Staff at The Culinary Center of Kansas City took a field trip this week to tour Newhouse Shelter, one of six shelters for victims of domestic violence in the Kansas City metro area. Newhouse is one of the recipients of food prepared in our CCKC All Hands for Hunger teambuilding events. All Hands for Hunger groups prepare pans full of delicious dishes for local nonprofit groups. We like to tour and learn more about the recipient charities to understand their mission and find out how the food is used.
We learned a startling and sad statistic during our visit to Newhouse: 1 in 4 women will be victimized by domestic violence in their lives. That means the 6 shelters with just over 420 beds that offer help for victims in Kansas City can support just a small fraction of the women who actually need help. Newhouse was the first domestic violence shelter in KC when they opened in 1971, and one of the first in the country.
There are many ways that you can help Newhouse break the cycle of domestic violence (besides the obvious: plan an All Hands for Hunger event for your group at The Culinary Center!) Here are a few other ideas:
- Donate items needed by the women and children staying at Newhouse. In particular need are makeup, hair products and (new) underwear.
- Volunteer your time at Newhouse helping with childcare, cooking or serving in the kitchen, answering hotline calls, maintaining the shelter’s garden, working at fundraising events, teaching classes, etc.
- Invite a Newhouse employee or volunteer to speak to your group about domestic violence.
Visit NewhouseShelter.org for more information about how you can help. If you are in need of help or know someone who is, call the Newhouse domestic violence hotline at 816-471-5800.
To plan an All Hands for Hunger event for your group at The Culinary Center of Kansas City, contact our Event Manager Mimsy Winston at mimsy@kcculinary.com or 913-341-4455.