Summer blast! Get ready for LINC Caring Communities Day in Kansas City
Here’s how Caring Communities throw a city-wide party.
Great food, treats, music, games, plus utility bill assistance and home improvement kits . . .
That’s just the start of the list of fun and services at LINC’s inaugural Caring Communities Day in Kansas City, coming June 11 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Morning Star Church Youth and Family Life Center, 2525 E. 27th Street.
There’ll be a deejay, fire trucks, waves of blue balloons, ice cream, outdoor grills, free take-home children’s books and discounted internet service sign-ups . . .
Caring Communities Day in Kansas City
at Morning Star Church Youth and Family Life Center
June 11 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
2525 E. 27th Street
kcling.org/caringcommunitiesday
For sure, the summery celebration aims to both entertain and serve.
“It’s going to be family-fun-driven,” said LINC Morning Star Caring Communities Coordinator Danisha Clarkson. And at the same time, she said, “we want to make the community aware of resources.”
The host site, Morning Star, is LINC’s newest Caring Communities location and embodies the more than two decades of neighborhood-empowering work achieved by LINC Caring Communities sites across the Kansas City area.
Since LINC and Morning Star Church joined forces prior to the pandemic, the program anchored at 27th and Prospect Avenue has become a widely praised wellspring of public service.
The fair will celebrate and carry on the Caring Communities support that many of Kansas City and Missouri’s highest officials have witnessed and applauded — including Jackson County Executive Frank White, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, and Missouri Gov. Mike Parson.
The LINC Morning Star site has forged multiple partnerships in its ever-evolving mission that since 2020 has distributed 25,685 Covid vaccinations, 2.7 million pounds of food and $1.7 million of processed utility bill and rental assistance impacting thousands of families.
Those partners include the Missouri National Guard, University Health (formerly Truman Medical Center), the Kansas City Fire Department, Evergy, Spire, Kansas City Water Services, Harvester’s, Kanbe’s Markets and the Community Action Agency.
Many will be back on site for the fair, joining in the celebration and continuing their services, along with many other partners that have long been part of LINC’s shared mission with its communities to build stronger, safer and more prosperous neighborhoods.
For fun, LINC will be providing free hot dogs and burgers cooked on outdoor grills. A food truck and an ice cream truck will add to the flavor.
Balloons, games, prizes, deejay tunes, fitness dancing and more offerings will fill the carnival atmosphere.
The fire department will be showing off trucks and an ambulance, plus giving away free smoke detectors.
Evergy will be providing energy-saving kits.
Spire will be teaming with Community Action Agency to sign families up for free money-saving home weatherization programs for home owners and for renters (documentation will be required for several services, see below).
And KC Digital Drive will team with LINC to help households apply for $30 a month savings in internet costs.
There are a lot of federal funds in pandemic relief and other services that many families don’t know are available to them, Clarkson said. And there is joy with the coming of summer in gathering neighbors together.
“We want everyone to get excited,” she said, “and have a fun day.”
Interested in seeking home-weatherization services or help paying utility bills and rent? Read this
Teams will be on hand at the LINC Morning Star Caring Communities Fair June 11 to help households apply for aid programs. Certain documents are required to be able to complete most applications.
Bring the following documents:
Driver’s license or other government-issued ID
Social security card
Current gas, water and electric bills
Proof of income for all wage earners in the home, with one or more of the following:
Consecutive pay stubs
Current Social Security Award letter
Current pension statement
Unemployment letter
Current 1040 Income Tax Return for self-employed individuals
Proof of home ownership for homeowners OR
Landlord Agreement form for renters