KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Hunt Family Foundation - the same family that owns the Kansas City Chiefs, is once again sponsoring a team of mentors and tutors to give back, this time to students at Central Middle School in Kansas City, Missouri.
City Year Kansas City oversees the program. The nonprofit places AmeriCorps members in six schools across the Kansas City Public School District. The staffers work on a full-time basis helping students with academic, behavioral, and other issues. The ultimate goal is to keep students on track to graduate high school. Central Middle was the first school to participate in the program.
“Seeing the kids with a smile on their face brightens my day,” Deleecea Hill, a mentor and tutor in the program this year, said.
Marvislessie Shannon is an 8th grade student at Central Middle School. She meets with Hill, whom she calls “Miss D,” almost every day to go over math homework or simply play a game and talk.
“It’s really my friends and Miss D [that I like most about school]. I do like the classes too, but it’s mostly them. They’re really my motivation,” Marvislessie said.
Both Hill and Marvislessie are excited to know the Chiefs are rooting for them. The football team hosts a pep rally at Central Middle and High schools on the first day of class each year.
“Just as we cheer on the Chiefs, I think this is a way of Chiefs cheering on our students and our City Year AmeriCorps members,” City Year Kansas City executive director Jeff Shafer said.
City Year is recruiting mentors and tutors for the next school year. Mentors must be between the ages of 18 and 25. Staffers receive a living stipend and money toward their higher education. Find more information on the nonprofit’s website.
Royals Charities, Community America Credit Union, and QuikTrip are other team sponsors of the City Year Kansas City program.
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