Concorde Staff
PARTNERSHIPS IN THE COMMUNITY
We recently took our opportunity to speak with Jamie Jadlow, our Kansas City Campus President and member of the Board of Directors for the Love Fund, about Concorde's annual participation with the "Sack It for Santa" campaign and what that experience means to her. Read on to learn more about this amazing partnership benefiting Kansas City's teenagers during the holidays.
How did you decide to get involved with the organization?
In December 2017, the Kansas City Campus and Campus Support Center had the privilege of teaming up with students to participate in the Love Fund for Children's "Sack It for Santa." The experience of working together to collect donations and sort and package holiday gifts for local teenagers supported by the Love Fund was moving and rewarding - so much so that I was inspired by the experience to seek additional opportunities to support the non-profit organization and serve on the Board of Directors.
What does the Love Fund for Children mean to Concorde?
The Love Fund for Children has a powerful mission, focused on bridging the gap in youth services and partnering with advocates to fulfill unique, unmet needs of children across Kansas City. The organization has helped with everything from cheerleading uniforms to pest control services to medical devices for special needs children.
Not being restricted in scope and having flexible income boundaries enables the Love Fund for Children to step in and help where other organizations can't, often assisting families that have exhausted other avenues for support. Being able to serve and support an organization like this that specifically focuses on filling the gaps in youth services is hugely rewarding.
What does the partnership mean for Concorde?
Our support of the Love Fund for Children not only benefits children in our local community but also provides students and staff ongoing volunteer opportunities in support of our culture of service. Students have participated and written about their experiences for community service assignments, and many associates fulfill their community time by serving children through the Love Fund.
What is Sack it for Santa?
Sack it for Santa is a Christmas gift-giving program specifically for teens 13 through 18 years old. Teen years are difficult at best, and no one wants to be forgotten by Santa. These young people face many challenges in their lives and often wonder if anyone cares. The gifts help remind them of their value and that they matter.
The Kansas City community furnished enough donations in 2017 to enable the Love Fund to distribute bags to 800 teens. For 2018, that number was over 1,000!
What future projects are planned for with the Love Fund?
In addition to "Sack it for Santa," there are many projects throughout the year that lend themselves to volunteer opportunities. We plan to continue fulfilling as many of these needs as possible for the organization to support children in our community. We intend to support the Love Fund by offering dental services through our on-campus Dental Hygiene Clinic for the families they serve in the future.
The Love Fund cannot work directly with, nor provide applications for gift bags too, parents or friends of teens in need. We are only able to allocate bags through certified third-party youth service professionals within the 37-county Kansas City region. Sponsorships available, please contact Allyson Summers at allyson.summers@lovefundforchildren.org or 816-932-9170 for more information.
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