Cornerstones of Care Maintains Partnership with Missouri's United Methodists
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Cornerstones of Care’s mission is partnering for safe and healthy communities. Missouri’s United Methodists have been by our side doing just that for more than 100 years. This fantastic community partnership is one of mutual respect and dedication to keeping children safe and families together. Our journey began in 1870 after the devastating American Civil War when a group of 20 women responded to an emerging community need and began caring for children displaced or separated from their families. These actions led establishing of the Children’s Home of Kansas City and laid a strong foundation of compassion and encouragement that became Cornerstones of Care. Now, 150 years later, we empower children and families through a breadth of trauma-informed programs and services in three key services areas: youth and family support, foster care and adoption, and education and training.
For more than 100 of those years, the United Methodist Church has been our ally in keeping children safe. This longstanding partnership started in 1916 when Bebe Spofford donated her late husband’s Kansas City mansion to the Methodist Episcopal Church to care for orphaned children. The mansion became Spofford Home, which officially became a part of Cornerstones of Care in 2017.
We are proud to be recognized as a United Methodist Women’s National Mission Institution, standing alongside an ensemble of respected social service providers across the country caring for women and children. We are humbled by the generosity of time and gifts of the United Methodist members. The Festival of Sharing donations provide care packages for foster families, youth residing in our on-campus living facility, and youth visiting our Homeroom Health center. Volunteers have spent countless hours on our campuses landscaping, preparing meals for the children, and helping with our annual plant sale. Over the past decade, 128 congregations have donated over $615,000 in support of keeping children safe and families together!
Sharing her appreciation of this partnership, Cornerstones of Care President and CEO Denise Cross said, “Every day, our team members work to ensure the health and safety of children and their families. However, we could not sustain these efforts without the commitment and support of partners like the United Methodist Church. We are grateful for this longstanding relationship and look forward to even greater impact in the next 150 years.”
Recently, we welcomed the Missouri United Methodist Women to a Caring about Our Community event to learn more about our work and how we can collaborate. Yvette Richards, former president of the United Methodist Women and current Cornerstones of Care board member, participated and offered her insight. “United Methodist Women continue to turn faith, hope, and love into action on behalf of women, children, and youth around the world. Our vision and our purpose continue to live on. Working alongside organizations like Cornerstones of Care provides an opportunity to fulfill this vision.”
Two of the guiding principles of the United Methodist Church, “Do no harm and do good,” perfectly align with our mission of partnering for safe and healthy communities. With your support, we will continue to meet the needs of children and families for the next 150 years! Cornerstones of Care is also a partner with the Festival of Sharing, receiving donations such as baby bundles, food boxes, reading and writing kits, and blankets at the West Region (KC) Sharefest.
To learn more about how you can support Cornerstone of Care, visit www.cornerstonesofcare.org.