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
KC-frothed Omega Power Creamer wins supermarket sweep with Walmart distribution deal
Welcome the unexpected, Greg Blome said in reflection of the pitch that landed Omega Power Creamer a supermarket sweep: a 224-store distribution deal with Walmart. “[Walmart] reached out to us and they were interested in carrying our products — or at least in us pitching them — and we were already selling on Walmart.com ……
Photos: PorchFestKC activates Midtown neighborhoods with stoop-to-street music
More than 100 onlookers — some neighbors, others just passing through — gathered in the street, along the sidewalk, and on lawns Saturday afternoon outside Ruben Alonso’s Union Hill home. “It was the perfect spot,” said Alonso, president at AltCap and one of dozens of homeowners who offered up their porches, stoops and front yards…
Doodle Dood paints between lines of business and art with Iron District mural, apparel
Evan Brown refuses to draw out his accomplishments — or even the failures behind them — as he paints the career of a budding illustrator and muralist, he said. “I don’t really dwell. … That might be the reason I’ve been getting more and more projects within the past year,” said Brown, KC-based maker and…
UMKC student-led FeedKC will pitch for donations, connections at Pure Pitch Rally
Continuing a tradition of showcasing student entrepreneurs, Tuesday’s Pure Pitch Rally is expected to feature a pitch from FeedKC, a group run by students at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. And thanks to a private donor to the UMKC Bloch School of Management, all funds designated for FeedKC will be matched up to $10,000. Click…
