We stay involved!
Every month we engage with each other and our community.

Visiting Alphapointe
Kansas City Athenaeum members visited Alphapointe in April, a nonprofit agency committed to serving individuals with vision loss by offering compassion and support. As the region's leader in vision rehabilitation, Alphapointe empowers those with vision loss by providing job opportunities, training, employment services, education and advocacy.
The tour enlightened Athenaeum members on the various products produced at Alphapointe, one of the largest employers of people who are visually challenged in the United States.

Celebrating Women's History Month
For the eighth year, Kansas City Athenaeum sponsored a speaker at the Kansas City Public Library on March 30 in recognition of Women’s History Month, this year partnering with the Alliance Francaise de Kansas City. Dr. Kathy Krause, professor emerita of French at UMKC, presented a program on how French-speaking women who settled in the confluence of the Kaw River and Missouri River made an impact in the early decades of the 19th century. The founding of Kansas City is mainly attributed to men, though women’s role in the city’s early development was just as important but often overlooked.
Bérénice Chouteau was one of the women whose influence was emphasized by Dr. Krause. Her husband, François Chouteau, established a fur trading outpost in 1821, but it was Bérénice who encouraged other French-speaking families, primarily fur trappers and their Native American wives, to settle in the area.

Helping Jewish Vocational Service
Kansas City Athenaeum members volunteered at Jewish Vocational Service in February by helping to organize its clothes closet. In addition, a $1,500 donation was made to support its programs helping immigrants settling in our area. The organization aims to engage and encourage people to achieve social, cultural and economic integration in the Greater Kansas City Metropolitan Area.

Pawsperity Scarves
On the 2025 Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, Kansas City Athenaeum members held a workshop where 342 scarves were produced to donate to Pawsperity for their groomed pups. Thanks to fabric received from The Sewing Labs, even more scarves will be made by our members in this ongoing effort to support the needs at the pet grooming school.
Pawsperity is the country's only nonprofit grooming school that trains single parents living in poverty to earn certification as pet groomers. This enables them to find higher paying jobs and reach independent stabilization.

Volunteering at Harvesters
Kansas City Athenaeum members volunteered again at Harvesters in September 2024. The regional food bank has a variety of tasks where volunteers are needed, so our members were not surprised to be given new assignments on this visit. The first task was inspecting and loading frozen sandwiches received from QT and McDonald’s. Then our members filled mesh bags with 8-10 Gala apples, filling cases and cases of bagged apples. Harvesters provides food to community food pantries, shelters, community kitchens, schools, churches, and other agencies in 27 counties of northeast Kansas and northwest Missouri who distribute groceries and meals directly to those in need.

True Light Family Resource Center
Kansas City Athenaeum members volunteered at True Light Family Resource Center in July 2024. Some sorted and marked sizes of clothing and shoes, while others bagged hygiene products for distribution. This nonprofit organization’s mission is to serve individuals and families by providing critical needs, connecting to community resources, as well as teaching job and life skills in a safe and supportive environment.

130th Anniversary Celebration
Kansas City Athenaeum members gathered at Meadowbrook Park in May 2024 to celebrate the 130th anniversary of the club's founding in 1894. Members of longstanding were recognized for their service and contributions, and new members were acknowledged as well. The occasion included installation of officers who will lead our organization for the next 12 months.
View our website's HISTORY timeline to learn more about the Kansas City Athenaeum's accomplishments through its 130-year history.

Supporting Missouri Girls Town
Kansas City Athenaeum received the annual Virginia Oliver Award at the GFWC of Missouri Convention in 2023 and 2024 in recognition of donations to Missouri Girls Town. The 2024 award presentation was followed by our $11,000 donation in our commitment of continuing support. Missouri Girls Town helps girls who have been victims of abuse by providing therapeutic services and education to empower them to reach their full potential.

Pawsperity Tour
Kansas City Athenaeum members toured Pawsperity in March 2024. We donated $5,000 in 2022 toward its expansion efforts, originally called The Grooming Project and now known as Pawsperity. The organization is the country's only nonprofit grooming school that trains single parents to earn certification as pet groomers. Pawsperity is dedicated to helping families uplift themselves from generational poverty.
Our tour sprouted an Athenaeum project where members later made 335 doggie scarves that were delivered to Pawsperity in April. Enthusiasm for this project has inspired adding this effort to our list of ongoing philanthropic projects.

Women's History Month
In recognition of Women's History Month, the Kansas City Athenaeum co-sponsored a presentation with the Kansas City Public Library in March 2024 where Dr. Carmaletta Williams spoke about the history of Black women’s struggles for suffrage and equal rights. She enlightened attendees on efforts made by Black suffragists across the nation, like Ida B. Wells, Frances Ellen Watkins and Mary Church Terrell. Dr. Williams' presentation also included Kansas Citians such as Naomi Bowman Becks, Minnie Crosthwaite and Josephine Yates who contributed locally in the suffrage movement.
Dr. Williams is CEO of the Black Archives of Mid-America.

123rd Annual Brunch
Continuing a long-held tradition, Kansas City Athenaeum members and guests gathered for our 123rd Annual Brunch in March 2024. Our guest speaker was Jessica O'Donnell, Executive Director of Lazarus Ministries. This is one of the 45 nonprofit organizations that received an Athenaeum donation in 2023. Lazarus Ministries offers unlimited compassion while providing free meals, clothing, and personal care items for the unmet needs of Kansas City's urban core.

Veterans Community Project
Kansas City Athenaeum donated $10,000 to the Veterans Community Project in March 2024, continuing our support for a fourth year in sponsoring one of the 49 tiny homes in the VCP Village in Kansas City. Our donation covers the costs of a veteran's case management, health care, furnishings, utilities and household goods for one year. The Veterans Community Project offers veterans a safe haven to transition toward financial stability, independence, and permanent housing.

Museum Tour
Kansas City Athenaeum members and guests toured the Johnson County Museum in February 2024. The museum preserves history that includes maps and artifacts prior to Kansas statehood through the early days of incorporating the suburban municipalities in Johnson County. The building also preserves a 1950s electric model home. Touring the home stirred nostalgic memories of parents’ and grandparents’ homes from that era.