History
The Learning Club began in 2002 after two teens mugged and assaulted Brad Grabs on a Sunday afternoon near his home in Kansas City, Kansas. As his anger and fear gave way to compassion and hope, Brad gave up his career as a teacher at Rockhurst High School and started the Learning Club for inner city youth. The former Blessed Sacrament grade school, near 24th and Parallel Parkway, was the home of the first Learning Club site. Initially the program was primarily staffed by volunteers (many from Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Shawnee) and funded by the Gardner Institute. When the Gardner Institute dissolved in 2005, the Learning Club became funded primarily by individual donors from throughout the greater KC metro area. The Dorman and Fiorella families of Jack Stack Barbecue have also been a significant source of support since we started out on our own.
In 2008, a police ride-along experience made Brad Grabs aware of the great need that existed in other parts of KCK. When the police officer he was accompanying got a call of a domestic disturbance at the Juniper Gardens public housing project, they drove at high speed, red light and siren toward the complex, only to stop several blocks away. “We never go here alone,” the officer told Grabs, as they waited for two more police cars to arrive before proceeding. As Grabs sat in the police cruiser, he saw dozens of children playing in the very place where police officers were reluctant to enter. That event provided the inspiration to bring the Learning Club to the children of Juniper Gardens, beginning in June of 2012.
A desire to break the cycle of poverty for even more students led to the opening of a third site at the Chalet Manor public housing project in the Argentine area of KCK in the summer of 2013. Most of our volunteers at this site come after work at Unbound (formerly the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging).
Hearing about our successful program at other public housing sites, the leader of the St. Margaret’s public housing Residents Association approached us and asked if we would bring the Learning Club to their housing complex. In February of 2014, we opened our fourth site there with the help of Ryan Lawn and Tree Company. As the site’s sponsor, Ryan Lawn and Tree provides funding as well as volunteers to help operate the site.
In August 2014, Security Bank of Kansas City began to sponsor the Juniper Gardens Learning Club site. They support the site with funding and volunteers, mostly professionals from their main downtown KCK bank.
Responding to a request from the Kansas City Kansas Housing Authority, we opened our fifth site at the Cyrus K. Holliday public housing complex in March of 2016. Our first site in Kansas City, Missouri, opened in November of 2017 at the Pemberton Park public housing site. Learning Club proudly serves this wonderful community which consists of grandparents and great grandparents who are raising grandchildren. Many of our tutors at Pemberton come from Visitation Catholic Church in KCMO.
With support from an anonymous donor, the Learning Club Teaching Internship began in January, 2018 with a pilot program involving 26 students from Wyandotte High School who serve as tutors and mentors to our younger students. The following school year, the Teaching Internship was able to include 80 interns from all six KCKPS high schools: Fairfax Learning Center, Harmon High School, Schlagle High School, Sumner Academy, Washington High School, and Wyandotte High School.
The Learning Club Teaching Interns received a stipend and training in child development, education, and life skills. They provided an extra day of tutoring for our students, often providing much-needed support with homework and math skills. Interns served at four sites in KCK.
Interns also received support in pursuing college and career goals, including resume and interview help, visits from college representatives, and scholarship opportunities. The Learning Club Teaching Internship Scholarship was established in 2019 to work toward the goal of growing our own teachers in the urban core. In May 2019, three interns applied for and were awarded four-year scholarships based on merit, need, and the desire to pursue careers in education.
With the help of many dedicated volunteers and a dynamic, dedicated staff, the Learning Club has helped unlock the awesome potential of hundreds of urban youth and continues to provide them with the keys to become honorable and productive members of society.
In 2008, a police ride-along experience made Brad Grabs aware of the great need that existed in other parts of KCK. When the police officer he was accompanying got a call of a domestic disturbance at the Juniper Gardens public housing project, they drove at high speed, red light and siren toward the complex, only to stop several blocks away. “We never go here alone,” the officer told Grabs, as they waited for two more police cars to arrive before proceeding. As Grabs sat in the police cruiser, he saw dozens of children playing in the very place where police officers were reluctant to enter. That event provided the inspiration to bring the Learning Club to the children of Juniper Gardens, beginning in June of 2012.
A desire to break the cycle of poverty for even more students led to the opening of a third site at the Chalet Manor public housing project in the Argentine area of KCK in the summer of 2013. Most of our volunteers at this site come after work at Unbound (formerly the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging).
Hearing about our successful program at other public housing sites, the leader of the St. Margaret’s public housing Residents Association approached us and asked if we would bring the Learning Club to their housing complex. In February of 2014, we opened our fourth site there with the help of Ryan Lawn and Tree Company. As the site’s sponsor, Ryan Lawn and Tree provides funding as well as volunteers to help operate the site.
In August 2014, Security Bank of Kansas City began to sponsor the Juniper Gardens Learning Club site. They support the site with funding and volunteers, mostly professionals from their main downtown KCK bank.
Responding to a request from the Kansas City Kansas Housing Authority, we opened our fifth site at the Cyrus K. Holliday public housing complex in March of 2016. Our first site in Kansas City, Missouri, opened in November of 2017 at the Pemberton Park public housing site. Learning Club proudly serves this wonderful community which consists of grandparents and great grandparents who are raising grandchildren. Many of our tutors at Pemberton come from Visitation Catholic Church in KCMO.
With support from an anonymous donor, the Learning Club Teaching Internship began in January, 2018 with a pilot program involving 26 students from Wyandotte High School who serve as tutors and mentors to our younger students. The following school year, the Teaching Internship was able to include 80 interns from all six KCKPS high schools: Fairfax Learning Center, Harmon High School, Schlagle High School, Sumner Academy, Washington High School, and Wyandotte High School.
The Learning Club Teaching Interns received a stipend and training in child development, education, and life skills. They provided an extra day of tutoring for our students, often providing much-needed support with homework and math skills. Interns served at four sites in KCK.
Interns also received support in pursuing college and career goals, including resume and interview help, visits from college representatives, and scholarship opportunities. The Learning Club Teaching Internship Scholarship was established in 2019 to work toward the goal of growing our own teachers in the urban core. In May 2019, three interns applied for and were awarded four-year scholarships based on merit, need, and the desire to pursue careers in education.
With the help of many dedicated volunteers and a dynamic, dedicated staff, the Learning Club has helped unlock the awesome potential of hundreds of urban youth and continues to provide them with the keys to become honorable and productive members of society.