Recent Features





Unice Harris founded Purses With Power in 2018. Unice, who has a master’s degree in business administration, recognized that women who have hospitalized children would appreciate gifts that included self-care and inspirational items. The organization provides gift baskets and gift…
Read More
Read More

Kim Riley knows from experience how difficult it is for parents of students with autism or developmental disabilities to make arrangements for them after they graduate from high school. In 2019, she founded The Transition Academy as a way of…
Read More
Read More

Tayten DeGarmo Tayten DeGarmo won’t be lounging around the pool when school’s out. Instead, the high school student will be attending Indiana University’s Ballet Summer Intensive and the Sacramento Ballet’s Summer Intensive. For the past nine years, Tayten has studied…
Read More
Read More

Life contains moments in which we are forced to steady our balance, draw a breath, and take a flying leap. Or as we say in ballet, a grand jeté. By her mid-twenties, Amaya Rodriguez had established a solid career as…
Read More
Read More

To learn more about becoming a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Greater Kansas City Chapter, please visit afpkc.org. The Independent is proud to be the exclusive media partner of AFPKC. Lauren Clifton-Thompson is the philanthropy and communications manager for Amethyst…
Read More
Read More