On a brilliant blue-sky day, more than 2,000 people celebrated LINC’s Caring Communities Day, rejoicing in the power of families, friends and neighbors at the corner of 27th and Prospect in Kansas City.
And if there was a theme that soared from all the music, dancing and sharing Sept. 6, it came from the voices of children.
The LINC choir from Kansas City’s African-Centered Education Elementary School captured a feeling experienced all across the wide variety of people who came together in this heart-of-the-city place and moment.
“Tomorrow will bring a better you, a better me,” they sang. “We’ll show this world we got more we could be.”
“This is what it looks like,” Missouri state Rep. Michael Johnson said to the crowd, “when we come together in Kansas City. This is what it looks like when you care.”
This fourth annual Caring Communities Day was the largest yet, both in sheer numbers and in the breadth of the community gathering.
More than 40 community agencies and organizations participated, providing resources, information and gifts.
Here are just some of the free things shared among the thousands:
More than 3,000 meals, 125 bags of produce, 120 CPR lessons, 30 haircuts, 700 sets of clothes, 500 hygiene kits, 250 braces for backs, ankles and necks . . .
And 150 pairs of shoes, 100 backpacks, 1,000 school supply items, 1,000 books, 500 children’s game prizes . . .
And 400 boxes of diapers, 400 cartons of baby formula, 50 booster seats, 300 bicycle safety equipment pieces, and much more.
“This is perfect for our community,” said Rasheedah Villarreal, who came with her children. “I just enjoy the community coming together. It’s safe. They have resources out here, food for families, all kinds of information . . . crafts . . . games . . .”
Many city and state leaders came, like Kansas City Mayor Pro-Tem Ryana Parks-Shaw, to join the celebration.
“Definitely this is an awesome event for the city,” Parks-Shaw said. “We are connecting people with the resources and support they need to help our city get stronger.”
And residents like Michia Gunn, who carried his toddler, Phoenix, in his arms, particularly appreciated that this community festival was happening here in east Kansas City, uplifting a part of the city that has historically lacked such opportunities.
“We need more stuff like this, for real,” Gunn said. “We really do.”
The first Caring Communities Day in June 2022 marked the end of the community’s struggle during the Covid-19 pandemic. The celebration of everyone’s love and perseverance has continued on every year outside the Morning Star Youth and Family Life Center where LINC and Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church created a hub of community services that continues to serve children, families and neighborhoods.
With dozens of partners joining in the big day, it has become an expression of the vast love and resources in the community.
“We know we can come here and get resources and help,” said Missouri state Rep. Melissa Douglas. “It’s that linchpin that we all need in the community.”
The fact that it continues to grow shows how important it is, said Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves.
“I love seeing all the families out here today,” Graves said. “The way that it has grown over the last few years is just a blessing.”
Caring Communities Day reveals a community that knows what it takes to raise up the welfare of its people, said Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson.
“Of course everything I do is about making you all safe,” she told the crowd. “But we cannot start with safety without strong families, without strong neighborhoods and without strong communities.”
“What we see here today is absolutely beautiful,” said Kansas City Public Schools Superintendent Jennifer Collier. “Thank you,” she said to all the families and agencies in the crowd, “for believing in our children. And thank you for believing in the work that we do in the Kansas City school district.”
While children played, parents and grandparents were able to find help to strengthen their households. Parent Ikea Nelson came away with her LINC bag filled with information and carrying items to help her with her special-needs child.
“I got a couple of things for my household that I really, really needed,” she said. “So I appreciate LINC so much.”
No one is left out of the joy and promise that Caring Communities Day and all of its many partners offer, said LINC Commission Chair Shawn Foster.
“It’s supposed to be a day of having fun,” he said, “but more than anything it shows that by getting together and showing the connections of the community, we can make a better life for everyone.”
There’s no stopping this community now.
As the children sang: “There’s a promise of love, tomorrow has something special we know will last and last.”
Thank you all Caring Communities Day partners:
(Here are some of the many organizations that joined in serving the community)
Kansas City Police and Fire Departments, University Health, SAVE KC, Kansas City Zoo and Aquarium, League of Women Voters, Kansas City Public Library, Jackson County Legislature, Shepherd’s Center, Essential Families, Grandparents for Gun Safety, BikeWalkKC, Legal Aid of Western Missouri and Justice in the Schools, Kansas City Free Eye Clinic, Kansas City Health Department, Sickle Cell Disease Association, Jackson County Prosecutor’s Family Support Division, Missouri Department of Social Services, Give Hope & Help, KC Digital Drive, Corvette Connected, Jackson County Family Court, Key Coalition, Teen Tix, Goodwill, Kansas City Neighborhood Services Department, AARP, Metropolitan Community College, Urban League, Community America, NAACP, KC Melting Pot, The Drop, Creative Innovative, Lincoln University, Starlight Theatre, Humana, Ladies of Justice, McNewton’s Outreach and Community Foundation, Derrick Miller the barber, Shawnee Mission West High School face painters.
