Head Start of Shawnee Mission, Inc., began in 1965 as a summer enrichment program for 17 preschool-aged children from low-income families. Today we serve 218 low income children and their families in our Early Head Start and Head Start programs.
Dennis Siefers, Vice President of Account Management at Midland Loan Services, presents a welcome gift of books to Renee Miller, Community Relations Coordinator, and Terrie Van Zandt-Travis, Executive Director.Head Start of Shawnee Mission is a private, non-profit corporation. We provide comprehensive early childhood education, child care for working parents, and social services, nutrition and health, mental health, and developmental screenings to children from Johnson County families.
Head Start of Shawnee Mission receives a portion of its funds from federal and state grants and relies on individual contributions and corporate and foundation grants for the rest. As a recipient of a federal Head Start grant we are mandated to raise local community dollars to fully serve our enrolled children and families. Specifically, for every $100 we receive in federal funding, we must raise a $25 match in cash and in-kind donations.
Although our program has grown to meet the needs of Johnson County families, our funding has not kept pace with the demand for services. Despite living in one of the richest counties in Kansas, 37,928 Johnson County residents were living at 100% of poverty in 2009 which for a family of three is no more than $18,310 a year. The poverty rate for Johnson County climbed 61% between 2008 and 2009, from 4.4% to 7.1 % in 2009, United Community Services Johnson County Poverty Numbers released September 28, 2010. We average a waiting list of over 250 children who need our services, but must do without because we do not have the funding to serve them. Your volunteer support or contribution will help educate another child and empower their family to success! To find out more, select Make a Donation or Become Involved.
Click here to download our 2008-2009 annual report (1.6 Mb pdf).
The mission of Head Start of Shawnee Mission is to provide quality early childhood learning experiences and comprehensive child and family services, which empower low-income families and their children to maximize their success.
Head Start of Shawnee Mission will be a leading center of excellence in
the growth and development of young children and support of their families.
