Story Boutique is a quiet, little clothing store with a big story to tell: every sale they make funds Solace House of Kansas City Hospice and Palliative Care (abbreviated here as KCHPC). Solace House provides pediatric grief support services for families of those who have lost loved ones or are currently going through the hospice process with an ill child.
At Story Boutique, the clothing itself tells the story, as some items in the store are donated by family members of those in hospice care (the store also accepts clothing donations from the public).
“[Story Boutique] is a retail boutique run by Kansas City Hospice, [and] all proceeds go to Kansas City Hospice and Palliative Care,” said Karen VanAsdale, manager of Story Boutique. “[KCHPC] was started 45 years ago; it was the first hospice in Kansas City, [a] nonprofit started by three healthcare systems. Today, we help people in their homes in a 12-county area, providing hospice and palliative care, including the only dedicated team for pediatric hospice.”
“Going further into Solace House’s history, she said, “It was started 27 years ago by two moms [and] one of them had lost a child. It’s a center for grief and healing, [for family members] ages four and up. We provide free support groups, workshops, [and] our counseling’s on a sliding scale. We just did an overnight family camp. We serve anyone in the community, regardless of their ability to pay; last year, we provided more than $532,000 in uncompensated medical care.”
KCHPC also runs Heart and Soul, at 129th and State Line in Leawood, KS. Heart and Soul sells furniture, ceramics, glassware, rugs, etc., with a portion of the proceeds going to KCHPC. It is 100% volunteer-run.
Story Boutique solicits donations of all sorts for Solace House, such as snacks, meals, toys, etc. When we arrived, there was a large table piled with boxes of granola bars, bags of chips, and other assorted goodies to be donated for the kids and families at Solace House.
“So, today, what we’re doing is, we’re having a snack drive at Story Boutique,” said Karen, “to help not only get donations – [everything at] the store is 25% off – but we’re always in need of snacks at both hospice houses. Between the two hospice houses, we had more than 30,000 visitors walk through the doors, so how do we help our visitors as much as our patients? What can we do to make them as comfortable as possible?”
“I’d imagine it’s hard to do that kind of work, day in and day out,” I said.
Karen agreed. “It’s very hard, and for people [who work in hospice], it’s a calling – the nurses, the CNAs [certified nursing assistants], the admins . . . If anyone has ever been through this, they’re just so grateful for the support; it’s very difficult to take care of and watch someone you love suffer, and even just knowing how to help them and having that support is so wonderful.”
Find the Golden Scoop at these locations:9540 Nall Avenue
Overland Park, Kansas 66207
913-284-804410460 W 103rd Street
Overland Park, Kansas 66214
913-232-9639Hours:
Monday – Closed
Tuesday-Saturday: 8am-7pm
Sunday @103rd: 9am-5pm
Sunday @ 95th: 1pm-5pm
