Partnerships with purpose



​In Designing Real World Impacts, participants choose a problem they see impacting the lives of people in their community and conduct an in-depth research study to learn more about what the problem looks like in their community and beyond. Student teams identify which local professionals and organizations are already working in response to the problem and what resources and services currently exist. 

Participants in Designing Real World Impacts build their leadership and networking skills by scheduling and hosting meetings with these partners (virtually and in person) to gain a deeper understanding of the problem and to examine opportunities and gaps in our current systems.

​Student teams are encouraged to create opportunities to travel off-site to visit their community partners, tour their facilities, and connect with people who are most directly impacted by the problem. Participants engage in these interactions as young professionals with the goal of forming meaningful and lasting relationships and cultivating a diverse professional network.


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​Examples of partnerships include:
Naim Al-Amin with SWAGG Inc, to support reentry and entrepreneurship programs for returning citizens
Sheila Albers with JOCO United to advocate for police reform and CIT Training mandates
Young Family Farm to support their efforts in response to food insecurity in Kansas City
Susan Engel with St. Michael's Veterans Center to promote awareness and engagement with veterans in our communities
Ursula Copeland with KCMO Public Health Department to support efforts to improve access and quality of care for young mothers
and increase COVID-19 vaccination rates in teens
Cori Wallace with Della Lamb Community Services to support refugee and immigrant teens by providing opportunities to build community
Tyler Lumpkin with MOCSA (Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault) to reduce the stigma around sexual assault and increase education for teens

Are you a...

Member of our community 
Looking to Learn more About our recent partnerships?

Sion Student looking to connect with a local professional?

Local Professional
Looking to Connect
​with a Sion Student or Team?
Mayor Quinton Lucas
Members of InnovateHer @ Spark KC
Burns & McDonnell
Nathaniel Bozarth, DeBruce Foundation
Cultivate KC @ Plexpod Westport
Della Lamb Community Services

Nicole Springer

Founder of No shame kc
noshamekc.com 

We first met with Nicole Springer while learning about Period Poverty. Nicole is the founder of No Shame KC, a local period project organization and she shared some incredible insights about Period Poverty. These insights include the feelings that women experiencing Period Poverty go through everyday, information about the Tampon Tax, and the stigma surrounding periods and period poverty. She directed us to other local organizations, such as I Support the Girls, which also advocates for period poverty. Speaking with Nicole opened our eyes to the ways in which this problem impacts the ability of young women to make it through the day. We asked for her feedback on our project in which she supported and uplifted our ideas. Her passion and positivity inspired us to develop greater empathy towards the women that experience period poverty in KC. She helped put a human face on this problem that impacts millions of women everyday. Going forward, we know that Nicole will have our back and if we ever have any questions, she will always be open to answer them.
​
-Sam Phillips and Katy Gromowsky. the Period Poverty Project 

Ingebjorg Gibson

Co-Founder of Relentless Pursuit Outreach and Recovery

Defense 4 the Defenseless team has greatly benefited from connecting with Ingebjorg Gibson with Relentless Pursuit Outreach and Recovery and Christine’s Place. We were able to get a more in-depth look at the problem of sex trafficking in the Kansas City area. Ingebjorg played a big part in our project, thanks to her we were able to visit Christine’s place and got to see the problem in the present moment. Also, we were able to do our empathy interview with some of the women that were there at Christine’s Place. Ingebjorg shared exactly what these women need in order to regain their self-dignity and feel human again. Ingebjorg has given us feedback on impactful solutions and which ones would be beneficial, not only for us but for the women as well. From this we were able to gain a good relationship, a role model, and most importantly an understanding of what is needed in our community, We are looking forward to continuing to stay connected to Ingebjorg through our projects in the future.

Kamryn McKibben and Isabella Cherry, Defense for the Defenseless 

NICOLE RAWSON, MBA

SCreen Time Clinic owner
www.ScreenTimeClinic.com
www.DigitalWellnessSummit.com

The Tweens and Technology Time Team has benefitted from connecting with Nicole Rawson and the screen time clinic by gaining knowledge and understanding of this prevalent issue. We have had an amazing experience communicating with her and the Screen Time Clinic. Nicole has been a great guide to helping us with our solution and helping us polish up our presentation and editing our notes. She has shared amazing resources from Screen Time Clinic website, her children's book Screen Smart Sam, and the Digital Wellness Summit. The feedback she has given us has been a tremendous help to the way we present and share our ideas everyday. We were able to gain a good relationship, resources, and knowledge living in the digital world. Looking ahead we are excited to further stay in touch with Nicole and share our future results and feedback. 

Gretchen Shanahan, B.A.

Screen Time Clinic Certified Digital Wellness Educator

We have had an amazing experience connecting with Gretchen via zoom and email. She has helped mentor our team and understand this issue more locally. She has shared amazing resources such as the "Wait Until 8th" campaign and how the surrounding community and school districts are currently tackling this problem. She has given our team great feedback on which schools we should share our solution with and polishing up our final product. From this connection we gained a passionate and intelligent mentor and role model. Looking forward, we plan to continue to stay connected with Gretchen in the coming months after sharing our solution.