Video: Operation Breakthrough helping kiddos reach their full potential
November 9, 2017 | Bobby Burch
Founded in 1971 by two nuns, Sister Corita Bussanmas and Sister Berta Sailer, Operation Breakthrough serves more than 450 children daily with a mission to provide a safe educational environment for children in poverty.
The has adapted through the decades to meet the needs of Kansas City’s low-income community, Operation Breakthrough CEO Mary Esselman said. Implemented three years ago, the makerspace includes such zones as textiles, studio arts, chef’s corner and construction/toy hacking, she said. It’s part of an effort to expand early childhood development beyond merely teaching toddlers how to pick up a book, Esselman said.
Welcoming select children from ages 6 weeks to 13 years, the center also includes such health-related programs as a USDA-approved meal program serving more than 1,000 meals a day, occupational and physical therapy, speech and language therapy, a dental clinic, and an on-site Children’s Mercy clinic.
Learn more about the center with the video below.
2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Toby Rush explores venture studio concept to help startups avoid pre-seed mistakes
Not enough founders in the pre-seed funding stage get the help they need to successfully build their emerging startups, said Toby Rush. “How can you find, focus and accelerate people before they’ve raised money, before they’ve built their team, before they’ve made all of the mistakes that I’ve made plenty of times and that most…
‘Scrappy underdogs’ scale up as PayIt announces move downtown to Lightwell
A move to the Lightwell building signals more than continued growth for Kansas City-based PayIt: it’s the beginning of the company’s transition from startup to scaleup, revealed John Thomson. “We’re scrappy underdogs in this big market of big players and I don’t want us to lose that,” Thomson, co-founder and CEO, told Startland News of…
Five-chef food hall concept headed downtown thanks to one of KC’s most successful founders
Serial entrepreneur Tim Barton is bringing his “chef collective” concept from downtown Overland Park to the heart of KCMO, the founder of Edison District announced Thursday, teasing the first details of a new development at the in-progress Lightwell building. “It’ll be a 13,500 square-foot food hall with five chef concepts,” Barton, whose Johnson County Strang…
Ecosystem builder on Mayor Q’s budget cuts: Startup support helps fill potholes too
Startup support is an investment — not just a cost to the city, a leading ecosystem builder said Thursday following a proposed KCMO budget that would reduce funding for groups aiding KC’s emerging innovators and risk-takers. “Go around to meet the entrepreneurs, understand their stories — see how we max out our credit cards to hire…