Community Matters

By Tiffani Kintchen, Special Events Manager

“I deeply believe in Community LINCs mission to break the cycle of homelessness for children and families by helping them build lives of hope, stability, and greater self-sufficiency. We can all make a difference by working together, and I am blessed to be part of a community of churches, businesses, and individuals who pull together to help families in crisis.”

As the Special Events Manager, my job isn’t working hands on with the children and families who come to Community LINC.  My role is generate the funds needed to sustain our programs and services.  It’s through the generosity of our donors that has brought light back into the lives of so many families.  While the staff and volunteers at Community LINC dedicate their energies to creating opportunities for each family to achieve stability and self-sufficiency, it is the individuals, churches, businesses and organization in our community who have truly cared to break the cycle of homelessness amongst us.  Without the support of our community, none of the life-changing transformations would have been possible.  On their behalf, I thank you!  You are literally changing the lives of families. 

Your support made it possible.  As I begin to look forward to our annual Rent Party fundraising event, I am once again excited about the anticipated always-generous response by our community to support the families at Community LINC.  While it is true we are blessed beyond measure by how the community partners with us, I find the most exciting part to be the gathering of friends, new and old.  Nothing makes us happier than to introduce new friends to the joy of helping homeless families find hope again and to reacquaint ourselves with those already standing alongside us.   

The best part about my job at Community is knowing that the funds we raise will provide children and their family a safe and stable place to call home.  We will provide them a firm foundation from which to launch as they work to find permanent housing, increase their job skills and employment, and improve their financial stability.  Lives are being changed here at Community LINC, and we thank you – OUR COMMUNITY for your part in that. The power of our community to generate change is formidable.  Together we have brought hope and stability into the lives of families.

Every Hour Counts!

By Daniel Barber, Volunteer Manager

The community that supports Community LINC is a very generous one!  2015 was filled with fantastic acts of kindness and dedication from our volunteers.  These volunteers are essential to Community LINC’s ability to function and impact poverty.  Often times, individual volunteers can overlook or forget about the importance of their time.  But we know every hour counts!

2015 in Review

In 2015, Community LINC volunteers donated 5,427 recorded hours.  That time is estimated to be a $135,435 value to Community LINC.  Allow me a moment to recognize just a few highlights of the overall contributions of our volunteers.

Apartment Preparations:  Our volunteers spent 332 hours cleaning, re-organizing and decorating apartments to make them feel like a place our residents can call “home”.   On average, each apartments takes about 10 – 12 volunteer hours to get ready for the next family.  Without volunteers, that work would have to be done by employees. Which would mean: 1) Less time for employees typical duties (maintenance, or resident interactions), or 2) Community LINC would have to hire more employees to handle the duties, and 3) Probably most importantly, apartment prep would take longer, and families would have to wait longer to move in.

Budgeting: Last year, our budgeters clocked 233 budgeting hours.  That is time spent, individually, with residents and aftercare participants, helping them achieve their financial goals and attain stability.   Budget counseling is a big reason 93% of our program graduates from 2008-2013 have not returned to homelessness in the last seven years.

Maintenance: Our buildings are over 100 years old.  We have all the maintenance duties any other apartment complex would have, on top of the impressive age of our buildings.  As you can imagine, every single one of the 1,387 hours donated to maintenance was greatly needed.  Without these dedicated volunteers, our facility would not look nearly as nice and would be very far behind on routine maintenance.

Youth / Children: Throughout 2015, our volunteers spent 696 hours with the children of Community LINC.  The impact of homelessness on a child can be devastating; emotionally and developmentally.  The time our volunteers spent caring for and supporting these children has greatly impacted and improved each student’s ability to deal with their stressful circumstances.

Special Events: The Rent Party is a fantastic highlight of the year for Community LINC.  It is also responsible for one-third of our operating budget! To pull off such a fantastic evening of entertainment, it takes lots of time and preparation - 258 volunteer hours to be exact!  Volunteers are crucial for acquiring donations for the auction, as well as to make sure the event runs smoothly.  Without all of these hours, the Rent Party could not be as successful as it is.

These are just a few highlights of the overall impact our volunteers make at Community LINC.  Each hour donated means we can do a better job at ending homelessness, impacting poverty and removing barriers to self-sufficiency for the families we serve.  The volunteers at Community LINC clearly understand just how much community matters. We appreciate every one of our volunteers and every hour donated!

