River of Refuge newsletter, January 2025
Thanksgiving Connection Drives Vehicle Donation to ROR Family

Tamey and Jay Cherry donated their pre-owned Town & Country van to River of Refuge family David and Sheryl Colón and their five children.
What’s better than a terrific stocking stuffer or a big box under the tree for a mom and dad with five kids ages 8 and under?
How about a top-of-the-line, pre-owned Town & Country minivan in great working order? That’s the Christmas gift that Tamey Cherry and her husband, Jay, presented to River of Refuge parents David and Sheryl Colón.
The gesture grew from a connection made only weeks before when the Cherrys (along with their 12-year-old daughter, Cali, and one of her friends) volunteered at the River of Refuge Thanksgiving dinner. David’s sincerity in specifically thanking Cali and her friend for being there touched Tamey, and they cemented the bond as they talked while cleaning up in the kitchen.
David said it was not a coincidence that the Cherry’s generosity came after he and Sheryl had just talked about how great it would be for the family to have a Town & Country van. David had rented one once before.
“I think God intervened on this one because he put it on somebody’s heart to give it to us,” David said. “It’s just a blessing altogether.”
The family had been without a vehicle since a service station botched a maintenance job on a truck David had kept running for 400,000 miles. Losing the truck put them in the dire straits that led them to River of Refuge in October because they had been making money delivering for Amazon.
Kansas City is the family’s adopted hometown.
The family lived in New Mexico when the pandemic derailed David’s good-paying job, and they headed back to David’s hometown of Chicago after they were victimized by housing fraud.
The Colóns stayed in Kansas City after experiencing the warmth of the people they met during a stopover at a motel. David also admires Kansas City Chiefs Quarterback Patrick Mahomes, even though he is a Chicago Bears fan.
No vehicle meant using the bus and that was a struggle for the large family. After an altercation with a fellow passenger, David also found the bus a dangerous option for work transportation after landing a job clearing vacant lots in Kansas City.
So not only was he out in the elements all day at work, but he was riding a bike roughly 10 miles round trip to and from work.
“I was just overwhelmed with sadness over that,” Tamey said. “I thought, ‘Here this man is trying his best to get his life on track, you know? And that’s when the Lord just pressed upon me, ‘Hey, you know you can change that. You don’t need to just feel bad, but you need to be a part of the solution.’”
Always the pragmatist, Jim initially resisted Tamey’s idea of giving the van to the Colóns because of its trade-in value.
Tamey asked others to join her in praying for a change of heart. Jay surprised her by offering the van to the Colóns when they were delivering surplus flat-screen TVs from Cali’s school, Summit Christian Academy, to River of Refuge.
“It was the neatest feeling,” Tamey said. “It made me so happy to see my husband want to give away something that really could have benefited us.”
The Cherrys are no strangers to selflessness.
Both in their late 60s, the Cherrys adopted Cali after she was born several weeks premature weighing less than 2 pounds. They canceled a yearlong mission trip to an African orphanage upon finding out about Cali.
The Pleasant Hill, Missouri, couple has three grown biological children — all of whom live in the area — and are grandparents to three boys.
Jim had a long career as a warehouse manager, and Tamey held various jobs in advertising, nonprofits, and public education when their older children were in school.
They work part-time at Summit Christian Academy and are members of Abundant Life Church in Lee’s Summit.
Tamey grew up in Raytown as did Jay.
Tamey vaguely remembered River of Refuge when she felt called to volunteer on Thanksgiving. The family is blessed to be comfortable, and Tamey said they want to impress upon Cali the concept of giving back to the less fortunate.
(When they donated the van, Cali was excited to include her collection of old Disney DVDs that the Colóns could show their children on the screens.)
Tamey watched online videos of River of Refuge and loved the mission of giving residents a hand-up rather than a handout. The Cherry’s beneficence is another reason David is grateful to River of Refuge — and its staff.
“They literally do God’s will in this work,” he said, “and they do it with a willing heart. I’ve never seen them get angry. They always have a smile on their face, and they’re always offering you something, whether it be prayer, food, clothing, whatever. … You don’t have to ask them, because it’s like they already know what you need.”
River of Refuge Hosts Reunion for Park Lane Hospital Alumni

Judy Bishop (third from left) was among a group of former Park Lane Medical Center employees who gathered for a reunion at River of Refuge.
The River of Refuge complex served for decades as Park Lane Medical Center, a community hospital and training ground for osteopathic physicians.
Founded in 1978 by a group of doctors, led by Dr. James DiRenna, Sr., the hospital closed in 1999 and sat vacant until River of Refuge opened in 2016.
Judy Bishop, 81, served as head nurse of the critical care unit for about a decade.
“It was the most fabulous hospital I’ve ever worked in in my entire life,” she said, “and anybody who worked there will tell you the same thing. People would quit and within maybe a year or so a lot of them would come right back. There’s never been a hospital like this one.”
Bishop went on to a 20-year nursing career in the U.S. Army but has stayed connected to the old Park Lane Hospital by volunteering at River of Refuge.
She was among nearly 20 staff alums, including some of the doctors, who gathered for a reunion at River of Refuge on Jan. 11. Attendees included DiRenna’s son, who is also a physician.
Former staff used to gather more regularly, but the coordinator was unable to continue, so Bishop said it had been a while since they’d had a reunion.
It was great to swap memories and reconnect, Bishop said.
River of Refuge staff presented a slide show of the attached hospital building, which is in disrepair now, but which River of Refuge hopes to one day renovate into affordable housing units.
Bishop said former staff could identify areas where they worked and physicians enjoyed pointing out their offices when the group toured the old medical office building, which River of Refuge uses for its operations.
FROM THE DIRECTOR
I know it’s traditional to look ahead this time of year, but before closing the book on last year, I paused to reflect on the many highlights of 2024. Here’s a snapshot of our accomplishments:
Hired part-time administrative assistant, Cathy DeCamp. We’d not had this position since well before COVID-19. Cathy is a perfect addition to our team, and we are thankful every day for her help!
Provided 17,752 bed nights and 34,193 meal equivalents to 39 families.
Completed our teaching kitchen. The project has been a dream of ours for several years. We have scheduled our first cooking class for today. The instructor is Michael Crane, who is well-known in the community for his cooking skills.
Offered nearly 600 hours of free mental health therapy to our families, thanks to funding from the Children’s Services Fund of Jackson County. Always thinking about breaking down barriers, River of Refuge, in collaboration with Authentic Life Therapy, offers therapy on-site at convenient times for our families.
And last, but certainly not least, are the chickens! We can’t forget how these creatures have impacted our program. Donated to us in June, the five hens quickly became part of the ROR family.
For a while, all five were producing an egg each every day. They then began molting (shedding old feathers) and all but one stopped producing. Molting is finished for all but one. But cold winter weather and shorter days are hampering egg production.
Thankfully, we have a new relationship with KBC Food Pantry, which is picking up the slack left by non-egg-producing hens for the past few weeks. In addition to many other food pantry items, they have had eggs since we began working with them.
Let’s be clear! Five hens cannot possibly keep up with the needs of our families. But we were able to give new families moving into the program a dozen eggs straight from the hen.
Thank you to our supporters, volunteers, staff, and partners for the success they helped us achieve in 2024 for homeless working families.
I look forward to continuing our momentum in 2025. Stay tuned!
Until Next Time,
Pamela Seymour, Executive Director