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Starlight Theatre Kansas City Intereview

Lindsey Rood-Clifford | Executive Director

KC Cares presents an in-depth interview with Starlight Theater, Kansas City’s oldest performing arts organization. Learn about Starlight’s evolution from an outdoor amphitheater to a year-round venue for Broadway shows and live music. Hear from Lindsay Rood-Clifford, the first female CEO in Starlight’s 75-year history, about her vision for making the theater more accessible and relevant. Discover how Starlight survived financial hardship through community support and innovation, and how it continues to engage the community through diverse programming and educational initiatives. This interview is a must-watch for anyone interested in the performing arts, nonprofit management, and community engagement.

visit them here: kcstarlight.com

 

What Nonprofit Questions are Answered?

  1. What is the history of Starlight Theater in Kansas City?
  2. How does Starlight Theater contribute to the Kansas City community?
  3. What challenges has Starlight Theater faced and how did it overcome them?
  4. What is the vision of Lindsay Rood-Clifford, the first female CEO of Starlight Theater?
  5. What community engagement and educational programs does Starlight Theater offer?

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KC Cares, Kansas City’s nonprofit voice, tells the stories of Kansas City nonprofits and connects them with the community.  

Produced by Charitable Communications 

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Transcript:

00:00:15:43 – 00:00:37:30
Ruth Baum Bigus
Welcome to KC Cares. We’re Kansas City’s nonprofit voice. We’re telling the stories of Kansas City nonprofits and the people behind them. KC Cares is the intersection of the nonprofit and profit communities in making Kansas City a better place to live, work and play. This KC Cares segment is brought to you by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, www.kauffman.org.

00:00:37:35 – 00:01:04:01
Ruth Baum Bigus
I’m Ruth Baum Bigus. It’s one of Kansas City’s most iconic places and the largest and oldest performing arts organization in the Metro. This place has been a favorite for generations who have come to enjoy live entertainment under the stars and make wonderful memories. It’s Starlight Theater, where audiences have enjoyed everything from Broadway musicals to concerts featuring pop, classical, rock and roll alternative and much more.

00:01:04:06 – 00:01:30:48
Ruth Baum Bigus
Located in beautiful Swope Park, Starlight has expanded its offerings to year round now, and it has been doing that for quite some time. And for the first time in the venue’s more than 70 year history. Starlight has a woman at its helm. It’s Lindsay Rood-Clifford, who was named president and CEO in May. And while this year of this role, Lindsay is no stranger to starlight but will let her share that story as we welcome her to KC Cares.

00:01:30:50 – 00:01:32:24
Ruth Baum Bigus
Good morning.

00:01:32:29 – 00:01:35:03
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
Good morning. Happy to be here with you.

00:01:35:07 – 00:01:45:47
Ruth Baum Bigus
It’s so great to have you. I don’t know that we’ve ever had Starlight on KC Cares, which is remiss on our part. So it’s about time. So it’s so great to have you.

00:01:45:52 – 00:01:49:14
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
Well, it’s a year of firsts. So happy for this to be one of them.

00:01:49:19 – 00:01:58:37
Ruth Baum Bigus
Oh, great, great, great. All right. Well, so if there’s somebody who might have had their head in the sand. Share with us what starlight is.

00:01:58:42 – 00:02:28:48
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
Well, starlight is an almost 75 year old 8000 seat outdoor amphitheater. The neat history of it is, is that when Starlight was built, it was actually built as Kansas City’s centennial birthday present to itself. So it is modeled actually after an amphitheater in Saint Louis called the Muni, which is 100 years old now. But when they built it, it was built to do live productions and musicals, which is what it did for most of its first 50 years.

00:02:28:48 – 00:02:56:06
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
And in the last better part of 30 years, we’ve also added the live music component, which has really grown for us to where now half of what we do is Broadway musical theater, and half of what we do is some pretty incredible live music as well. So we welcome folks out in the summertime, or really busy then. But as you mentioned, in the winter, about ten years ago now, we also started leveraging our really large indoor stage house to use as a theater space as well.

00:02:56:07 – 00:03:08:19
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
So now we do smaller 500 seats, approximately 500 hundred seat winter theatrical programing as well, in addition to events and other sort of set rentals and community space opportunities.

00:03:08:24 – 00:03:21:38
Ruth Baum Bigus
What I want to make sure our audience knows is Starlight is now a nonprofit. Can you share with us a little bit the journey of of the theater organizationally? I mean, it’s had quite its steps on the way.

00:03:21:43 – 00:03:44:25
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
So Starlight actually has always been a nonprofit. It was it’s owned. The theater itself is owned by the city of Kansas City or city owned assets. But the Starlight Theater Association itself, the Fiber one C3, was established in 1951, so operated by a nonprofit for all of its history and certainly some ups and downs in that history as sort of the theater industry and music changed.

00:03:44:25 – 00:04:07:55
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
And we’re a really big place for live theater. I often remind people that when you’re thinking about Broadway theaters in New York, we are four times as big as the largest Broadway theater. And we were actually twice as big as any other regional house that presents Broadway theaters that were. We’re really big, which is a great thing. I often say that’s sort of one of our competitive advantages.

00:04:07:55 – 00:04:39:37
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
And also how we’re able to create access to the arts. But in the eighties, Starlight actually almost closed. We went through a real period of financial hardship. Those that have lived in the city for a long time remember that there were periods where what was happening on our stage was either happening through partnership with other arts organizations, but there were some real financial challenges and it was really due to some big names in the city, like Anita Forman and Jack Steadman and Shirley Helzberg and Bob Bernstein that we were able to kind of turn the business model around.

00:04:39:50 – 00:05:06:16
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
And part of that was by expanding what we offered on our stage. So that’s really where live music came in, where we ended up in closing the stage house. It was an open air theater to start much like the Muni in St Louis. And so we enclosed that stage house so that we could present nationally touring Broadway. So that sort of innovation I think has been one of the biggest stories of Starlite history to say this is how we continue to stay relevant and welcome new people to a really important Kansas City tradition.

00:05:06:21 – 00:05:31:13
Ruth Baum Bigus
Well, I remember I’ve been fortunate enough to be on that stage and old stage, but I can remember the big back opening back stage, which if you’ve never had the opportunity to tour, I guess you wouldn’t you wouldn’t have been aware of that and how that changed with the theater. I believe it was millions of dollars put into that big stage house that’s now air conditioned for performers.

