The Kitchen, Inc.

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Win a new kitchen to support The Kitchen!

Purchase a $10 ticket at the following locations to
become eligible to win ...

• Metro Builders Supply at 3252 N. Glenstone, Springfield
• CBS Cabinets at 882 W. Tracker Road, Nixa
• The Kitchen, Inc. at 1630 N. Jefferson, Springfield
• The Carpet Shoppe at 1827 E. Seminole, Springfield

And at the following event ...

HOMEBUILDERS SHOW
The Expo Center
February 1, 2, & 3

Drawing to be held February 3, 2008 at the Homebuilders Show.

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Eyes in Disguise

The 4th annual Kitchen Foundation "Eyes in Disguise" will be held on Saturday, January 26, 2008 in the White River Room at Bass Pro Shops from 7 PM to Midnight, music by "The Geezers", a live auction and a mini fund raiser is also on the agenda.
Tickets are $100 per person.

This years Patron's Party will be Upstairs at Bass Pro from 5:30 PM to 7 PM, food provided by Chef Robert Canon from New Orleans.
Tickets are $50 per person

Tickets available on-line using your credit card.

For more information contact:

Kippie @ 225-7416 or e-mail: kkutz@thekitcheninc.org
Rorie @ 225-7401 or e-mail: rorgeron@thekitcheninc.org

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Bowl-A-Thon

The 13th annual Knights Striking Out for The Kitchen will be held on January 20, 2008 @ Enterprise and Battlefield Lanes.
We have 72 lanes to fill so we are looking for 360 bowlers that want to have a good time and help the homeless. The entry fee is $7 per bowler and covers the cost of three games, shoes, and ball.

You can help The Kitchen, Inc by having your family and friends pledge 3 to 5 cents, or more, for each pin that you knock down. 100% of pledge money goes directly to The Kitchen, Inc to provide services for homeless children and family's.

Fill out the on-line registration form using your credit card or download, complete the form and mail it to the listed address.

For more information contact:
Dean Arens - 844-1293
Rick Higham - 887-7143

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A Note from Bill Stalnaker

Last night as I was tucking my granddaughter in bed, pulling the covers up under her chin, I looked at this beautiful little person and said a prayer to our Lord, thanking him for giving us this precious gift. I kissed the top of her head and quietly left the room. How we love our little ones!

This same ritual happens every night all over the world, as we ask our God to bless our precious little ones. If you don't have a little one running around the house now, you may remember the great joy a child brought you at an earlier time.

The reason I share a moment like this with you is to let you know that our families do the very same thing every night. They love their children and take great joy in tucking them in at night just like you and me.

The other day I was giving a tour of our campus and we finished with a visit to our day care center. We were walking through the area where our littlest folks are. I caught the eye of a little guy whose name was Aaron. He had the biggest blue eyes, and he looked just like my grandchildren when they were that age. It humbles me to look into their precious eyes and see the wonder they possess.

It makes all of us so proud that we can help families like Aaron's through the programs like the day care center, parenting classes and other programs that help families become whole again.

In real life, the poor love their children deeply and they devote all they have to try to provide for their children. They just do not have the resources to give them the life they would like to provide.

That's where The Kitchen comes in, to be a tool to provide a path for them to create a better life for their family.

Eight young families, who have children of their own, know that there are other children who need extra support to grow into productive adults. They have issued a $35,000 challenge to the community. They are asking for your help in matching their contribution to the children of The Kitchen.

At this time, we have 84 children living on our campus and 60% of them are under the age of four. The challenge to provide programs and opportunities for their parents is enormous. It would be impossible for us to meet the needs of these children and families without your support.

Would you consider sending a gift to The Kitchen to help these young families in their goal to support the programs that affect the lives of our children and families? It would make a world of difference.

Tonight when I hug my granddaughter, I will be thinking of Aaron and the other boys and girls at The Kitchen. I will also be thinking of you. It really does take a whole village to raise a child.

Thank you for giving this time to visit with you. May God continue to bless you.

Your humble servant,
Bill Stalnaker
The Kitchen, Inc.

P.S. It is wonderful to see young families like this who are willing to stand up for something as special as the children in our community are. I hope you will help them reach their goal.

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A Note from Sarah McCullem, Coordinator of Vounteer Services

The 2007 United Way Day of Caring was a great success! Ten groups consisting of 96 people volunteered a total of 777.5 hours. An gracious thank you to the leaders and companies that participated at The Kitchen including, Gene Hartley and KY3, Stephanie Martin and Citizen's National Bank, Carol Scott and Springfield Art Museum, Ron Ponds and the Social Security Administration, John Eastin and Bryan College, Greg Box and U.S. Bank, Barbara Frogue and Cox Health, Maurice Henry and Associated Wholesale Grocers, Springfield Public Works, Conco and Community Blood Center of the Ozarks.

