Della Lamb Community Services

05/22/2026

We’re excited and honored to once again be selected as a United Way of Greater Kansas City Impact 100 partner.

What makes the Impact 100 so meaningful is that it’s about more than funding. It’s about community. It’s about connecting people who care deeply about Kansas City with organizations doing the work every day.

United Way of Greater Kansas City has been an incredible partner to Della Lamb, not just financially, but through the way they bring people together. Their team is always helping connect volunteers to meaningful opportunities, building relationships across the city, and creating ways for people to turn compassion into action.

Thank you, United Way, for continuing to invest in a kinder, stronger Kansas City.

05/10/2026

Behind every child is someone carrying the weight of care, comfort, sacrifice, and love. 💙

At Della Lamb, we know motherhood and caregiving can look very different from family to family and culture to culture. Many of the families we walk alongside are navigating parenthood far from the support systems and loved ones they once had. Others come from cultures where caring for children is deeply shared among extended family and community.

This Friday, we loved getting to celebrate the moms and caregivers in our Early Education Center with donuts before drop off.

Today, we’re especially grateful for the mothers and caregivers in our community, the grandmothers helping raise children, the foster moms opening their homes, the aunts and older sisters stepping in to help carry the load, and the moms on our own staff who spend their days caring for children and families while also caring for their own at home.

To every person showing up for children with love and sacrifice each day, thank you.

Happy Mother’s Day from all of us at Della Lamb. 🌷

05/08/2026

This Teacher Appreciation Week, we’re so thankful for the incredible team at Della Lamb Early Education Center. 💙

Over the last year, our program has grown and we’ve had the joy of welcoming many new teachers into our classrooms while also celebrating teachers who have been part of Della for 10, 15, and even 20 years.

Our teachers show up with patience, love, and consistency for our children. They help create classrooms where kids feel safe and excited to learn during some of the most important years of their lives.

This week was full of thoughtful moments as parents celebrated teachers, coworkers encouraged each other, and our community helped make our staff feel appreciated.A special thank you to our board member, Doty, and her husband, Jon, owners of the Liberty Chick-fil-A, for providing a lunch for our team this week.

To our teachers, thank you for everything you pour into these children every single day. The care and consistency you bring to your classrooms leaves a lasting impact.

04/17/2026

For the Week of the Young Child, we’re celebrating our friends at the Kansas City Fire Department for spending time with our students, bringing the fire truck (a big hit), walking kids through what’s inside, and taking time to teach fire safety in a way that felt fun, engaging, and real. Moments like this stick with kids and help keep them safe, and we’re grateful for community partners who show up, connect, and invest in our youngest learners.

04/15/2026

Music Monday at Della 💛

Yesterday, our littlest learners took their joy on the road: walking the block with instruments, songs, and lots of personality.

And the fun didn’t stop there… we wrapped it all up with a dance party in the gym!

The Week of the Young Child, led by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, is a reminder of just how important these early years are. This is where confidence grows, creativity shines, and a love of learning begins.

04/07/2026

Some stories are about more than support.
They are about timing, access, and what happens when both exist.

Waake arrived in the United States on December 2, 2024, just weeks before refugee resettlement services were suspended nationwide. Looking back, that timing likely saved his life.

During intake and early home visits, Waake shared some concerns about his health but believed he was managing. A few days later, he asked for help accessing specific food, explaining that ongoing stomach pain made it difficult to eat the same meals as his family. Waake lives with his wife and two children, and navigating daily life while in pain had taken a toll.

While living in a refugee camp in Tanzania, he had sought medical care for this pain and was told it was “just stomach pain.” He was given medication, but it never brought relief.

His case manager, Lukas, listened closely and took his concerns seriously, asking additional questions to better understand what was happening. Lukas, who is also a resettled refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, recognized that something wasn’t right and encouraged further medical evaluation, escalating the concern to the Health and Wellness team.

At Waake’s Refugee Medical Screening, tests revealed extremely abnormal blood levels, and doctors recommended immediate hospitalization. At University Health, he was diagnosed with Stage 5 chronic kidney disease. His kidneys were functioning at less than 15 percent and could no longer adequately filter waste from his body.

Medical providers later shared that without timely intervention, his condition could have become fatal at any moment.

Waake received urgent care and was connected to a dialysis clinic, where he now receives ongoing treatment. The Health Navigation team helped coordinate appointments, transportation, and follow-up care, ensuring consistent access to life-sustaining treatment.

Over the course of 2025, Waake received coordinated support through five Refugee Services programs, including health navigation, case management, language and digital literacy support, employment and financial training, and transportation.

Today, Waake is stable and no longer living with the constant pain he once endured. The team continues to check in regularly, walking alongside him as he manages his health and builds stability for his family. His story reflects the life-saving impact of attentive case management, shared understanding, and coordinated care.

“This case made me think about what could have happened if Waake hadn’t been able to enter the U.S. due to recent policy changes. He may have lost his life believing he was just dealing with regular stomach pain. It also makes me wonder how many others never got the chance to receive the care they desperately needed due to recent policy changes.”

-Lukas, Waake's Case Worker

04/02/2026

Picture Day gave us more than cute photos 💛

One of our students noticed his little brother needed help before their picture and, without being asked, wiped his face and got him ready. Just simple, instinctive kindness.

Later that day, he was recognized as one of our “Caught Being Kind” students.

At Della Lamb, we talk a lot about kindness in our community, but it starts right here in our classrooms. We celebrate it, name it, and encourage it in our youngest learners every day.

Because at this age, children are learning faster than they ever will again. They are not just learning letters and numbers. They are learning how to care for others, how to notice, and how to show up with compassion.

Moments like this remind us that kindness isn’t something we hope they figure out later. It’s something we can grow right now.

04/01/2026

Kansas City is now officially a Welcoming City!

This recognition is the result of years of steady work by community leaders, partners, and neighbors across our city who have been committed to creating systems that are more inclusive, easier to navigate, and grounded in dignity.

So what does “Welcoming City” actually mean?
It means Kansas City is working intentionally to ensure that everyone, including immigrants and refugees, can access opportunity, feel a sense of belonging, and fully participate in our community.
It means collaboration across sectors like health, education, workforce, and local government.
It means recognizing that when more people are supported, our entire city is stronger.

To everyone who has been part of this work, thank you.

And to our community, this is something worth continuing to build together.

Kansas City, MO is now a Certified Welcoming city! 🌟 Read about city's commitment to immigrant inclusion and belonging: https://wamerica.us/4sK1JKR

03/27/2026

Meet Lukas

Lukas is our Workforce Development Specialist, and his connection to this work is personal. As a former refugee, he knows what it takes to rebuild and move forward. He’s served in multiple roles at Della Lamb and cares deeply about every client he works with.

Even without new arrivals right now, this work matters. The families already here are growing. They’re learning English, earning driver’s licenses, and working toward better jobs. Lukas helps turn that progress into real opportunity and long-term stability.

03/25/2026

With food prices continuing to rise, access to good, reliable food matters more than ever.

Thanks to our friends at Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church Of Jesus Christ's food pantry (and a shoutout to Drake for always taking care of us), we’ve been able to share food items with families through our nutrition and food pantry classes.

This week, families are learning how to read nutrition labels, what to look for when visiting food pantries, and what actually works for their families.

It’s not just about the food. It’s about building confidence and getting familiar with what’s available here in Kansas City.

At our next class, we’ll take families to the line at Morning Star and walk through how it all works, so they feel comfortable coming back on their own.

We are truly grateful for partners like Morning Star who make this possible.