The Kennedy Heights Presbyterian Church, founded in the heart of Cincinnati in 1909, provides a meeting place for the Kennedy Heights Community Council, Alcoholics Anonymous, Cincinnati Public Schools tutoring and other community groups. The church is home to the Caring Place, which was established in 1982 by a group of local churches and provides clothing, food and other assistance to those in need in the community. Our members are active leaders in the community. The church has been a purposefully integrated congregation since 1963. Its mission is to share the good news of Jesus Christ with all people as a racially diverse congregation through worship, service, education and fellowship.
The Mission Committee’s main focus has been the continued support of The Caring Place through monthly financial contributions and collection of most needed items for families who visit the center. Mission Committee members also raise funds annually to compile over 200 Holiday meal baskets for distribution during the Christmas holidays. Committee members and other volunteers gather at a local grocery store to load over 2000 canned and dry goods into their cars, transport them to the church and create a well-oiled production line to pack each meal bag. Committee members are also involved in the distribution of the meals to many grateful families.
The Mission Committee also supports the efforts of the KHPC Youth Group who provide assistance to homeless families through the Interfaith Hospitality Network.
With our church mission in mind, the Mission Committee of Kennedy Heights Presbyterian has become a community partner with Woodford Paideia Academy, a neighborhood elementary school, to assist with tutoring services to children in our community. Our neighborhood elementary schools are overwhelmed with a great need for individualized services for children who lag behind grade level in academics and state test scores, lack mentorship from trustworthy adults and suffer from low self-esteem. Many of these children are from lower income, single-parent homes which do not have the resources to seek additional assistance for their children. Providing a no-cost, safe environment which can offer tutoring, mentorship and intriguing structured activities greatly assists in the development of our community’s youth.
In addition to our involvement with the children at Woodford Paideia, the Mission Committee provides outreach to other children in the community through the distribution of “summer fun bags” at the Kennedy Heights Play in the Park events. While providing some much appreciated small toys, we also invited them to upcoming special events such as movie nights and vacation bible school. The Mission Committee has also collected “Pennies for Patients” from the congregation to provide a financial contribution to Children’s Hospital. We believe that investing in our neighborhood’s children now will pay large dividends in developing our community leaders of tomorrow.
