Powell Gardens was recently awarded a $500 grant from the Lee’s Summit Rotary to support the Trails Tales program. The Trail Tales program is a new collaborative effort between Powell Gardens, the Mid-Continent Public Library, and the Rabbit Hole, Kansas City's future children's literature museum and “Explorastorium.” Trail Tales will feature a garden- and nature-themed children's book on interpretative signage throughout our 170+ acres of cultivated and natural areas from September through October of 2019.

Children’s Center for the Visually Impaired (CCVI) recently received a grant for $20,000 from the Developmental Disabilities Resource Board of Clay County – Capital Grant Program to refurbish the changing rooms that serve the therapeutic pool in the Children’s Center Campus. Funding will be used to refurbish the changing rooms to minimize safety concerns, such as changing tables that don’t accommodate larger-size children, poor ventilation, and lockers in a state of disrepair that pose potential safety issues to children and therapists alike.

KidTLC was recently awarded a $2,500 grant from the Flo Harris Foundation to support their Thriving Families Program (previously Street Outreach Services SOS program). Bullying, depression, suicide, and unrealistic demands on children and families can lead to overwhelming levels of family distress. Inability to access appropriate services is one of the biggest barriers for families who are homeless, Spanish-speaking, or have mental health issues. Barriers can include limited knowledge of how/where to access services, cultural stigmas surrounding health issues, lack of knowledge about what services are available or how to pay for services, and transportation to services.

Children’s Mercy Hospital recently received a grant for $60,253 from the Health Forward Foundation to achieve physical and mental well-being for families, caregivers, and children with medical complexity by providing an eight-week, mindfulness-based stress reduction group for parents. Funding will support staff costs, facility costs (rental space), and program supplies. The program will serve 12 children (and 12-24 parents/caregivers), targeting children age 4-6 demonstrating externalizing behaviors from under-resourced (e.g. low-income, under-insured, or uninsured) households, that are transitioning to kindergarten in fall 2020 and whose families face barriers to accessing treatment options.

Comprehensive Mental Health Services, Inc. (CMHS) was recently awarded a $30,000 grant from the REACH Healthcare Foundation to support outside professional services that will allow CMHS to build and strengthen the essential infrastructure and activities of its development department. CMHS will partner with Encore Nonprofit Solutions (Encore NPS), a leading provider of development and fundraising services to nonprofits. Encore will provide professional consultation, training, and content/creative development to facilitate execution of development activities.