Youth Stories
UMKC unveils innovation studio, inviting students, entrepreneurs to collaborate within $32M research center
In a hiring environment where college graduates are expected to possess honed skills for even entry-level positions, a state-of-the-art innovation studio in the heart of Kansas City allows students access to technology to actually build products within their chosen professions. “We have never had a facility like this — with the diversity of equipment and…
Makefully Studios earns $1M grant for problem-solving game co-designed by kids
A Kansas City media company’s commitment to play-based research and development recently helped score Makefully Studios a $1 million government grant for a children’s problem-solving game. “There’s no other word but proud and grateful,” said Anna Jordan-Douglass, founder and chief creative officer of Makefully Studios, which recently was awarded the funds from the National Science Foundation’s…
Initiative to employ at-risk KC youth provides jobs for 427 teens, raises $600K for stipend fund
A community’s most impactful investment is in its youth, Mayor Quinton Lucas said Friday during a media event for the Working for Youth anti-violence and youth employment initiative. In April, the mayor’s office announced a partnership with KC Common Good, Hire KC and Entrepreneurship KC to establish the Working for Youth program that would train…
How a KC mom and her 12-year-old co-founder are rewriting the book on entrepreneurship
Guiding young people through the ins and outs of entrepreneurship is a family affair for Tovah Tanner, a metro woman on a mission to create a Kansas City that thinks critically, holds values, and possesses life skills that build lasting wealth. “My son, Madden Tanner, is our co-founder. He’s 12 years old,” Tanner said, recalling…
Girls in ‘tough-boy’ jobs: Young welders torch outdated beads on what’s possible
Vanessa Bello and Adriana Figueroa feel a rush of adrenaline as they gear up in their welding uniforms and watch their blueprints come to life — it’s a feeling everyone deserves to experience, regardless of gender, they shared. “It’s all dark but you see this little light while welding; then when you take off your…
