Woman-led Stories
Brick by brick: How used LEGOs are making innovation more tangible for KC kids in need
Solopreneur Rhonda Jolyean Hale believes that all children deserve access to play — no matter their circumstances. As the Kansas City ambassador for the Pass the Bricks initiative, she’s working to build that reality by giving new life to donated LEGO bricks. “We take gently used LEGO bricks — not the stuff the dog chews…
Neighborhood smart cans help Kansas Citians save the planet from their kitchens
Newly introduced composting technology is already turning new ground in Kansas City, Kristan Chamberlain said, with more solar-powered compost cans arriving later this spring across the metro’s urban landscape. Her social venture, KC Can Compost, installed three of the devices in October — free to use for KCMO residents wanting to deposit their soil-making food…
Voodoo Volleyball bounces back in OP: Father-daughter duo doubles as new venture’s setters
Quinn Austin put several sports to the test as a preteen — racing from basketball practice to softball to volleyball. But she latched on to just one. “Volleyball. It was my sport. Everyone was having a good time,” she said. “We just loved the cheers — a cheer when we got a hit, a cheer…
Black farmers are losing ground in the fight to feed their communities, advocates say
More than a century of systemic land dispossession and discriminatory practices has left Black farmers with less than 0.6 percent of U.S. farmland — less than a third of the 16 million acres they operated in 1910, according to local urban farming advocates. They gathered Tuesday at Independence Boulevard Christian Church to confront this history…
KC mom’s invention secures solution to rollaway parking lot worries: Shopping with KartWheel
A new product developed by a Kansas City mom is giving caregivers peace of mind in the parking lot, said its inventor, Kristen Rock Chouinard. KartWheel — launched in August 2024 — keeps a shopping cart’s wheel secure while a person is loading bags, bulky items, and kids into their car, she explained. “Right now,…