Volunteers Matter: Giving Children a Time to be Kids

By Volunteer Coordinator Lonnie Cohen

Each Tuesday and Thursday night, I watch mothers and fathers bring their children to Children’s Programming where the kids get a chance to spend time interacting with both adults and other kids and taking advantage of the opportunity to “just be kids.”  While many of them face issues at home, coming to programming for these children is a special treat where they either learned new information or a new skill.

 

In recent months, we’ve been fortunate to add a group of new volunteers to a special group of long-time volunteers in our children’s programing area. With a passion for children, the ability to listen to them and knowing how to let kids be kids are new volunteers Britnee Moore, Myra Jenkins, Sainy Hussan, Alex Sells, Jason Fulp  and Kelvin Walls.  They join long-time children’s program volunteers Stephanie and Gerald Ostapko, Kathy Jarvin, Carolyn Kusman and Tina and Keith McHudson. Our heartfelt appreciation goes to these volunteers who give several hours each week out of these busy schedules to not just do the work, but make our program work while letting the kids in the community have the opportunity to be kids.

  

A huge thank-you goes to the Children’s Programming volunteers along with the many other Community LINC volunteers for their time, passion and commitment to our mission of ending homelessness, impact poverty and remove the barriers that our families face in achieving self-sufficiency. 

Volunteers Matter: Group Project Highlight

By Volunteer Coordinator Kate Nevins

This month, First Baptist Church of Kearney youth group spent a day working at Community LINC. They have volunteered here before, and both times I have hosted this group, I have been impressed with how eager the kids are to work! 

Many teenagers prefer to hide out in their houses behind a computer monitor or a t.v. screen, but this group is proof that there are many young people who choose to venture out and work to make improvements in their communities. 

In one day, they cleaned out a large flower bed, worked on our playground, trimmed bushes, moved furniture, and hosted a barbeque for the residents and staff to enjoy! The barbeque was a success. Volunteers and Community LINC families played basketball, drew with sidewalk chalk, flew kites, ate together, and got to know one another. 

We are so grateful for all the support from our community.

If you are interested in providing more groundwork or playground improvements, please contact volunteer@communitylinc.org.

Volunteers Matter: Words from a Community LINC Volunteer

By Mental Wellness Intern (and temporary Volunteer Coordinator) Aurora Barker

 

22-year-old Ashley Williams has quite the busy schedule these days. She is a first semester nursing student at Penn Valley Community College, as well as a nurse’s assistant at North Kansas City Hospital. Although her days are hectic, she is still able to find time to volunteer in Community LINC’s beloved children’s program, where she spends her Thursday nights with our infants and toddlers.

 

Q: How did you find out about Community LINC? And how long have you been volunteering here?

 

A: I found out about Community LINC on VolunteerMatch.com. There were a lot of volunteer opportunities listed in the Kansas City area, but Community LINC stood out to me the most. I have been volunteering at Community LINC for six months now.

 

Q: What is your favorite part about volunteering?

 

A: I love watching the kids work together and play nicely with each other. It doesn’t always happen, but it’s really great to see when it does.

 

Q: Any special memories you would like to share?

 

A: There’s an adorable one year old that used to always cry when his mom first started dropping him off here, but now he has completely adjusted and is always happy to be here. His hair grows in a natural curly Mohawk, which is so funny, and he eats so much! I have no idea where all the food goes. I’ve definitely formed a special bond with him and will be sad to see him go.

 

Volunteering Matters: Home is where the heart is

By Volunteer Coordinator Kate Nevins

 

Each month Community LINC tries to bring in a group of compassionate and caring volunteers in order to host a weekend project. This month we were lucky to be having the girls of Delta Sigma Theta Cotillion Group, a youth development and scholarship program co-sponsored by the Kansas City, Missouri Alumnae Chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.

 

The girls will be helping our newly arriving families feel more at home by prepacking bathroom kits with all the necessary essentials, as well as decorating and filling fun Children’s goody bags with small toys, games, and books. It is important that our families feel comfortable at Community LINC as they begin creating new memories and living their lives.