00:05:31:15 – 00:05:32:10
Ruth Baum Bigus
That’s great.

00:05:32:15 – 00:05:51:36
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
I was going to say, for most of our history, with a lot harder to work out here in the summer because we didn’t have enclosed rehearsals. You know, artists used to rehearse big musical theater numbers in an open air pavilion behind the open air stage. And then when it rained, too, it meant the show stopped. So it was a it was a huge advantage for us to have that enclosed.

00:05:51:41 – 00:06:01:00
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
So now we get a little bit of rain while the audience might get a little wet for a short amount of time, the show can always go on, which is sort of forward to what it is to do to be in the theater business.

00:06:01:04 – 00:06:17:28
Ruth Baum Bigus
Absolutely. You had alluded a couple of minutes ago about how the 1980s were this time of financial struggle. What was it that some of these leaders brought to the table that turned it around, if it was pretty serious, whether it was starlight was going to make it?

00:06:17:33 – 00:06:41:52
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
It was. And I think a lot of what they brought was a spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation and saying even though the the Starlight tradition had been one thing for much of its history, that there was an openness to changing how we operated and not saying, hey, just because we’re a nonprofit, that we can’t think like a business and we can’t figure out how to how to add new revenue streams and expand programing.

00:06:41:52 – 00:07:03:55
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
And I think it was really that that spirit of business leaders that cared a lot about what starlight meant to this city, that created some opportunities and some new ideas and some new models that really led to things like closing the stage house to go, Hey, is open air theater going to be what works? At one time, there were as many as 40 outdoor theaters that were presenting Broadway series, and now there’s just two in the whole country.

00:07:03:55 – 00:07:12:04
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
So Starlight wasn’t alone in that financial hardship. But we are now closer to a loan and are successful sort of continuing.

00:07:12:09 – 00:07:26:08
Ruth Baum Bigus
You mentioned that there’s the Muni in Saint Louis, that that is the other producing outdoor big partner. Is there collaboration between Starlight and Muni in what’s presented? Do you do any sharing of productions?

00:07:26:13 – 00:07:43:46
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
So there certainly has been over the years and actually through the pandemic, as we all came out of that period, there was a lot more collaboration as we were all trying to get back on our feet. And so we did do a co-production with the Muni in 2021. They did On your feet there and then on your feet came here.

00:07:43:51 – 00:07:56:46
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
So I think there’s a lot more openness to that, just as everyone in the theater industry is still kind of in a recovery period of going, how do we all make sure that we’re putting the shows on the stage that are going to get as many people into the seats as possible.

00:07:56:51 – 00:07:58:55
Ruth Baum Bigus
As they say, butts in seats, right?

00:07:59:00 – 00:08:02:28
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
Button seats. That’s the name of the game.

00:08:02:33 – 00:08:09:36
Ruth Baum Bigus
I alluded in the introduction, you’ve been connected with Starlight for quite a while. Share with us your journey with that starlight.

00:08:09:41 – 00:08:30:07
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
Well, I feel like my whole life has had a little bit of starlight in it. I often refer to myself as a recovering theater kid because I grew up doing theater and music, but I also grew up coming to Starlight and many of my childhood memories are with my family coming out here to shows. My first show coming out here was in 1989 to a production of Annie.

00:08:30:12 – 00:08:49:57
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
As you might imagine, if you’re a little red headed kid, you do a lot of productions of any kind of music. So I vividly remember coming out for that. And then as I got older, when we started to establish and expand what our community engagement programs were, one of those programs, which is a high school musical theater recognition program.

00:08:50:02 – 00:09:22:39
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
I was actually in high school at the time that that program was founded. So our Blue Star Awards, which now sees almost 54. There are 54 high schools that participated in that program this year. The very first year, when it was a much smaller program, my school was one of the early participants in the Blue Star Awards. And then I also like to share that we have a very robust third longest running education program is actually a paid arts administration internship program where you get to work 40 hours a week out here and all the various positions that make a theater run.

00:09:22:51 – 00:09:45:06
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
That started in the eighties, but I started here as a paid summer intern. I was working in event management my very first summer before being hired on full time. So not quite 20 years later. It’s it’s been quite the journey and a little bit of a pinch me. Sometimes I feel like I’m living a dream to now be in this role and to be able to restore the Starlight legacy forward.

00:09:45:10 – 00:09:58:37
Ruth Baum Bigus
And it’s so interesting that Starlight finally has a woman at the helm. Now, you would have thought theater was that progressive entity, and you’re the first. How does it feel? What’s it like?

00:09:58:42 – 00:10:21:36
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
You know, I. I will say that there is there is certainly a little bit of pressure and honor to being the first of anything. I also think in the theater industry across the country, there’s a lot of firsts right now. So there’s just a lot of change happening with the sort of traditional leadership of a theater’s were and what they are now.

00:10:21:36 – 00:10:56:08
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
And I think part of that is when you think about who the primary demographic for a theater audience is at Starlight, it’s it’s middle aged women. So having someone, I think at the helm that understands sort of that core audience, but also for me is very interested in how we extend the Starlight traditions and new audiences. It’s been it’s been an honor and I feel very lucky that I had a board of directors and frankly, a staff that has been nothing but supportive and confident to where I would say being a woman is clearly not the most important qualifier for the job.

00:10:56:13 – 00:11:05:46
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
But I certainly think about what it means for future women to think about what it is to be in leadership. So I carry that responsibility pretty seriously.

00:11:05:51 – 00:11:19:25
Ruth Baum Bigus
Your predecessor had been there nine years. I think in that position, and the person before that had been an even longer tenured individual, if I’m remembering correct, I know Barbara was there for a long time.

00:11:19:30 – 00:11:27:40
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
Barbara was there was though Bob was the CEO when I started, and he’d been there for almost 30 years. Right. And we actually had a CEO between him and my.

00:11:27:45 – 00:11:29:03
Ruth Baum Bigus
Okay.

00:11:29:07 – 00:11:52:14
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
But that but Bob was here and he’s actually who I remember as being a lot of the inspiration for how I look to to run the theater today. And he also was with the theater through that period of hardship in the eighties and really was a turnaround leader who really believed and could tell the story of Starlight in a way that resonated and brought the community together.

