Last Tuesday I had the privilege of visiting Rev. Kapzamang "Mang" Sonna and his staff at the Bethel Neighborhood Center. Located at 14 S. 7th Street, this wonderful center has been operating for over 100 years to support and benefit the people who make up the diverse neighborhoods around it.
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| I'm guessing that many of you have driven by the unassuming brick building that houses the Bethel Center without knowing about the incredible service and support provided inside. |
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| The red dot shows where the Bethel Center is located in far eastern Wyandotte County just south of Central Avenue. (click to enlarge) |
Day after day, week after week, the staff and volunteers of the Bethel Neighborhood Center work tirelessly to achieve the center's mission:
"To offer a renewed sense of hope, through the sharing of material, educational, health, social, and spiritual resources."
The doors of Bethel first opened on April 1, 1911. The primary mission at that time was to serve immigrants from Eastern Europe who were living near or working in the meat packing plants of the West Bottoms of Kansas City.
Rev. Sonna says that the center still offers advocacy, education and support for new immigrants, but that the demographic has shifted over the years. Many of the participants in the senior programs are still of Eastern European descent, but many of the younger participants are from Hispanic, Burmese or Bhutanese backgrounds.
Rev. Sonna estimates that the center served over 13,000 people in 2012.
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| Bethel provides after school programs and a summer program to youth from kindergarten through eighth grade |
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| No summer program is complete without a great limbo contest! |
The center offers a wide variety of programs and services, including:
- After school program
- Summer program
- Summer youth enrichment program
- Senior program
- Food pantry
- Healthy lifestyles classes
- Refugee assistance
- English as a Second Language classes
- Community meal and worship
- Community garden
Programs and services are free to anyone who needs them, with special emphasis on neighborhood residents. Children from any school in the area are welcome and transportation is available for schools and homes within the center's service area.
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| The center provides healthy snacks during the after school program and lunch is provided during the summer program through the generous help of Harvesters. |
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| Participants of the summer program enjoy lunch together. |
The center has three full-time and from six to nine part-time employees (depending on the season). A tremendous volunteer group allows the center to offer its wide variety of programming throughout the year.
Rev. Sonna said that 238 different people worked as volunteers for the center in 2012. Together they logged a total of 3,250 hour of service in support of the center and its programs.
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| Residents of Wyandotte Country who are 60 or older can enjoy friendship, programming and lunch Monday - Friday from 9:00 to 11:30. |
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| One of the staff assembles a donation from the food pantry. |
I had the privilege of meeting many of the center's staff, including a young man and a young woman who have both had a lifelong association with the center. They started as children in the after school and summer programs, then volunteered to assist with those same programs, then got hired as part-time staff at the center, and will soon be headed off to college to pursue further studies in mechanical engineering and nursing. What wonderful examples of accomplishment and service!
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| Whether younger... |
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| ...or older, everyone is welcome at Bethel Center! |
Rev. Sonna has worked at Bethel Neighborhood Center since 2004 and has been the director since 2009. He was born in eastern India and relocated to the United States. He told me that he always envisioned that he would travel to a distant land outside the United States to be a missionary and perform mission work. He smiled as he said that the Bethel Neighborhood Center right here in the center of the country has now become his mission and his ministry. He couldn't contain his enthusiasm and pride for the work of the center and the people it serves.
You can contact the center at 913-371-8218 or you can visit their website or Facebook page to learn more about the services they offer and discover how you can offer your support.
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| Thanks to Rev. Mang Sonna (left) for his hospitality on Tuesday! |
~ Brian
bmckiernan@wycokck.org
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