Our philanthropy efforts assist local organizations through hands-on projects and contributions.
Sweet Dreams for Seniors
For the second year, Kansas City Athenaeum members volunteered in 2021 to support the Sweet Dreams for Seniors Pillowcase Project at The Sewing Labs. Our members completed 144 pillowcases sewn from fabric provided by The Sewing Labs. The pillowcases were delivered to local senior centers with each resident receiving one made from holiday fabric and the other from everyday fabric. The Sewing Labs rallied local volunteers to fulfill the goal of delivering 800 pillowcases by Christmas..
The Benefits of Teamwork
Kansas City Athenaeum members have been working since June 2021 to fulfill community needs. Yards and yards of fleece were generously provided by The Sewing Labs for this project to produce more than 300 fleece hats sewn by our members as home projects. These hats, along with 130 fleece scarves, have been donated to Amethyst Place, Missouri Girls Town, True Light Family Resource Center, Veterans Community Project, the Clothes Closet at Central Presbyterian Church and other organizations making requests for those in need. Learning about our distribution plan, The Sewing Labs contributed 200 additional sets of fleece hats and scarves sewn the previous winter in a volunteer project which included 82 sets sewn by our members. Left over fleece pieces were used to make 40 gift bags for a project at Amethyst Place where children could select jewelry to give to their mothers for Christmas. The jewelry was donated by our members and friends.
Helping Truman Medical Center
Kansas City Athenaeum members have been knitting and crocheting to fill requested needs at University Health Truman Medical Center. More than 900 infant hats have been donated since January 2021. Members have also knitted and crocheted booties, thumbless mittens, and baby blankets. This ongoing project contributes toward the newborn care needs at the hospital. Other ongoing projects include sewing 67 totes and 17 infusion pump bags for the medical center, plus 325 eyeglass cases for the eye clinic.
Helping the Homeless
In 2021 our members sewed 145 KC Community Bags for The Sewing Labs in their partnership with Volunteer KC who printed canvas fabric with emergency resources for homeless individuals. One side of the bag has a Kansas City street map, and the other side lists the locations for assistance resources. In addition, Kansas City Athenaeum gave monetary donations in 2021 to the homeless warming center set up at Bartle Hall and to local organizations aiding the homeless..
Protective Face Masks
Kansas City Athenaeum members devoted thousands of volunteer hours in their homes in response to COVID-19 protection needs. With fabric provided by The Sewing Labs, our members produced more than 4,100 face masks in 2020 and 2021. These were distributed to day care centers, schools, senior centers, and other places making urgent requests.
Suffragists Coloring Book Sponsor
Kansas City Athenaeum donated $3,300 in January 2020 to enable the Kansas City Public Library to print 5,000 Suffragists Coloring Books in celebration of the 19th Amendment Centennial. The coloring book was given free to children at the library to educate them on the efforts of eight Kansas City women in their pursuit to gain the right to vote.
The coloring book can also be downloaded from the library’s website at https://kchistory.org/coloringkc/19th.