00:11:52:19 – 00:12:16:34
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
And that’s what I think for me is the biggest priority is to say, you know, when you say someone who hasn’t been on this program before from Starlight, I think that’s one of the things I want to make sure we’re doing at Starlight is that we’re a really active part of this community so that we’re not just waiting for people to come to us, but we’re out there inviting people and telling them why it’s so important for them to come out to experience theater and music here.

00:12:16:39 – 00:12:38:32
Ruth Baum Bigus
Transition. It was a time of leadership transition. I guess my point I was driving is you had somebody driving the bus, so to speak, for nine years at least, you had been on board. Can you share with us a little bit what that transition was like and maybe some tips for other organizations that go through a leadership change?

00:12:38:33 – 00:12:41:19
Ruth Baum Bigus
It’s not always so smooth and easy.

00:12:41:24 – 00:13:01:55
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
It’s not. And I feel fortunate that I knew a year and a half, almost before our official transition, our board had met to decide that this was kind of the path we were on. So we had a good amount of time and I was fortunate that my predecessor was supportive in both understanding that we were not the same people.

00:13:01:55 – 00:13:15:27
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
So that didn’t mean that I was going to do things the same way that he did things. But and he would often say not how I would do it, but he would disagree and say, but it’s going to be it’s going to be your call and your organization. And I support whatever you decide. I’m just here to counsel you.

00:13:15:27 – 00:13:34:51
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
So I think for leadership transition, that’s maybe the most important part, is that you have a supportive person off ramping who can respect that, that the new person is not going to be a clone of them. And so I think that’s part of what made things very effective for us. And he actually so he came from Saint Louis before.

00:13:34:51 – 00:13:59:47
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
So he ran Fox Theater in Saint Louis for almost 15 years and was there almost 30 years. So he brought a lot of expertise in presenting Broadway and touring Broadway. And so he’s actually stayed on as a consultant for us in that space as we need him over the next couple of years. So that’s also been really helpful to know you got a phone call away if you’ve got questions or want to understand the history before.

00:13:59:47 – 00:14:02:28
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
So you’re making a really informed decision.

00:14:02:33 – 00:14:28:37
Ruth Baum Bigus
That’s great that it’s been a positive rather than in some organizations someone is leaving not maybe of their own volition or just is uncomfortable. It’s great that you’ve got that kind of organizational support to move things forward. We’re talking with Lindsay Rood Clifford. She is the president CEO, Starlight Theater, continuing on with our conversation. I think people would like to know a peek behind the curtain.

00:14:28:37 – 00:14:41:28
Ruth Baum Bigus
How does Starlight decide what’s going to be on that stage? Sure, the people that helped make that decision And what do you look at when you’re choosing your 12 month season?

00:14:41:33 – 00:15:03:56
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
So that’s a great question because it’s changing right now. So I would say historically, really what has gone on the stage has been chosen by the person in my seat. And so especially where Broadway is concerned, we also, as we’ve added live music, we have a someone that oversees the concert programing. So he really works with our concert promoter partner on the concert side of things.

00:15:04:01 – 00:15:24:54
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
But as we look ahead, I’m a much more collaborative leader. So I we’ve started sort of been talking about how do we change up how we make those decisions so that we’re really thinking about it. And the term that I use over and over that my team could probably repeat is I’m really interested in how we broadly accessible content on this stage.

00:15:24:59 – 00:15:44:12
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
So that still means diverse, but it means we’ve got a lot of seats. So how are we doing our part in the sort of arts ecosystem to say, what is the kind of content that is going to reach the most people? Knowing that I believe there is a place for all theater, but not all theater is for everybody.

00:15:44:17 – 00:16:04:39
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
But when you have almost 8000 seats, I think our our place in the world is as they happen, we get as many people out here. So we now are talking about it. I’ve got both our folks that oversee Broadway and our folks that oversee concerts and our community engagement. Vice president and that I’d say as a change to say, how are we also thinking about all content through that lens as well?

00:16:04:51 – 00:16:28:21
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
Where can we engage partners? How can we have impact on student population? How can we have value added educational programing? And so those are a big piece of how we’re going to be making the decisions moving forward. Ultimately, my call, but I think a much bigger team effort now to hopefully make the right decisions in a in a very different landscape for theater and music than it was a few years ago.

00:16:28:26 – 00:16:46:00
Ruth Baum Bigus
The Starlight look to the community in any way for input. I know years ago when we used to go see a show, it almost immediately after or at the theater when it was only on paper, you know, there’d be a survey. What do you want to see? What did you like, what didn’t you like, etc..

00:16:46:05 – 00:17:05:49
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
So we still have a very strong survey culture here. So we are often after almost every single show, surveys still go out. So we’re always asking the people that are here what their experience is, how we can improve it. And those that have been coming a long time are also well conditioned to send direct emails to our to know what they see.

00:17:05:50 – 00:17:36:38
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
And I often say the difference in that is those emails and that input comes with so much care for this organization, even when it is critical. It comes from a place of deep care and investment. So I would take that any day of the week over. Nothing more silence. I think one of the things that we’re trying to figure out now is how are we again out in community to ask those that maybe haven’t been here yet what they want to see and what would get them to come through these gates and feel like they belong?

00:17:36:43 – 00:17:49:30
Ruth Baum Bigus
I would be remiss if I didn’t let you do a deep dive into, you know, your community engagement, your education, your your youth initiatives. When you share with us a little bit all the robust things you’re doing.

00:17:49:35 – 00:18:08:03
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
I would be so happy to, because I think it is one of the most important things we do that really sets us apart from a lot of places that you see theater music as. It is certainly about the amazing things that happen on our stage. But these programs are what give Starlight its heart. They are really centered around a couple of things, which is access to the arts.

00:18:08:08 – 00:18:32:35
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
So programs like our Community Ticket program, we give away 364 tickets to every single Broadway show we do. So that could be upwards of 12 to 15000 tickets each summer that go out to this year, over 150 nonprofit partners. And so that’s a huge access initiative for us that does exactly what I was saying is one of our priorities, which gets people that otherwise wouldn’t come out here, out here to experience theater.

