By Paul Thompson

Northeast News

June 29, 2016

KANSAS CITY, Missouri – A group of kids could be seen laughing and kicking soccer balls around Budd Park on the afternoon of Tuesday, June 28, and if the Mattie Rhodes Center has its way, that type of positive scene is about to become a constant.

On Tuesday, the Mattie Rhodes Center announced that it has earned an $80,000 grant from the Kansas City Healthcare Foundation to provide increased youth programming at several ‘safe zones’ throughout the Northeast, which include Budd Park and James Elementary. The center already sponsors Soccer for Success programs on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday afternoons at both sites, as well as Night Kicks programming at Budd Park on Friday and Saturday evenings (6 p.m. to nightfall) and Club KC activities at the Mattie Rhodes Center on weekend nights from 6:00 p.m. to midnight. All of these programs activities are free to attend.

“We’ve been in over in this neighborhood now for a little over ten years, and one of the daunting needs that we see all the time is a lack of youth programming, and people’s fear of coming and using the park,” said Mattie Rhodes Center president and CEO John Fierro. “So when we had the opportunity to take the lead and request some dollars, it was a no-brainer.”

Mattie Rhodes program coordinator Amanda Mitchell helped put together the center’s grant proposal submitted to the Kansas City Healthcare Foundation. Historically, Mitchell said that the center’s Soccer for Success program consists of approximately 100 participants. This year, however, participation swelled to more than 800 participants. With new grant funds now in hand, she anticipates even greater programming options coming in the pipeline.

“Not everybody wants to play soccer, and that’s okay,” said Mitchell after the Budd Park press conference announcing the grant funding. “That was the backdrop for this: what other amenities are here? There’s tennis courts, there’s basketball courts, there’s two playgrounds, there’s a baseball field; what can we use that’s already in existence?”

The influx of grant funding helps ensure that the Mattie Rhodes Center will continue to build its programming network. It also shows that entities in Kansas City have noticed the hard work already put in to reach more families in the Northeast community.

“Really it just showed that Kansas City is understanding what we want to do,” said Mitchell. “They see that we want to invest in this area, and bring these expanded amenities and programs to youth and families in this area. They want to get on board and see it happen.”

Fourth District Councilwomen Jolie Justus and Katheryn Shields were on hand for the announcement along Parks and Recreation Director Mark McHenry and Indian Mound Neighborhood Association president Bryan Stalder and vice president Manny Abarca. Abarca offered support on behalf of Indian Mound for further programming initiatives at Budd Park.

“More activity in this park ensures that we keep this park safe and clean,” said Abarca. “It’s good to have that activity here.”

For more information about the Northeast’s Mattie Rhodes Center office at 148 N. Topping, call (816) 241-3780.