River of Refuge newsletter, December 2024

River of Refuge Has Recipe for Success with New Teaching Kitchen

River of Refuge is heating up plans for its new teaching kitchen and has a champion in a locally famous brewer.

Michael Crane, the successful founder of Raytown-based Crane Brewing Co., is one volunteer interested in conducting cooking classes next year for River of Refuge families.

River of Refuge Executive Director Pam Seymour said Crane is an excellent baker.

She is excited for him to teach parents how to make dishes like homemade pancakes and bread. Crane can also give lessons on basic processes like slicing, dicing, and grating.

“I love that he’s interested not only in the teaching classes but in the organization, and what we’re about, and what we do with these families,” Seymour said.

Now retired, Crane is making a name for himself in the community by teaching classes on, among other things, his grandmother’s blintzes.

Crane discovered River of Refuge through Slow Food Kansas City, which is part of a worldwide movement that embraces authentic ingredients as an alternative to processed food. The group donated $1,500 to River of Refuge for ingredients instructors can use in the teaching kitchen.

Workers completed the teaching kitchen in late July. The months-long project has been a longstanding priority and is an important addition to River of Refuge’s emphasis on fiscal responsibility and managing household finances.

Seymour’s Facebook call-out for interested volunteer cooking instructors also garnered interest, including among a group of women from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Kansas City. The women are scheduled to visit early next month.

River of Refuge staff is also following up with a few other people who expressed interest in volunteering as cooking teachers after seeing Seymour’s Facebook post.

Seymour expects classes to start within the first half of next year. The plan is to have one class per month.

She said it is “really nice to know that there are people still cooking and willing to help others learn how to do that as well from a budgetary standpoint and a nutrition standpoint.”

 

Picture Perfect Holidays

These photos prove the holidays are a wonderful time of year at River of Refuge as we eat festive meals, wrap presents, and bask in the community’s generosity.

We kicked off the holiday season with our traditional Thanksgiving meal (above), complete with a table that groaned with desserts (below, courtesy of Raytown Christian Church).

On Giving Tuesday, we collected baskets full of donations from shoppers at the Raytown Hy-Vee. On Dec. 9, our parents wrapped the children’s presents donated to River of Refuge through our adopt-a-family program.

And finally, on Dec. 16, we held our annual Christmas celebration. The evening included dinner provided by our friend Hope at Little Caesars, homemade cookies made by a ladies’ group from Eastside Church, a few games of Bingo with prizes, and finished with a surprise visit from Santa.

Santa presented each child with a filled, handmade stocking made by members of the Messiah Church of the Brethren.

Volunteers from River Church provided much-needed help before, during, and after the party (above). Staff family members were also present and volunteered where needed (below). Thank you to everyone who helped make the evening a success!

 

FROM THE DIRECTOR

In this season of gratitude, I am thankful for all I have in my professional life.

First off, I want to recognize the efforts of my small but mighty staff. These talented professionals work tirelessly on behalf of our families.

I also can’t imagine where we’d be without the amazing help of our volunteers. As of the end of November, they had clocked more than 2,200 hours of service to River of Refuge, which equates to nearly $42,000 in hourly wages.

My thankfulness extends back to before Halloween when more than 180 attendees came to our October gala at the Grand Street Café near the Country Club Plaza. Revenue from this year’s event came in at an all-time high of more than $118,000.

Our gala committee volunteers, many from our board of directors, worked hard on this event by gathering great auction items, selecting the venue, the date, the meal, and completing many other tasks that are part of the process.

Nine carts of donated groceries are also a cause for celebration. That was what we collected from shoppers at the Raytown Hy-Vee during Giving Tuesday on Dec. 3. We have been collecting items at the Hy-Vee for several years during Giving Tuesday, and this year was one of our most successful efforts.

We appreciate Hy-Vee’s continued support in allowing us to occupy the entrance to the store and hand out a list of needs in our food pantry. It’s humbling to think that even with the high cost of groceries, people still give to help others. I saw one woman donate money to the Salvation Army bell ringer on her way in and drop off groceries for us on the way out.

Christmas will be a joyous occasion for our families thanks again to community members who adopted our current families and a few graduate families. This yearly project allows our families to enjoy the season without spending their own money on gifts for their children as they work to reduce their debt.

Some of the warmest feelings of the holiday season thus far came during Thanksgiving.

A current family that loves to cook prepared a non-traditional “thanksgathering” meal. The couple is a mix of Native American and Hispanic cultures, and the father took the lead in preparing a meal that included tacos, beans, and rice.

Someone That Cares Ministry sponsored all of the food and the family got to use our new teaching kitchen. Raytown Christian Church provided the desserts.

In a truly heart-warming development, a family called the week before our event to see if we needed any volunteers for the Thanksgiving meal. They were unfamiliar with River of Refuge but wanted to help unhoused families.

The rest is history.

The husband and wife showed up with their 12-year-old daughter and one of her friends. They were a wonderful help for the evening.

They learned one of the families didn’t have a vehicle and used the bus system with their five small children. A few days later, the family delivered some used TVs and donated a 2013 Chrysler Town and Country van that they no longer needed to this family. What a blessing!

John F. Kennedy once said, “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.”

River of Refuge benefits every day from people who demonstrate gratitude through deeds.

We wish you all a Happy Holidays!

Until Next Time,
Pamela Seymour, Executive Director