By Paul Thompson
Northeast News
June 1, 2016

KANSAS CITY, Missouri – All the way back in 1897, Della Lamb Community Services began as a Methodist organization offering an after-school child care program to help ease the burden on working mothers living in poverty.

119 years later, Della Lamb continues to provide basic services for low-income families – and a whole lot more. These days, Della Lamb’s umbrella includes two buildings of K-8 education for some 600 students, athletic leagues, adult education opportunities, transportation, holiday gift and grocery drives, and international refugee services.

Della Lamb prides itself on providing the best possible services while keeping spending in check. To that end, the organization – which employs roughly 140 individuals – relies on a network of volunteers, grant funds, and the generosity of the community to add to the state and federal funding that keeps services running. For instance, 100% of the coaches involved in Della Lamb’s extensive youth sports network are volunteers. The organization also keeps overhead low, as just 8% of Della Lamb’s funding is utilized for administration services. In fact, much of the organization’s budget is dedicated to its educational efforts.

“It breaks out two or three different ways; we’re at about $14 million,” said Director of Development Jonathan Hyde of Della Lamb’s budget. “A lot of that is the school, because the school is the funding that comes per pupil that public schools get. We’re a public charter.”

The organization also competes for state and federal contracts. They have a contract in Clay County for the transportation of disabled individuals, as well as a State Department grant for its ambitious refugee resettlement program, which has helped 265 refugees since it began two years ago. They also have food contracts, which allows Della Lamb schools to provide two meals per day and fresh fruits and vegetables for all students under their purview.

Some of Della Lamb’s biggest endeavors occur around the holidays. Their Operation Thanksgiving and Operation Santa Claus programs help roughly 1,700 families brighten their holiday season. For Thanksgiving, the organization provides a 14-pound turkey and all of the fixings for a feast to each family who pre-registers. Just a few weeks later, Della Lamb turns around and provides Christmas gifts to more than 3,000 area children.

“We know the size and the gender of every one of our 3,200 kids. They get new underwear, new socks, sweatsuit top and bottom. The parents pick out a hat, gloves, and a big toy, a little toy, and a story book for each child,” Hyde said. “When the parents leave, they get wrapping paper to go with it so they can make it their Christmas.”

Still, Hyde noted that few people are aware of the wide variety of services offered by Della Lamb. One of his goals is to educate the community about just how much Della Lamb does for those with the greatest needs.

“Most people who know something about Della know one thing,” said Hyde. “They say, ‘Oh, you’re an athletic program. Oh, you do early education. Oh, you do emergency services.’ Hardly anybody knows the width and the breadth of what we do.”