08/29/2026
What our Northeast KCK community has experienced has changed a lot for our organization.
Yes, we have an emergency in front of us and families who need help right now. But we also have to think about what happens after the emergency is over.
Groundwork NRG has been on the ground alongside Justice for Wyandotte, The Village Initiative, Inc., Matthew Kleinmann, Dominic Foreman, Kanbe's Markets, and so many others. We have been figuring it out as we go, making calls, bringing resources together, putting a framework in place and most importantly, showing up.
Nobody stopped to ask about titles or who was in charge. Nobody had time to worry about who would get the credit. We saw a community in need and went to work.
That is what community looks like.
But I also know we cannot stop at recovery.
This has been a wake-up call. We have to take what we are learning right now and use it to make sure our community is better prepared for tomorrow. That means building stronger relationships, having resources in place, sharing information and making sure our residents know where to go and what to do before the next emergency happens.
No one organization can do this alone.
There is enough wall for all of us to build.
As Executive Director of Groundwork NRG, I know my responsibility is not to have my name attached to everything. My responsibility is to show up, bring people together, help put the pieces in place and make sure the work gets done.
And we still have work to do. We Are Our Community.
Let’s keep showing up for one another. Let’s recover. Let’s prepare. And let’s rebuild, together!
Thank you to Walmart for supporting our community. Thank you First Baptist Church, Pastor Rowan, for allowing the 3 trucks of delivery today!!! Community, Love and Peace, together we will sustain.
Kansas City, Kansas Environmental Services Kansas City Board of Public Utilities Walmart Bonner Springs Walmart Kansas City - Parallel Pkwy Leah's Laundromat on the Q Wyandotte County Public Health Department Melissa Brune Bynum Jermaine C Howard Mayor Christal Watson Groundwork USA Rosedale Development Association Strangers Rest Baptist Church Organization for Community Preservation Wilson's Pizza & Grill Kansas Health Foundation Emily Blanks - Bonner Springs City Council, Ward 2 Caress Gonzales Marisa Gray KCK Women's Chamber Network Edgar Galicia Kc