00:18:32:40 – 00:18:53:06
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
And in the future, we’re looking to expand on that so that everything we do has sort of that free component for access. We also have some great education programs, and I always caveat that our education is not necessarily just about training artists, although we certainly have programs that are training singers and dancers, but really that are focused on on the business of theater and music.

00:18:53:06 – 00:19:22:14
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
So that’s where that internship program comes into play. We have a wonderful scholarship program that was founded and dedicated to funding performing arts training for Bipoc Middle School students. So a very specific demographic. The founders felt like middle school is one of the toughest time in your life. So that is the perfect time. If someone has an interest in the arts to give them that vote of confidence and the resources to pursue that.

00:19:22:19 – 00:19:43:23
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
So those are all around access and then sort of workforce development, which I think is a little bit of a differentiator as we look to the future. We’re looking to expand those programs to really looking at access from an audience development standpoint, how do we reach more young people to get them into theater and music? We have amazing theaters like The Coterie in the City where you can sit cross-legged for the first time.

00:19:43:23 – 00:20:02:14
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
But how can we help make their next step up to what theater is? Because this environment is very accessible for a lot of people, because you’re not in that black box theater environment, you’re outside. It’s a little more casual. So it’s really a great first experience for young people and young families to come out for theater and music.

00:20:02:18 – 00:20:26:15
Ruth Baum Bigus
Well, kudos to you all for doing that. I mean, of course I’m biased because I’m a theater goer, a theater performer, theater supporter and interested in it. But I think it becomes for a lot of people, kind of a level playing field when you have that experience of art that you may have seen a bazillion times or maybe it’s your first time and to be out under the stars is really kind of a cool thing.

00:20:26:20 – 00:20:47:31
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
Very memorable. We talk a lot about there’s research that supports that when you’re outside because you’re in nature. What that combination of nature and music and storytelling, it creates these very visceral memories for people. And often they’re the funny ones were what they remember is the show they got rained on or that it was so hot they were sliding out of their seats.

00:20:47:45 – 00:21:05:27
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
But they remember those shows, those days, those memories with such clarity that it’s really remarkable. And a lot of people have that memory of, Oh, that was the first place I saw a concert, or that was the first place I saw theater. I remember exactly what I saw and where I was sitting. I mean, the memories are pretty remarkable in that regard.

00:21:05:27 – 00:21:08:05
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
And I think that’s what makes it special.

00:21:08:09 – 00:21:23:32
Ruth Baum Bigus
Give us another sneak peek. How many people are working with you? Added starlight and let’s talk all told. Let’s talk everybody from painting the set, moving the trash cans, working in concessions to sitting in executive meetings with you.

00:21:23:36 – 00:21:48:16
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
But we have a full time year round staff of 52, and that expands in the summer time to include another 250 seasonal employees. And so seasonal employees that are working in concessions and parking and security artists on our stage when we produce the show. So 250 and then another 200 to 200 plus volunteers that also are sort of critical to our operation as well.

00:21:48:16 – 00:21:52:12
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
So I include them as part of the team because we couldn’t do without them.

00:21:52:17 – 00:21:57:11
Ruth Baum Bigus
That’s a huge team in the summer particularly. Wow, that’s a lot of people to wrangle.

00:21:57:16 – 00:22:04:14
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
Yeah, it is. It’s a it’s a big growth of sort of expanding and contracting every year.

00:22:04:19 – 00:22:32:44
Ruth Baum Bigus
And I know this summer went back to something that was really a core tradition, I think of Starlight probably in its mid history. More that I remember is local casting using local talent. So. So what’s the current philosophy and things moving forward? Will we see more of that? Is that part of now the mix of starlight to see our friends who are professional or just so incredibly talented?

00:22:32:49 – 00:22:55:12
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
So I’m glad you bring that up because it is actually one of the key differentiators about Starlight at this point for a theater of our size to not only present nationally, touring Broadway to presents live music, you know, tours and concerts from national headliners, but then also we’re a producer. And you’re right, that is the cornerstone to our history.

00:22:55:17 – 00:23:15:18
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
And we’ve continued to do it through the years where we are the the organization that is casting and making sure their sets and hiring local musicians for the orchestra. And and we often feel that our secret weapon for the very reason that that’s part of how we are part of the community and part of the artistic community even though they’re big shows in a big house.

00:23:15:18 – 00:23:44:03
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
But this that this past summer we did a production of Legally Blond, which is the biggest show that we’ve done since before the pandemic. So big cast. And it combines Broadway stars and nationally touring artists with local talent. And that cast is actually it was 60% local and included a team chorus, which we’re able to do through a very special clause in our union agreement that allows us to have a community chorus.

00:23:44:08 – 00:24:11:06
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
As long as those students are connected with those community engagement programs I mentioned. So that’s a really neat thing where, you know, upwards of 20 students each year get to be a part of an ensemble working with Broadway stars on the Starlight Stage. So I think no matter what, that will be something that we are committed to doing, whether we’re producing it or whether we’re co-producing it with other regional theaters like the Muni, for example, or we work often with Pittsburgh, Cee-Lo and stuff like that, at least once a summer.

00:24:11:11 – 00:24:31:44
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
I think as we look ahead, it’s more about our how does the season come together to have those broadly accessible titles that I talked about? What’s out there from a touring standpoint? If a touring touring shows can help fulfill in great, but if not, then I’m personally very open to producing more because I know what it does for this community and I enjoyed it legally.

00:24:31:44 – 00:24:47:01
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
Blond This summer, the laughter of the audiences and the parents of students and parents of now artists that travel and are on Broadway but are from Kansas City and all of their families getting to see them back home on our stage. So it’s a really important thing that we do.

00:24:47:06 – 00:25:04:52
Ruth Baum Bigus
Well, kudos to you for for loving it. And hopefully, maybe we’ll see more of it. Got a few minutes left. I would love to hear kind of your thoughts. Starlight moving forward, where do you see Starlight headed, though?

00:25:04:57 – 00:25:17:54
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
Where starlight is headed in the short term is we’re going to be seeing some pretty big physical improvements to the venue in the next handful of years, and we’ll be sharing more about that publicly this fall.

00:25:17:54 – 00:25:20:06
Ruth Baum Bigus
So I’ll just say.