   

The girls will also be creating a creative bulletin board for our entry way inspired by our Housing Specialist, Tammy Mayhue. Since finding permanent housing for our families is such a significant part of the Community LINC mission, the girls will be crafting a board with houses and keys in order to motivate and inspire our families to look forward to a bright and fulfilling future!

 

Volunteers Matter: Group Projects

By Volunteer Coordinator Kate Nevins

 

Have you ever considered volunteering at Community LINC? One great way to get involved without making a large commitment is to schedule a day to volunteer with a group. We like to host about one group a month to provide an opportunity for corporations or other groups to learn about us and give back to the community, as we understand that most people cannot make a weekly or even monthly commitment.

 

In these cold winter months, there is less desire to go out and volunteer, but it is a great time to schedule projects for the Spring, Summer and Fall. Some employers will even allow for a Volunteering Day in place of a normal work day. We tailor projects to the abilities and interests of each group, and we work with you to make sure your group will have a positive, memorable experience. If you have any questions about setting up a group project, please contact Kate Nevins at volunteer@communitylinc.org or at 816-561-5862.

 

Volunteers Matter: Behind the Scenes

By Volunteer Coordinator Kate Nevins

 

At Community LINC, we are very grateful for our regular program volunteers, who help us deliver services to families. These volunteers help with budgeting, healthy lifestyles, in the Employment Lab and in the Children’s Program. We couldn’t achieve our mission without them, and they deserve all the recognition and appreciation we can show.

 

However, there is another group of volunteers who serve Community LINC less visibly to clients, visitors and fans of Community LINC, although they are just as essential to our efficacy. The board of directors and professional committee members are constantly working “behind the scenes” to help us improve operations and ensure that we are growing in the right directions.

 

In addition to our board of directors, we have committees for marketing, finance, public policy, buildings and sites and human resources. The people who serve on the board and in these committees share generously their skills and their time, and the end result is that they help hold us accountable to our mission.

 

In the season of gratitude, I would like to thank all of our “behind the scenes” volunteers helping us impact poverty and end homelessness.

 

Volunteers Matter: Rent Party Volunteers

By Volunteer Coordinator Kate Nevins

 

Board member Brad Korris & wife Missy Bruhn at check in.

On Saturday, September 28^th, after months of preparation, it was finally the night of Community LINC’s annual fundraiser - the Rent Party.

 

Equally excited and exhausted from all the work it had taken to get there, the planning committee watched as the first guests arrived. I was overwhelmed by how much support we had received.

 

The auction committee had worked tirelessly to secure more auction items than ever before, and the night-of volunteers were there to add structure for the evening, from check-in and check-out to raffle ticket sales.

 

It was an exciting night for everyone - attendees, volunteers and staff. And, Community LINC raised a record $635,000!

 

This would not be possible without the support of our volunteers.  From everyone at Community LINC, THANK YOU for donating your time and talent.

Volunteers Matter: Giving Back with your Significant Other

Gerald and wife Stephanie volunteer together. 

By Volunteer Coordinator, Kate Nevins

Volunteering is not usually thought of as an activity for couples.

Dinner and a movie? Yes, that’s a date. 

Visiting the Nelson Atkins Art Museum and walking around on the Plaza? Yes, that’s a date. 

Going to help out in the Children’s Program at Community LINC on a Thursday night? This would not even occur to most couples as a way for them to spend time together, but Community LINC is fortunate to have several couples who volunteer their time together on a regular basis. Community LINC would like to thank Michael and Melissa Ashcraft, Katie and Ben Hollon, Stephanie and Gerald Ostapko, and Tina and Keith McHudson for their work in the Children’s Program. 

We certainly rely on people like them, and we have a feeling that they get something more out of being here than they would at home in front of the t.v.!

Volunteers Matter: Youth Impacting Change

By Kate Nevins, Volunteer Coordinator

The Youth Volunteer Corps (YVC) of Kansas City recently spent four days volunteering at Community LINC. While they were here, they set up two apartments for new families to move into, painted the hallway of one of our buildings, worked on beautifying the grounds, cleaned the Children’s Programming areas, washed windows, and got started digging and moving dirt to install a patio in between buildings 2 and 3.

Thanks to the youth of YVC, who chose to give back during their summer vacations!

