What did 2021 look like at KAC? Another year in review at KAC!

Category: Blog

What did 2021 look like at KAC? Another year in review at KAC!

Today, all of us at KAC want to take another moment to say, “Whew, what a year!” In 2020, we stood together, even when we were staying safe at home. In 2021, our hope, and our hearts, grew as we continued to welcome back some of our program participants to in-person services. It’s been exciting, nerve-racking, and everything in between to be reimagining our program offering. Here’s a closer look at how we continued to meet our community’s needs in 2021.

Developed Virtual Connections and Resources

Every year, it seems like technology plays a bigger and bigger role in our day-to-day lives. In the past year, this rings more true than ever:

  • KAC’s Children Services team leaned on technology to publish their Parental Education Series, which sought to help parents introduce social-emotional learning in their child’s everyday routines.
  • We turned to Zoom to host our annual Legislators’ Breakfast, and welcomed special guests like Congressman Bryan Steil and Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes.
  • Our community came together to make our KAC Community Cares Packages a reality, which delivered fun items that program participants could use during associated virtual programming.

We continue to explore and find new ways technology can enhance our programs and help us stay connected.

Spread More Smiles

Because a smile goes a long way, in 2021, we found joy and hope in the time we spent together. Check out two of our favorite memories:

  • For the first time since 2019, we held our Adult Services Summer picnic. Although we had less attendees than we are used to, it was still great to spend time with our friends. It was also a great break for Gardenworks participants and the Cookie Crew after their hard work at Kenosha’s Outdoor Markets
  • Helping hands sure do help make the impossible more possible. We are proud to have engaged new volunteers through Group Mission Trip’s Week of Hope. These students stopped in at KAC and greatly helped complete some projects in our garden! Thanks to them, our program participants got to spend more time relaxing and enjoying our outdoor space.

Expanded Employment Opportunities

2021 was an overall GREAT year for employment services at KAC. Our Community Employment team continued to grow and find existing and new partnerships, like Festival Foods, Paielli’s, the Apis and Burlington Graphics, to help make employment accessible to more people. Kenosha Awesome Cookies, which is a program initiative where participants prepare and sell cooking baking kits, also lifted off in 2021. The cookie crew quickly surpassed their 200th sale, then their 1,000th. The project’s success has us thinking of what other dreams we can help make a reality. What could be next?

Like KAC on Facebook to stay up to date on all of our program happenings. (Hint: We have even more exciting news down the pipeline!)

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