Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service with The Kansas City Power & Light District

Kansas City Power & Light District dedicated a day of service on Martin Luther King Jr. Day January 17th, 2022. We were the official sponsor of the non-profit, City Year. City Year is an education non-profit. Their mission is to benefit the growth of schools and students to help them cultivate skills that will help them succeed throughout their lives. We got to make an impact on one of these schools by spending our day painting a mural for a local Kansas City elementary school, Garfield Elementary School. 

  The original plan was to actually go to the school to paint the mural, however covid got in the way of the day.  We were driven to ensure the day of service could still happen so we held the painting in one of our venues, No Other Pub. Each employee was given a piece of the mural to paint, it worked like large puzzle pieces. We got a sheet of paper of what our piece should look like and the canvases were specially numbered so that it was easy to paint, but still looked beautiful. We were able to deliver the finished mural to the school at the end of the day to be hung in one of the hallways at Garfield Elementary School. This project was so important and special to us at the Kansas City Power & Light District because we were able to not only reflect on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but give back to our community. Our president, John Moncke said, “It’s important for us to give back and focus on a day of service in remembrance of the holiday.”

The mural now hangs in a hallway at Garfield Elementary School. Non-profit, City Year posted an update on their Facebook in April saying the mural had officially been hung. They said the students were excited and lit up when they saw a piece of themselves in their school's artwork. Representation matters in our schools, community, and district. The Kansas City Power & Light District is thankful we were able to take part in creating representation for Garfield Elementary School through a day of service and art. 

Author:

Elyse Newland

Intern, Power & Light District