Mid-America Regional Council

Do you know an individual, organization or initiative that has made an outstanding contribution to the region? We invite you to nominate them for a 2025 MARC Regional Leadership Award. In the past, we've honored: Elected officials. Local government professionals. Civic leaders and organizations. Nonprofit leaders and agencies. Volunteer leaders and groups. Educators. Educational institutions. Current members of MARC’s Board of Directors are not eligible for nomination. Please submit your nomination by Monday, Feb. 10 at marc.org/nominations. And save the date for the #MARCRegionalAssembly on June 13!

We're far from the end of the school year, but let's look back at our work together to build a system that gives all kids a strong start. MARC Head Start received 3,088 applications! MARC and Kids Win Missouri hosted Parent Cafes for Kansas City parents and legislators to meet and address child care issues. 680 participants came out for the chat! MARC Early Learning provided child assessment data for 1,558 pre-k children across 144 classrooms in Kansas City and St. Louis. The Collaborative Network provided training for 45 programs in 124 classrooms in Cass, Buchanan, Jackson, Platte, Clay, and Jackson counties.

Kansas City should be a place where all residents can thrive! Here's how we worked together to strengthen support systems for our region's vulnerable residents in 2024. Homebound individuals received 509,721 meals and MARC-sponsored community centers served up 113,964 lunches. 160 locations across the region offered Double Up Food Bucks, a healthy food incentive program for people who receive food assistance or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. These locations included grocery stores, farmers markets and farm stands. Double Up Food Bucks distributed $2.3 million in incentives to be redeemed for fresh fruit and vegetables. The KC Fresh Rx program served 49 participants and gave $27,900 in incentives to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables. Seventy-six participants in the Give 5 program, which matches older adults with volunteer opportunities, had 409 volunteer commitments at 60 nonprofit agencies. Long-term Care Ombudsmen completed 1,262 facility visits.

Happy Monday! A new year brings new opportunities! Set your sights on what you want to achieve and take the first step toward making it happen. 💡✨

Due to inclement weather, the MARC offices will be closed Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. Our staff will be working remotely and available via phone or email. https://lnkd.in/g8gKx8NB

We appreciate your partnership as we continue working toward a safe, balanced and equitable transportation system for the Kanas city region. We're excited about what we accomplished together in 2024! We distributed 20,000 bike maps of our regional trails and bikeways. MARC's Planning Sustainable Places program awarded $1.5 million to fund 17 local projects. In October, the Green Commute Challenge saw 300 participants who logged 7,066 biking, walking, scootering, carpooling, vanpooling or transit trips, saving $6,000 on gas and cutting 7.8 tons of carbon emissions. Way to go! Operation Green Light conducted 543 traffic signal investigations, making our roads and lights run smoother!

🆕 New Year, New Career: Make a difference in 2025 with a job in government! 🌟 Check out these exciting local government job opportunities in the KC metro area with our Metro KC Gov Jobs Spotlight: [1] City Traffic Engineer – City of Overland Park [2] Municipal Management Trainee – City of Kansas City, MO [3] City Planner – City of Shawnee, KS To apply for these jobs or to see more great jobs like this, visit MetroKCgovjobs.org! #MetroKCGovJobs #publicsector #NewYear #CareerAdvancement

What a year it has been! Our region is ever growing and improving and this year was no different. Over the next week, we're highlighting some of our achievements in 2024. Look at just a small portion of what we accomplished together in our work to create and sustain a healthy environment for our region. The Regional Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection program held 11 mobile collection events serving 2,318 cars and collecting 132 tons of HHW for safe disposal. 70% of participants were new patrons! 1,600 people signed up for SkyCast, the daily ozone forecast for the Greater Kansas City region issued from March to October. Ploggers picked up more than 70 backs of trash across the region during Plogtober, our annual challenge to pick up litter while jogging in October. Thank you for partnering with us to find and implement solutions to the challenges our region faces.

💬Join the conversation! We're conducting a survey on transportation resiliency, and we need YOUR input! Your feedback will help shape the future of our transportation infrastructure. Let’s work together to create a more reliable network for everyone. ➡️https://lnkd.in/gXaCxb8g #TransportationResiliencyKC #PublicInput

Happy New Year! As we welcome 2024, we look forward to working together for a stronger, more connected, and resilient community. Here’s to a year filled with progress, partnerships, and positive change! 🎆🎇