An outstanding crew from Springfield Public Works built a sidewalk for The Kitchen prior to the Day of Caring that has given mothers with strollers, young children, and those who have difficulty walking easier access to our entire campus. A heartfelt thank you is also in order to Conco for generously donating the concrete for the sidewalk! It looks fantastic! What a remarkable job done by an impressive crew!

Citizen's National Bank and The Springfield Art Museum coordinated arts and crafts with the kids, an activity that the children and volunteers look forward to each year. Both groups have participated in Day of Caring for several years and provide unique and creative projects that the kids truly enjoy. What an awesome, artistic bunch!

KY3, Cox Health, The Social Security Administration, U.S. Bank, Bryan College and Community Blood Center of the Ozarks worked diligently painting, cleaning, repairing, and assisting at different areas of The Kitchen. Many vast improvements were made to The Missouri Hotel, The Kind Place, The Kitchen Medical and Dental Clinic, The Morton Building, Maggie's Boutique, Community Outreach, and The Family Nurturing Center. These hard working groups accomplished at least two weeks of work in one day!

In addition to supporting The Kitchen year round, Maurice Henry and Associated Wholesale Grocers helped to stave off the sweltering heat by donating ice cream to the volunteers, kids, clients and staff on the Day of Caring. Thank you to Associated Wholesale Grocers for all that you do for The Kitchen!

Without volunteers, The Kitchen would not be able to provide the numerous services that we offer for our clients and the community. Thank you all so much for being instrumental in our success! You are genuinely appreciated!

Sincerely,

Sarah McCullem

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Kitchen Bowled Over with Kindness

The Knights of Columbus held their 12th Annual Bowl-a-Thon on January 21st to raise money for the children and families of The Kitchen. Despite the aftermath of the terrible ice storm, the Bowl-a-Thon still had a good turnout with 285 bowlers. About a fourth of the registered bowlers could not make it because of the conditions left by the storm. The Knights have incorporated various ways for people to donate money to a good cause and have fun at the same time. This event has become a tradition for area bowlers and supporters of The Kitchen. There are some very special people that have made all twelve Bowl-a-Thons successful.

One of the largest groups who support the Bowl-a-Thon comes from Bolivar. Each year 100 plus bowlers from Bolivar pledge five cents per pin for all the bowlers from Bolivar. The Bowl-a-Thon would not be the same with out Jerry Sukovaty and all the Bolivar Knights of Columbus. Other area Knights of Columbus all keep the pins falling. John Halstead and Jack Cosby from the Marshfield Knight of Columbus pledge $10 for each of their bowlers and have always had a solid turnout of 30-40 people. The Lebanon Knights of Columbus, lead by James Soptic, also show up to knock some pins down. They donated $300 to the cause.

Two other organizations that have supported the Bowl-a-thon these many years are St. Ann's Council and Holy Spirit Council of Springfield. For each of the past eleven Bowl-a-Thons, they have pledged two cents for each pin knocked down. That's the total pins knocked down by all bowlers! Since the turnout was somewhat limited by the nasty weather, Charles West and Jim Moran, Grand Knights of the two councils, combined for a charitable gift of $9,500.

The bowlers who were able to make it not only got to raise some money while having some fun, but they also received a thank you from Burger King in the form of a free whopper and Kraft donated boxes of macaroni and cheese. Door prizes were given out all afternoon to bowlers who had their attendance ticket drawn. Colored pins were incentives for bowlers to get a strike as local bowling alleys gave out free games and Ozarks Coca-Cola gave out 2-litters. If bowling wasn't enough there were an array of items on which bowlers could bid. However, the apple of everyone's eye was a beautiful grill donated by Planvest Capital Management, LLC. Over 2,200 raffle tickets were sold this year for the grill, and the lucky winner was Al Canapele.

Pledges are the most important way that bowlers raise money. Most bowlers raised pledges for each pin they knocked down. Plus, the emcees had creative ways to roll in those big bucks. By setting challenges for the people present, everyone from redheads to veterans to husbands ended up coughing up some money for the cause. One staple of the Bowl-a-Thon is to have Jerry Sukovaty do his impersonation of Tarzan. Sukovaty won't do his jungle call for less than $100.

All in all the Bowl-a-Thon helped raised almost $44,000 for The Kitchen, Inc., surpassing the goal set by The Knights. It takes a great community to come together to help those that are less fortunate. Thank you to Enterprise Park Lanes and Battlefield Lanes for hosting this terrific event. Dean Arens, co-chair of the Bowl-a-Thon wanted to thank all the committee members who worked on the event, The Kitchen staff, and all the business sponsors, individual sponsors and the bowlers. He also sends special thanks out to all the Knights of Columbus area councils and churches whose hard work helped the Bowl-a-Thon to exceed their goal under very difficult circumstances.

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RARE BREED RECEIVES GRANT FROM COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF THE OZARKS

The Kitchen Receives Grant From Community Foundation of the Ozarks

The Kitchen, Inc. recently received a grant of $4,670 from the Community Foundation of the Ozarks. The funding will be used to provide crisis prevention and intervention training to all existing 85 staff members of The Kitchen, Inc.