Community as Crime Fighter

Two officers from the Central Patrol Division of the KCMO Police Department visited last week to tell us about a service called Crime Free Multi Housing at KCCrimeFree.com.

Although we’re in the urban core of the city, we have had very few incidents on our campus. The biggest things in the last 3 years were some kids broke a window and stole snacks, a former resident left a window open so that he could come back to sleep in his old apartment, and a yelling match in the parking lot.

We’re fortunate.

The biggest reason for that good fortune is that our families become a community while they are here (and even after they leave). In police terms, the community provides the natural surveillance that helps prevent crime.

They may have never known their neighbors anywhere else they lived, but here everybody knows everybody else and all the children. They attend classes together, their kids play together on the playground, and they babysit for each other. They begin to watch out for each other and for all of the children.

Friendships grow between our families and the volunteers who work with them. We have volunteer budgeters who still meet with the family they worked with years ago. One volunteer takes the child of a former resident when she takes her own kids to do something fun. Another volunteer took the son of a former resident to college.

It has become a community of people who look out for each other. It’s community in the best sense of the word.

- Laura Gray

Community LINC delivers an amazing program of change for our families. The thing that enables us to deliver that program is our volunteers. We have an incredibly diverse number of ways that volunteers can be involved with Community LINC. One of the best parts of my job is being able to offer a volunteer opportunity that matches almost everyone’s interest. Whether someone wants to work with children, or redecorate an apartment, we can accommodate you.

Repeatedly I witness the level of time, resources and giving that our volunteers offer to Community LINC, and it never ceases to amaze me. We had a little girl ask all of her friends to bring presents to her birthday party—not for her, but for the children in our program. Awaken KC, a participant in the Project Change Corporate Team Challenge, spent three months this spring donating their time and materials to us in order to build a new teen center, community garden, and to host a pasta night with custom made cookbooks for our families. Lee’s Summit United Methodist Church repainted all of our front doors and parking lot stripes on a muggy Saturday morning. Alcatel-Lucent landscaped the front of our buildings, planting rose bushes and donating stone benches.

These examples do not even come close to touching all of the work that our regular Tuesday and Thursday night Program volunteers put in each week, or our devoted Board, or our Apartment Teams who clean, paint and redecorate every apartment each time a family moves out.

I am reminded everyday about the power of each person’s caring and loving and how much that can impact all of our lives. I am always overwhelmed by the family of Community LINC volunteers. You truly amaze me.

Thank you.

-Cecile Denny, former volunteer coordinator

For more information on volunteering at Community LINC, please feel free to contact tmcclain@communitylinc.org

Giving Hearts of Project Change

A beautiful thank you from our Director of Facilities, Robert Ontman, to the Awaken KC team of Project Change.

"I just wanted to share my personal gratitude and appreciation. In my many years of working with charities, churches, and volunteer groups, I have never seen such a well planned and committed effort. The team has taken the worst and roughest areas of our facility and transformed them into beautiful sanctuaries that will serve our families for years to come.

They took a dark and dismal basement with a ruined floor and completely redid the floor, walls, décor- everything at considerable time and expense. It has been masterfully crafted into our teen center and is now in use to prepare our teens for a better future as they learn job skills, work ethics, spiritual growth classes, financial management and many other life skills classes that will break their cycle of poverty.

Their other project took a muddy field and created a vibrant rain garden complete with decorative stone walk way, drainage away from our buildings that were getting flooded, and a rain garden too peaceful to describe. All of this tells our beleaguered and down-trodden families that they are loved and that there is hope- without which they can never even attempt recovery back out of homelessness.

The Awaken K.C. team took the biggest group of volunteers that I have ever seen from every walk of life and from diverse jobs and organized them into a well prepared, hard working, cohesive unit. They even smiled all the way through and enjoyed their work. They enjoyed each other and the task at hand. They literally worked through snow storms and rain storms- excelling through every challenge that emerged.

I cannot think of a more dedicated or thorough group that I have ever had the pleasure of working with. Many thanks to Kate Wind, Randy Huber, Michael Hurd, Tim Parks, Patty Kruger, Melody Meek, Kelly with A L Huber, SFS Architects, Western Fireproofing, Lafarge Cement, Wallace Engineering, the gardening companies and so many more. You all have gone well beyond anything that we could have hoped or dreamed for. Please come again."

-Laura Gray