We made it to the weekend, Shawnee Mission!
☀️ Today’s forecast: Sunny and breezy with a chance for rain later tonight. High: 80. Low: 59.
? One thing to know today
CASA of Johnson & Wyandotte Counties unveiled its new, larger office space to serve more children who have experienced abuse and neglect.
The nonprofit is celebrating with an open house and ice cream social Tuesday, April 18.
Guests can tour the new offices in Building 4 of the Cloverleaf Office Park. The open house is from 3 to 6 p.m. and includes ice cream from the One More Scoop food truck, which will serve between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. at 6400 Glenwood, Suite 100 in Overland Park.
“Our new offices make it possible to further enrich and expand the programs that enable us to effectively serve children in our communities who have experienced abuse and neglect,” said CASA of Johnson & Wyandotte Counties President and CEO Natalie Julien in a press release. “This new location will provide many opportunities for CASA to grow and continue sharing our mission with a wider audience.”
CASA had outgrown its offices in a nearby building, according to the release.
The new offices allow the nonprofit to hire more staff, add more programming for older children and teens, and support and train more volunteers who “advocate on behalf of children removed from their homes for their safety,” according to the release.
CASA of Johnson & Wyandotte Counties will serve about 450 children removed from their homes because of abuse and neglect, according to the nonprofit.
The nonprofit’s goal is for every child to have one of its volunteer help them navigate the foster care and court system and advocate for their best interests.
More CASA volunteers are needed. No skills or educate are needed. Click here to learn about volunteer opportunities.
? Weekend things to do
- Overland Park Farmers’ Market opens Saturday, 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. [More info]
- Dog’s Day Out on Saturday, 1 to 4 p.m. [More info]
- SevenDays’ Kindness Walk on Sunday, 4 to 7 p.m. [More info]
- George Hinchliffe’s Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain on Saturday, 8 p.m. [More info
? Post’s top Thursday stories
- One Lenexa Panera closes as another opens in Sonoma Plaza
- Shawnee Mission parents press for diversity efforts to continue after 2 Black staffers step down
- Prairie Village’s annual large item pickup starts soon — What residents need to know
- Overland Park Farmers’ Market kicks off season Saturday — When do others?
- JoCo Notes: Man sentenced to life in prison for teen’s 2019 murder in Overland Park
? Other local news
- A mother in the Gardner-Edgerton School District has started an online petition asking other parents to show their support for removing “sexually explicit, pornographic and inappropriate” books and materials from the district’s school libraries. [Kansas City Star]
- T-Mobile’s promise of more jobs after Sprint merger is trending in opposite direction [Kansas City Business Journal
- Columbia, Mo.-based sandwich shop chain Pickelman’s has opened its first Johnson County location in Olathe. [Kansas City Star]
? A thousand words
Blue Valley High School students on Thursday participated in a Kindness Walk as part of the annual SevenDays event commemorating the legacies of three people, including Blue Valley high schooler Reat Underwood, who were killed in shootings in 2014 carried about by a self-proclaimed anti-Semite targeting Jewish sites in Johnson County. Photo courtesy SevenDays.
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