Under the Community Foundation of the Ozarks grant, two existing Kitchen staff members will attend a week long instructor training in Tulsa, OK to become certified "Mandt System" trainers. The Mandt System is a system of "gradual and graded alternatives for deescalating and managing people, using a combination of interpersonal communication skills and physical interaction techniques."

The Kitchen staff will directly benefit from the training, allowing them to increase their understanding of persons in crisis, while enhancing their skills and effectiveness as social service professionals.

The CFO grant provides for tuition and expenses related to the instructor certification training in April, training equipment and supplies. The resulting training program established within The Kitchen will be ongoing. Those originally trained as instructors will educate all current and future employees and reeducate previously trained staff at regular intervals.

In March, the CFO presented grants totaling $175,000 to 15 community agencies through its Metropolitan Springfield Grantmaking Program focusing on education and community development. The grant round was extremely competitive, as CFO received 31 applications representing more than $500,000 in requests.

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The Kitchen 16th Annual 5K Fun Run

Benefiting the Children's Circle and the Family Nurturing Center

Come enjoy lots of great food and the largest, flattest, fastest 5K in the area! Prizes awarded to top 3 winners in each age group.

Satuday, May 12, 2007
8:00 a.m.
City Utilities, 301 East Central

Sponsored by:

Mailed entries must be received no later than May 7! Registration forms available at City Utilities, Ridge Runner Sports, Community Blood Center of the Ozarks, The Kitchen, CU Community Credit Union and at www.cityutilities.net.

• Printable Registration Form

Call 831-8630 for more information.

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Springfield Harter House stores donates 25% of all proceeds from 2/24/07 to The Kitchen

Many Harter House shoppers had the chance to help others while getting great deals on their groceries shopping on February 24th, 2007. To honor the memory of Jerry Bettlach and Jim Trimble, our local Springfield Harter House stores will donate 25% of all proceeds from that day to their favorite charity, The Kitchen.

The Kitchen, Inc. is a local Springfield non-profit organization that serves homeless and low-income families and women by getting them back on the road to self-sufficiency.

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Local Volunteers Serve Others On Christmas Day

On December 25th, forty volunteers will be helping to serve Christmas dinner at The Missouri Hotel. The Missouri Hotel of The Kitchen, Inc., provides food, shelter, and the other necessities of life to homeless women and families.  The dinner will consist of the traditional holiday fare, all provided through generous donations from the Springfield community. Volunteers will not only be serving food, but also helping with prep work in the kitchen, pouring drinks, cleaning, and other related activities. Christmas dinner for the residents of the Missouri Hotel will be served from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on December 25th.  The Kitchen expects to serve around 175 meals over the course of three hours.

No more volunteers are needed to serve on Christmas Day at this time, but The Kitchen needs volunteers all year long to continue to help those in need. Anyone interested in volunteering should contact Clint Thomas, The Kitchen’s volunteer coordinator, at (417) 837-1590 or clintont@thekitcheninc.org

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Candyland At The Footbridge Returns For Third Year

Saturday, November 18th, marks the return of "Candyland at the Footbridge" to the Jefferson Avenue Footbridge Plaza.  The festive event, coordinated by the Commercial Club of Springfield and The Kitchen, Inc., transforms the Plaza into a sparkling wonderland.  "Candyland at the Footbridge" is from noon until 2:00 p.m. and is one of several events launching Springfield's traditional holiday celebration, the Festival of Lights.

"Candyland at the Footbridge" will feature Santa and Mrs. Claus distributing goodie bags to children under age twelve.  They may also select a book, courtesy of the Ozarks Literacy Council and a toy.  Other activities include story reading volunteers from the Ozarks Literacy Council, "Elvis" singing Christmas songs, performances by Central High School students and a holiday-themed "make and take" activity.

Event sponsors include the Festival of Lights, Hartman Construction, the Ozarks Literacy Council, the Midtown Neighborhood Association, and the City of Springfield Public Works Department.  The Urban Districts Alliance is facilitating key aspects of the event.

The Commercial Club of Springfield promotes, preserves and beautifies the Historic Commercial Street District and the surrounding community through charitable, cultural, educational, literary and social programs and events.  The Commercial Club, a not-for-profit corporation, conducts its meetings on the first Tuesday of each month.  The public is welcome to attend.

The Kitchen, Inc. is also a non-profit organization whose mission is "To create a place where persons, especially the poor, are welcomed and cared for with dignity and compassion".  Services of The Kitchen, Inc. include housing, food, counseling, healthcare, education, youth services, clothing, advocacy, life skills and homelessness prevention.

Volunteers are needed for set-up at the Footbridge on Friday, November 17th at 3 p.m. and Saturday, November 18th at 9 a.m.  Please call Jeff Rens at 837-1540 if interested.

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