00:25:20:11 – 00:25:48:57
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
To say that the face of starlight is going to change, pretty significant in the next 3 to 4 years. You’re also going to see some programing expansions. I mentioned a lot of what we’re doing now with our programs, but as we look ahead, I would say our biggest focus is really between audience development. Are we getting new people to come out to Starlight, whether that’s in the summertime or whether that’s through other programing at our winter setup, and then also what their experiences?

00:25:48:57 – 00:26:11:01
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
Because I think one of our biggest differentiators out here, as I’ve said, is it’s not just about what’s on the stage that’s important, that’s why people come. But it is about that end to end experience of being at this place. We experience every summer. I’ve experienced this summer, people that come up that have never been here before, and they’re blown away by this little Castle theater in the park.

00:26:11:06 – 00:26:28:37
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
It’s a really unique asset that I think sometimes we take for granted. So I think a real focus on how we get it, get new people out here and how we continue to improve what that experience is and how we expand the programs that sort of support both of those through access and through and through that workforce development piece too.

00:26:28:39 – 00:26:34:50
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
How are we getting people interested in being a part of this wonderful, crazy business?

00:26:34:55 – 00:26:48:09
Ruth Baum Bigus
All right. You have a lot of stuff out in the summer. This summer has been hot, Summer has been cold. It’s been all over the place. Let’s deal with heat, because that’s a normal thing. How does starlight kind of help people in that regard?

00:26:48:14 – 00:27:10:39
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
Well, about six years ago now, we put in some new big bands that are out here that if you haven’t been out in the last decade, I highly encourage coming out to see the impact that they have. They really they create a breeze out here. So on the hot nights where normally you’d feel that hot summer air sort of sitting upon you, they’re moving the air and keeping you cool.

00:27:10:39 – 00:27:26:00
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
And I think that has been a huge help on the heat side of things. As we know, the world is only getting hotter, so we know that that’s something we have to contend with. So I think those have really helped. And I think some of the physical improvements that I mentioned for the future are also going to be a huge help for that concern, too.

00:27:26:00 – 00:27:46:14
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
We know that what people want from Starlight is certainly to preserve that open air environment, but anything we can do to make them a little more comfortable is always welcome. So we’re always trying to balance those two things so that you can experience the magic of theater under the stars and outside, while also not being so sticky that you’re sliding off your seat.

00:27:46:19 – 00:28:03:58
Ruth Baum Bigus
Now. Lindsay, Thank you. We want to send everybody to KC Starlight dot com. You can learn about the history. You can learn about shows to see. You can learn about opportunities for youth all over the place. Just check it out. And we’re so grateful for you to take time and finally get to sit in that hot seat, as we call it.

00:28:03:58 – 00:28:07:02
Ruth Baum Bigus
That is, of course, we’re so glad you joined us.

00:28:07:07 – 00:28:10:29
Lindsey Rood-Clifford
Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate the opportunity.

00:28:10:34 – 00:28:34:52
Ruth Baum Bigus
Thank you for joining us for KC Cares, Kansas City’s nonprofit Voice. We’re produced by Charitable communications, also a nonprofit. This KC Care segment was brought to you by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, www.kauffman.org. If you’d like to be a guest on KC Cares, visit our Web site. KC Cares Online talk and spread the love. You’ll find us on Facebook and Twitter at KC Cares Radio and on Instagram.

00:28:34:57 – 00:28:46:01
Ruth Baum Bigus
KC Cares Online. Don’t forget, you can catch us on Saturday mornings at 8 a.m. on ESPN, 15, ten and 94.5 FM. Thank you for joining us on KC Cares.

 

 

Previous Episodes!

Parade of Hearts Kansas City

Eileen Weir | Committee Chair

In this KC Cares interview, we speak with Eileen Weir, former mayor of Independence and community engagement committee chair for the Parade of Hearts initiative in Kansas City. Launched in 2022, the Parade of Hearts is a public art project featuring large, three-dimensional hearts designed by local artists, displayed throughout the city, and later auctioned to benefit local charities. The initiative aims to bring communities together post-pandemic and celebrate the region’s diversity. The 2023 edition features 40 hearts, with proceeds benefiting the University of Kansas Health System, the Children’s Miracle Network, the artist community, and The Family Conservancy. The initiative has encouraged exploration of the city and provided a platform for local artists. Despite not being intended as a long-term annual event, due to its positive impact, the Parade of Hearts will continue for a few more years with plans to expand in 2024

visit them here: https://theparadeofhearts.com/

 

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Transcript:

(00:00) voice and we’re telling the stories of Kansas City nonprofits and the people behind them KC cares is the intersection of the non-profit and profit communities making Kansas City a better place to live work and play this KC care segment is brought to you by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation www.kauffman.

(00:20) org the coveted pandemic was such a trying time in so many ways we looked for anything to brighten our days as the Health crisis just drug on well in 2022 one of the bright spots in Kansas city was the appearance of 156 five foot five inch three-dimensional Hearts uniquely designed by local artists these Hearts popped up all over the metro and eventually were auctioned with proceeds benefiting local charities the parade of Hearts has helped our region become stronger to say the least these Lively sculptures captured our hearts and

(00:56) they’re back this Year’s parade of Hearts features 40 Hearts scattered throughout the metro and among those who’ve been involved from the get-go is Eileen Weir the former mayor of independence with her leadership as the community engagement committee chair Eileen is at the Forefront of this year’s effort pulling in all aspects of our community how does she do it well let’s find out because Eileen is joining us today Eileen it’s so great great to have you oh it’s great to be here it’s

(01:23) good to see you again the same here so I I have to own up I’ve had uh connections with Eileen and her official elected capacity and I little did I know you had this whole background thing going on you’re a lady that does incredible things including jumping out of planes and skydiving onto the Presidential Library Lawns and everything else so we appreciate the time but talk a little bit about how you became engaged with parade of Hearts okay well um it’s a very interesting story and uh yeah I’ve had a very interesting life

(02:06) and career so um there’s a lot to talk about um so when I was mayor of Independence the parade of Hearts public art experience was launched and um it was presented as you know this was going to be a regional event that was to celebrate you know all of the communities within our region through this public art experience um and I was also at the time serving on the board for Arts KC our regional Arts Council so Arts KC was involved as well so I kind of was involved in in a couple of different ways so parade of Parts was

