HOW A CITY TREATS ITS CHILDREN IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PREDICTOR OF ITS HEALTH AND WELL-BEING.
Thanks to our Media Partner:
The art of Ampersand Design Studio is brimming with kindness. You can see it here in our new Cup!
When it became official that Kansas City would be a host city for the World Cup, we approached our media partner FOX4 with an idea: Let’s build upon our “KC is the Kindest City” reputation as we connect with our international visitors and raise KC up to be kind and nurturing for all! So to help our community welcome visitors from across the globe with confidence and kindness and build these same kind of relationships with our visitors, RaisingKC and FOX4 launched “The Cup of Kindness” Campaign.
On Thursday, July 23rd, our Cup of Kindness Campaign was recognized by Johnson County Mental Health Center Director Tim DeWeese and the Johnson County Board of Commissioners with an official proclamation. The proclamation recognizes the RaisingKC Cup of Kindness Campaign for celebrating the power of kindness, welcoming communities and supporting the importance of safe, stable, nurturing relationships for children and families. Joining RaisingKC organizers, sponsors and partners were the amazing kids who starred in the Cup of Kindness Campaign and their families.
What’s next for RaisingKC starts with the hanging of our RaisingKC Quilt in the Hearing Room where the Johnson County Board of Commissioners holds its meetings.
As Chairman Kelly said when he first laid his eyes on the RaisingKC Quilt, “That Quilt should hang in these Chambers and every time the Board meets, we should ask the same question, ‘how is our work today making our community safe, stable and nurturing?’”
It’s been our dream every since and now that dream comes true!
The Quilt will be on display in the Johnson County Administration Building during September for Suicide Prevention Awareness Month and October for Mental Health Awareness Week.
Our heartfelt thanks to Johnson County Community College for kicking off our bi-state campaign. Local leaders in mental, physical and behavioral health, media, business, research, government, the arts, education and social services have answered the call to action.
Synergy Services will host the 36th Anniversary Kindest Kansas Citian Awards on Friday, April 17th. Nearly 500,000 adults and children have participated in the essay contest since its inception in 1990. In their own words and pictures, students tell us how their SSNRs have saved their lives.
From Union Station, the RaisingKC Quilt traveled to the B.E. Smith Family Center at AdventHealth Shawnee Mission during the Week of the Young Child. Families and educators recognized the importance of SSNRs during the early childhood years.
The RaisingKC Quilt, with interactive displays for families and caregivers, was on exhibit at the Johnson County Central Library during Fall 2025. All those attending were treated to a creative and meaningful experience!
It all begins with children’s brain development, which is most rapid in the ages of one to three. So how do early childhood experiences influence or actually alter that brain development?
“The #1 way to reduce the risk of lifelong mental, physical and behavioral health problems– bullying, depression, anxiety, abuse, drug addiction, obesity, heart disease, suicide, cancer, and more– is a safe, stable, nurturing relationship between an adult and a child.”
— The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine
This evidence-based, online tool helps you respond in healthy ways to more than 150 children’s common, every-day behavior challenges of toddlers to teens. Each response helps you build a safe, stable, nurturing relationship.
Below you’ll find organizations with services to lower your stress and build safe, stable, nurturing relationships between adults and children. Click on those that meet your needs to learn more. Or click on the blue bar to do a search of services, location and contact information.
