Tag: Mary Esselman

Ignition Lab image courtesy of Black & Veatch

Teen STEM lab championed by Travis Kelce goes zero-carbon solar with boost from KC corporate leaders

By Tommy Felts / December 9, 2021

A solar installation at Operation Breakthrough’s new Ignition Lab on Troost Avenue is expected to power the STEM space for students — made possible by a team of Kansas City corporate leaders committed to clean energy and support for the Travis Kelce-backed complex. Mounted atop a central canopy at the site, the project is set to…

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More than $10K raised for Operation Breakthrough after podcast host’s sudden death

By Tommy Felts / July 29, 2021

A recording studio in Operation Breakthrough’s soon-to-debut Ignition Lab on Troost Avenue will pay tribute to Mathew George after fans, friends and family of the late podcast host made more than $10,000 in donations in his name.  “I didn’t even realize how many people Mathew affected or was friends with,” said Mary Ann George, mother…

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Travis Kelce and Operation Breakthrough student outside the future Ignition Lab, powered by Eighty-Seven & Running

Sneak peek: See the vision for Travis Kelce’s ‘safe haven’ for Operation Breakthrough teens

By Tommy Felts / May 21, 2021

When Operation Breakthrough’s new Ignition Lab opens in the fall, the former muffler shop on Troost Avenue is expected to offer hands-on, practical training to young people who have aged out of the early education center’s MakerCity program. Media members were offered a first look at plans for the space — powered by Chiefs Super…

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Operation Breakthrough's future Ignition Lab

How Travis Kelce, Operation Breakthrough plan to turn this old muffler shop into a coworking space, lab for teens

By Tommy Felts / January 8, 2021

As organizers look to re-open the doors to Walt Disney’s historic Laugh-O-gram Studios, they’re introducing Kansas Citians to a new era along Troost — in-part ushered in by a Kansas City Chiefs star and one of the city’s highest impact non-profit organizations. Plans for Operation Breakthrough’s Ignition Lab were on full display Thursday night, as Thank…

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Alvin Brooks at Operation Breakthrough bridge

Operation Breakthrough bridge over Troost symbolizes ‘real community’ at an intersection

By Tommy Felts / September 6, 2018

With reflection in his voice, Alvin Brooks paused. “The city has to be a partner,” the Civil Rights activist and veteran Kansas City Police Commissioner said as he spoke of the redevelopment of Troost Avenue — the well known racial dividing line, that has long isolated the east side of the Kansas City metro from the…

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