(02:53) the idea actually went back several years and then because of covert it got put on hold and then you know as we were coming out of covid uh starting to come out of cobit the idea of resurfaced to say why don’t we go ahead and and and try this out as a way to really recover from covid uh we had been so disjointed so isolated that it was you know really presented as a way to bring our communities back together and not only the pandemic but also an enormous amount of other types of civil unrest um were certainly happening politically

(03:40) um racially civically there were it was a it was a hard and and dark and difficult time so it was it’s really to celebrate our diversity um to celebrate our connection as the communities of the Kansas City metropolitan region and so I was approached um to participate as were you know nearly every mayor in um our region and I really challenged the idea of this being a regional event um as the mayor of Independence which is this similar to city in Jackson County in the fifth largest city in the state of Missouri I

(04:30) often found that Regional initiatives ultimately did not include the region um you know we live next to the largest city in the state um obviously Kansas City Missouri attracts most of the attention as it should um as the heart of our community but yet you know I and other Mayors on both sides of the state line both sides of the river often felt that Regional efforts were not Equitable across all of these cities and communities um so I was given a personal pledge by Jen nesbeck who’s the executive director

(05:16) of prairie departs that this would be different and it was um it was executed and continues to be executed in a way that really values and respects all of the communities equally in our great Carlton area and really guides people to learn more about some of the communities that they may not be as familiar with but also you know to learn about things that they think they know but maybe they don’t you know explore some areas of Kansas say Missouri and of you know the larger Overland Park and some of the Leewood

(05:56) and um you know some of the larger cities on both sides of the state I think it’s so interesting that you talk about how Regional efforts really aren’t Regional but you all have been able to do that what’s the secret how were you able to kind of keep that fair field you know bringing everyone to the table yeah um it’s really just a commitment from first and foremost the board of parade of Hearts um and then all of the people who work on committees all of the volunteers and the artists um this couldn’t happen without the

(06:45) artists and every single one of these Hearts is designed and created by a local artist we had hundreds of submissions for a small number of hearts that we were able to select um so it’s really just a constant and deliberate intention to say are we meeting our goals are we staying true to what we promised and um you know my role as the community engagement chair is to make sure that we are thinking about the those things and reaching out um into you know all the nooks and crannies all around our region we have a

(07:40) committee of about 40 people from you know we can’t have somebody from every town and and Village and city um but we are very deliberate in being inclusive of communities and there’s a very large public engagement component to parade of Hearts we have available now a form which people can fill out and suggest locations for 2024.

(08:10) this year is a little bit different and we’ll talk about that and why that is but next year we’ll go back to 100 plus Hearts um all over the region so we’re encouraging people right now to um you know fill out that form send us suggestions of places where you would like to see hearts and it’s really helped us to discover uh communities that may have not been well represented in in various ways and meet people and build those relationships well let’s talk about how this really was so Grassroots with Jen we’ve been

(08:52) lucky to have her on the show before and and it just seemed like it just blossomed be very transparent with us so you get these nominations or applications of designs for hearts and yeah so what’s the process of choosing what you choose um well there’s a committee who does that it’s you know we have a jury uh committee made up of artists uh Civic leaders Business Leaders um part you know people who know what they’re talking about and looking at uh art and um you know they review them and um make their selections there’s is

(09:40) obviously certain requirements since the hearts are displayed out of doors for several months so there’s you know some requirements about those types of things um but you know it’s really just a um Judgment of concept uh execution um you know the story behind the the creation you’ll see you know this year there’s several hearts that celebrate the Kansas City Chiefs for various reasons and um you know so it’s just uh you know it’s just a process and there’s there’s tons of submissions that we just don’t

(10:28) have enough Hearts to be able to do them all so we just encourage people they are artists to submit again next year and the 2024 submissions will be opening up later um early this summer so it’ll give people another opportunity um to submit their designs now there’s a whole charity component to this and talk a little bit about that and was that intentional as well yes it was very intentional um initially the um beneficiary was um going to be the University of Kansas Health System um that was when it was you know

(11:14) ultimately launched after covid that was expanded to really take into consideration the industries that were so severely impacted by the pandemic um because we use the heart um a large portion of the fundraising effort is focused on heart health and the University of Kansas Health Center our health system I’m sorry um so they are beneficiary there was um in 2022 the artist Community was a beneficiary and that was administered through Arts KC which I mentioned earlier um the hospitality industry are you know

(12:06) servers and um food service hospitality service workers um so those were all very intentional the Mid-American Regional Council assisted us with that in 2022 to help administer that so a huge shout out to the greater Kansas City Community Foundation who’s been just an incredible partner with parade of Hearts um they assisted Us in selecting the recipients for this for 2023 and 2024.

(12:45) so again the payu health system is a beneficiary uh Children’s Miracle Network and the artist Community continues to be a beneficiary as well then there was a open call for applications for the fourth beneficiary so as you can imagine we got hundreds of submissions right non-profit organizations of which we have so many incredible ones in our area and um The Family Conservancy was selected as the fourth beneficiary so um you know we were very excited about that and it’s an outstanding opportunity to learn about the great work that the

(13:31) Family Conservancy does so how is the fundraising done obviously the artists create these Hearts I understand they receive a stipend so it’s not just give us these wonderful hearts for you know with no remuneration but so how’s the other component component so then we have incredible sponsors um you’ll see as you travel around and scan your hearts and take photos of the hearts as they’re on display that each one of those hearts is sponsored by a local company um then at the end of parade of Hearts

(14:10) we have an auction last year it was a big event down at the Midland Theater um and there’s an online component where people bid on Hearts online and then we reserved a certain number of parts for a live auction so then those proceeds um benefit the uh chariable causes as well this year we are only going to do an online auction we are not going to do a live auction um because of you know what we’re calling our limited edition of having 40 Hearts this year um and then next year you know we’ll go back to a larger

(14:57) um number of parts and you know do the auction so you know there’s sponsors there’s auction we sell merchandise um so there’s a whole lot of merchandise available online for people to purchase and you know show their pride and our Heartland and the parade of Hearts program are compensated um and we did something we added something uh this year there was a public reveal of all 40 Hertz that was held at the American Royal um and the artists were there to interact with the public and they had the opportunity to also settle there were

(15:51) there are each one of them got uh you know a space that they could display and and sell their art which was phenomenal we had hoped to have a thousand people attend math there was a lot of family activities but going on around that one of our sponsors um you know wrapped Commerce and left kids and people doodle on the cars um and we had over 4 000 people attend so it was an incredible incredible success um and a wonderful opportunity for these artists um you know to show there are sell their art and interact with

(16:33) um the public it seems like such a natural thing yet you and your creative Team all came up with this Concepts I remember the cows and a lot of people probably remember the cows and it was wonderful at the same time I think some people may have cringed a little bit and said do I want to be a cow town so yeah having a heart in the Heartland is phenomenal why did you all make the decision this year to only do 40.

