Photo by Jen Iseman.
More than 130 4- and 5-year-olds spent the morning of April 2 singing, dancing and posing next to their newly installed handprints at the PNC Grow Up Great® Gallery at the Kauffman Center. Since 2018, PNC and the Kauffman Center have teamed up to feature nearly 900 handprints from young students across the Kansas City metro through PNC Grow Up Great.
PNC Grow Up Great, PNC’s signature philanthropic initiative since 2004, is a $500+ million, bilingual effort focused on high-quality early childhood education. Its goal is to help prepare children from birth to age 5 for success in school and in life, with a special focus on underserved communities.
Over the past 22 years, the initiative has supported more than 11.5 million children through grants and educational programs, and it has contributed $290 million in grants to advance high-quality early childhood education.
Children and parents/guardians visiting the Kauffman Center on April 2 were part of the latest installation of handprints from EarlystART, El Centro Academy for Children and Growing Futures Early Education Center. They were also the first students to enjoy a field trip to the Kauffman Center to see them in person.
Photo by Jen Iseman.
Students from EarlystART, El Centro Academy for Children and Growing Futures Early Education Center posed for a professional photo by 360picKC with their newly displayed handprints in the PNC Grow Up Great Gallery.
Volunteers from PNC and the Kauffman Center guided students through three performing arts experiences. The Muriel Kauffman Theatre stage transformed into a high-seas adventure with an interactive pirate-themed performance by The Coterie Theatre. Students ran back and forth, from shore to ship, and enjoyed an electrifying dance party.
Brandmeyer Great Hall became an arts-and-crafts wonderland accompanied by an enthusiastic performance by pianist Justin Fowler. Each child contributed to a kaleidoscopic collage and showed their creativity at various coloring tables.
The Concert Hall Reception Suite was home to an immersive reading experience of James Dean and Eric Litwin’s Pete the Cat facilitated by The Coterie Theatre. Students acted out scenes of the book while singing and dancing along to “I Love My White Shoes.”
This collaboration demonstrated the joy that can be created when organizations come together to support their communities. EarlystART Executive Director June McDaniel said, “Opportunities like this are not just for our children, but for our families and our broader community. Experiences like today create lasting memories, build confidence and reinforce that our children belong in every space where creativity and excellence are celebrated.”
