KCK, this organization offers a summer camp for youth. There is a day camp for children in grades 1-5, a kids camp for children in grades 3-6, a middle school camp for children in grades 6-9, and a middle/high school camp for children in grades 6-12. There is also a high school ministry and opportunities for family activities. Broadly, the organization aims to create environments that are conducive to Christian formation.
- This organization consists of volunteers from law enforcement, educational institutions, and local businesses. These volunteers serve as mentors for at-risk in the KC community, committing their time and resources to facilitate extracurricular activities (primarily soccer) and to support these children in their time of need.
- For children between the ages 11-18, this organization offers opportunities to engage in projects aimed at improving different aspects of the community. The organization seeks to help youth gain an improved understanding of the needs of their community, how to take action in their community, how to handle changing priorities, how to complete tasks autonomously, and time management.
- This organization, through a variety of different programs, directly assists in youth development across the KC metro area. These programs are offered throughout the year and are focused on physical exercise, childhood development, teaching social responsibility, and healthy living.
Additional Resources
- Aims to be a trusted bridge between law enforcement and the community by delivering healing and justice to the Kansas City metropolitan community. By canvassing in neighborhoods struck by violence and providing classes in cognitive behavioral change, among other extensive approaches, this organization plays an important role in combatting violence in KC.
- Aims to serve African American males in Kansas City by initiating innovate ways to improve their lives socially, emotionally, academically, and spiritually. Also seeks to help them develop life skills and develop personally so that they are able to lead socially productive lives.
Kansas City Metro Crime Stoppers:
- Encourages members of the community to cooperate with local law enforcement in an effort to fight crime by overcoming fear and apathy. The Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers hotline is a vital resource in helping reduce crime in our community. With its triangle of cooperation between the citizens, the media and law enforcement, Crime Stoppers is dedicated to putting criminals behind bars while building a foundation of trust and support. The goal of Crime Stoppers is to make the streets safer for our families and neighborhoods.
- This organization, funded on a grant from the University of Kansas Center for Community Health and Development, aims to have a positive impact on youth outcomes by coordinating community efforts to address risk and protective factors. Specifically, the organization looks to reduce youth violence through its collaborative partnerships, violence prevention programs, out-of-school supports, academic readiness supports, community-based training programs, and parent and family engagement efforts.