(17:00) oh wow um it was never supposed to be an annual event I mean originally it was going to be a one-time event but the response was so incredible that um the decision was made to extend it um for a few more years uh so it’s a mammoth undertaking you know my little lane is you know this but just the sponsorships you know producing the hearts selecting the artists finding the locations all the logistics around getting the locations and this year we are doing work what I’m calling a heart transplant where they’re in one location

(17:57) um they were in one location through May um and then then they are moving to different locations through the Fourth of July holiday so there’s a lot that goes into it um so the decision was made that in order to be able to do it in 2023 we needed to shrink it but with um the NFL draft happening in Kansas City in April we just felt you know the decision was made that we just couldn’t miss the opportunity to do parade of hearts you know in the same time frame as all of these people are you know were coming

(18:43) to Kansas City for the NFL draft and our our community was in the National Spotlight once again and um so in order to be able to pull it off we had to do this limited edition but we’d like to say the only thing that’s limited about it is the number of Hearts um they creativity the number of things being on this team that we come up with and create and try almost on a daily basis there’s always another why don’t we do this why don’t we try that I’m a little surprised that that’s coming that wasn’t planned and just this

(19:29) amazing team of energetic creative people just make it happen we’ve got to talk about how do you run something like this is anybody paid oh yeah I mean yes so there is staff that is working on this and is yes okay yeah there are there is but it’s um you know there’s contracts for different aspects of the parade of Hearts uh to handle the promotion Logistics events um all of those things but you know that’s a very small portion I realize so much on just incredible volunteers the community our sponsors our beneficiaries

(20:22) are critical to all of that as well they just um you know lend us so much support um you know the the financial backing the expertise um so yeah it’s it it takes a lot of people um and we wanted to and we want that to be ever expanding it’s it’s critical that people all in and around our region um participate in many ways um just going and looking at the hearts posting it you know engaging with us on social media and Instagram and Facebook and Twitter um you know we have Media Partners who help us incredibly to get the word out and

(21:14) you know it is a fundraiser but it’s just so much more than that I mean it’s just an experience um and the cows I do remember that that was gosh you know I feel like I was just new to Kansas City when that happened and it was a really cool project [Music] um but it was a pro you know it was a project that happened into lots of different communities for you know Hearts is just uniquely hours um you know it was born and um created right here in our um community and just as very very unique well I give credit to you all it it

(22:01) doesn’t it feels like that it doesn’t feel like well this is a Kansas City Missouri project or this is that you know Independence project and I think it’s really fun when you drive around town and you’d see these out of the corner of your eye you’re trying to be mindful of where you’re driving that you see right and and then when you see somebody stop there and it’s obvious that they’re taking a picture or they’re reading about the heart I mean that’s just what’s so joyful and what a natural we

(22:30) are the Heartland so it is you know you just created and landed on such a wonderful thing continuation I know 2024 we’re not far away but what is the plan for this wonderful project so um 2023 will wrap up um you know around Fourth of July ish you know in that time frame and um we have a little something special planned after that and then the hearts will be auctioned um and then right away or you know gearing up for 2024.

(23:16) um to you know go large again there’s a big International Event happening in 2026 in Kansas City um so there’ll be some you know thought and consideration about what we do moving forward but it will it I mean there is a it’s there is an ending time for parade of hearts and um you know it’s not gonna be something that’s gonna you know go on for decades uh which you know we want to keep it special and um so you know there’ll be more to come I you know I can’t say specifically we’re gonna you

(24:08) know re we’re always trying to keep it fresh be creative come up with new ideas and ways of doing things um so you know we’re definitely feel like we’re you know building the planet as we’re flying it a lot of the time um but you know we just have we have a wonderful um you know just product I would say and concept and um principles behind sorry to heart so that won’t change uh we’ll just favorite new and creative ways to to share the stories I I will say there’s just been things that nobody could have

(24:57) anticipated these just incredibly heartwarming stories about people in our community individuals who found a special connection with one of the hearts um and went to see them at places where they had never been um Jen may have shared this story with you previously but one of the most touching stories from last year was and Chris good who owns Ruby jeans Juicery down on 30th and Troost uh there was a heart at his business and one morning as things were sort of you know the story of Hearts was wrapping up the public part of it he

(25:48) knows a woman um outside you know trying to get a selfie with the heart early in one morning while he was opening up and so he went out to talk to her and she was a elderly woman in her 80s and she said I’ve lived in South Johnson County um for 30 years and I was always afraid to come down to this neighborhood I never felt like this was someplace where I would feel comfortable or safe or be welcomed and she said but I’ve wanted to see all 150 654 whatever that number was I wanted to see them all and this is my very last one

(26:38) um and it’s just as such I mean that’s it that just says it all that you know a woman who had lived in this community um all these years and because of this project went intentionally to go see all of the hearts and visit places where she had never been um and never thought that she would go and you know so you know that relationship built and they you know or somebody understand it like still staying contact and that’s what we really want to um encourage is um know your neighbor love your neighbor and

(27:25) um this is a great way to do that we’d be very remiss without giving you the opportunity where can people go and find all the information for parade of hearts and even maybe volunteer as you get rolling towards next year yeah um so the website uh parade of Hearts website is a great resource that gives you a lot of information um that’s where you can also buy uh merchandise and the mobile app is the best and most fun way to experience um the heart you just download that on you know Apple Android whatever you have

(28:06) and um it will you can see the map where all the hearts are you can learn about all of the artists you can that’s how when you go to the heart you can scan the QR code to just hit scan on the app and it will pull that up and you scan it and it’ll check you in um so you can keep track of all the hearts that you’ve seen that you know that’s how we collect the data where we know how many people visited each heart um which does help us you know as selecting locations for the future is you know if a heart didn’t get

(28:46) very much you know as many uh check-ins than you know we sort of evaluate that location maybe it wasn’t ideal um and then of course you know Facebook Twitter Instagram uh follow on social media there’s always I mean there’s news every week about new things and interesting things and fun things that are happening uh so um you know those are the resources and I would say you know let us reach out let us know where you’d like to see a heart um and you know we’ll include that in for next year obviously we can’t put one

(29:35) every place but um you know we’re always looking for those suggestions as well and it’s paradeofhearts.com yes and there’s all kinds of colorful information there for sure and shopping is lots of fun and it all goes to support Charities and and the ongoing idea of you know having these hearts in the Heartland you’re having the beat goes on to uh swipe a song from uh the 60s and 70s as it were Eileen how lucky they are to have you as part of this this whole Endeavor and your creativity and your energy and your commitment and

(30:12) thank you for spending a little bit of time with us to share all the great stuff about parade of hearts well thank you Ruth it was it’s a it’s a great project to work on it’s a joy to be a part of it and thank you for having me today and uh Happy heart hunting absolutely thank you for joining us for the KC cares Kansas City’s non-profit voice we’re produced by charitable Communications which is also a non-profit this KC care segment was brought to you by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

(30:44) www.huffman.org if you’d like to be a guest on KC cares please visit our website KCcaresonline.org and spread the love you’ll find us on Facebook and Twitter at KC cares Radio and on Instagram at KC cares online don’t forget you can catch us on Saturday mornings at 8 A.M on ESPN 15 10 a.m 94.

(31:06) 5 FM thank you for joining us on KC cares

Previous Episodes!

Kansas City Parade of Hearts Public Art Experience

PARADE OF HEARTS

Jenn Nussbeck| Co-Chair

The mission for the parade of hearts is to unite our region through an incredible public art experience. Original artwork based on the kc heart will be placed around the region and promoted as a tourism activity. The goal is to set a national example of unification, truly showing the country we are the heartland with a common purpose of making our communities strong. Embracing kansas city’s place as the “heart of america,” the event will energize the local economy, boost tourism, and revitalize retail and service sectors, and raise funds for those most affected by the events of 2020 and 2021.

visit them here: theparadeofhearts.com

 

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Also available on

Itunes || Spotify || Stitcher || Soundcloud || Youtube 

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

KC Cares, Kansas City’s nonprofit voice, tells the stories of Kansas City nonprofits and connects them with the community.  

Produced by Charitable Communications 

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

In partnership with: 

Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

Take risks. Own success. Be Uncommon.

TW: @kauffmanfdn FB: @kauffmanfdn IG: @kauffmanfdn

Previous Episodes!

Lyric Opera of Kansas City Nonprofit Community Arts

LYRIC OPERA OF KANSAS CITY

Debra Sandler Kemper| General Director & CEO

Founded in 1958 and now one of the nation’s premiere regional opera companies, Lyric Opera of Kansas City brings high-quality live operatic performances to the people of the Kansas City and a five-state region. Repertoire choices encompass original-language performances of standard repertory, as well as contemporary and American operas. The company’s productions enrich the community it serves while reflecting the highest artistic standards of the profession. Lyric Opera offers innovative programs to further music and arts education in schools and in the community.

visit them here: kcopera.org

 

Find us on

Facebook:@ Kccaresradio

Twitter: @kccaresradio

Instagram: @Kccaresonline

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Also available on

Itunes || Spotify || Stitcher || Soundcloud || Youtube 

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

KC Cares, Kansas City’s nonprofit voice, tells the stories of Kansas City nonprofits and connects them with the community.  

Produced by Charitable Communications 

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

In partnership with: 

Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

Take risks. Own success. Be Uncommon.

TW: @kauffmanfdn FB: @kauffmanfdn IG: @kauffmanfdn

Previous Episodes!

Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey Community Arts

Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey

Tyrone Aiken | Chief Artistic Officer

Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey (KCFAA) serves Kansas City in a three-part role as an educator, presenter, and unifier. Through our annual Symposium and other events, we facilitate the dialogue about race, place, and diversity in Kansas City. We are the only presenter of New York’s Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Ailey II in Kansas City and are the company’s only second home. As an arts educator, our mission is to reach the neediest children in the Kansas City area, both in and out of school, and teach critical life skills through dance.

kcfaa.org

 

 

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KC Cares, Kansas City’s nonprofit voice, tells the stories of Kansas City nonprofits and connects them with the community.  

Produced by Charitable Communications 

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In partnership with: 

Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

Take risks. Own success. Be Uncommon.

TW: @kauffmanfdn FB: @kauffmanfdn IG: @kauffmanfdn

Previous Episodes!

Philanthropic Trends Giving USA Report

Philanthropic Trends Giving USA Report

Dr. Una Olisi | Assoc. Dean of Research In this insightful discussion, Dr. Una Osili, Associate Dean at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, unpacks the findings of the Giving USA report. Despite economic headwinds, American generosity stands firm, with corporate...

Theatre For Young America Discusses Community Arts

Theatre for Young America

Gene Mackey | Founder

Theatre for Young America (TYA) is a 501C3 non-profit children’s theatre fostering the educational and emotional growth of young people through arts-based experiences.

tya.org

Find us on

Facebook:@ Kccaresradio

Twitter: @kccaresradio

Instagram: @Kccaresonline

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Also available on

Itunes || Spotify || Stitcher || Soundcloud || Youtube 

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

KC Cares, Kansas City’s nonprofit voice, tells the stories of Kansas City nonprofits and connects them with the community.  

Produced by Charitable Communications 

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

In partnership with: 

Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

Take risks. Own success. Be Uncommon.

TW: @kauffmanfdn FB: @kauffmanfdn IG: @kauffmanfdn

Previous Episodes!

Philanthropic Trends Giving USA Report

Philanthropic Trends Giving USA Report

Dr. Una Olisi | Assoc. Dean of Research In this insightful discussion, Dr. Una Osili, Associate Dean at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, unpacks the findings of the Giving USA report. Despite economic headwinds, American generosity stands firm, with corporate...