March Newsletter

2025 Downtown Overland Park

St. Patrick's Day Parade

Join us for the 2025 Downtown Overland Park St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Saturday, March 8th, from 10 AM to 2 PM!

The parade route will be closed to traffic from 6 AM to noon, so plan accordingly.

Be sure to stop by our L'Arche Heartland booth - we’ll have merch, friendly faces, and a great time waiting for you.

Upcoming L'Arche Heartland Events

March 4th | 6 PM – St. Patrick’s Day Dance Party 💃🎶 Get your green on and dance the night away!

March 11th | 6 PM – L.O.L. Fit Club 🏋️‍♂️ Led by the Health & Wellness Committee, come move, laugh, and feel great!

March 14th – Salad Bar Community Night 🥗✨ Join us for a fresh and delicious meal together.

March 21st – Third Thursday Prayer Night 🙏 A time for reflection, connection, and community.

March 18th – Art & Soul Committee Gathering 🎨💫 Let your creativity shine in a welcoming space!

Come join the fun and community this March! 💚

Core Member Highlight:

Interview with Alex

By Zakara York

Getting to Know You

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I’m always very understanding, do my best to do lots of good things and be a very good friend. One day I would like to find a girl to fall in love with and spend the rest of my life with.

How long have you been part of L’Arche Heartland’s day program?

Ever since it was at the church by the park.

What do you like most about coming to the day program?

Hanging out with my friends and doing lots of fun activities.

Favorite Things

What is your favorite activity at the day program?

The recycling pickups, meals on wheels, and doing different fun activities.

Do you have a favorite staff member or friend at L’Arche? What do you like about them?

I like everyone! They are all different and good friends to me.

What is your favorite food or snack?

Reese's peanut butter cups and ice cream sandwiches. My favorite food is pizza but I like all kinds of food except seafood.

Do you have a favorite song or musician?

Disney classic songs and kids songs and the Winds of Change song.

If you could go on a dream vacation, where would you go?

Disney World, Sea World, Universal Studios.

Fun & Personal Interests

What do you like to do for fun when you’re not at the day program?

Tablet time, play games on my Playstation and watch good tv shows and movies.

Do you have a favorite TV show or movie?

I like Disney classics but my favorites are Land Before Time and Jurassic Park and Jurassic World.

Rugrats, Blues Clues, and Little Bear are my favorite TV shows.

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

My favorite superhero, Spider man. He is my number one favorite superhero.

Reflections on L’Arche Heartland

What is one thing you have learned or gotten better at since joining the day program?

By taking care of all the recycling and giving food to elderly people I have learned to help other people and the environment.

What is something that makes you feel happy or proud?

Being with my family and friends and hopes of finding love.

If someone was thinking about joining L’Arche Heartland, what would you tell them?

“Welcome to L’Arche, we like having new core members!”

What is one thing you want people to know about you?

That I am a good friend and I am always happy to help.

Assistant Highlight:

Interview with Kevin

by Melinda Hartel

Kevin Thompson was providing care for his father in Arkansas City, Arkansas, when he first heard of L’arche Heartland. The indeed.com ad jumped out at him as a good fit for the skills he’d developed as both a caregiver and a high school- and college-level coach and personal trainer.

“I’ve had the whole football team at my house,” he says. “I’ve never not coached.”

Now a live-in at JP2, Kevin is currently coaching seven Core Members on weights and elliptical equipment at Matt Ross Community Center a couple of days each week. Aptly dubbed “Fit Club,” the program could be expanded to include additional participants and other types of recreational exercise, ie., swimming and bowling. With additional hands to help, he’d like to add an evening activity as well.

“This is just getting started,” Kevin said. “The more Core Members and day program participants we can get involved, the better and bigger it will be. That way we can change more lives.”

If you would like to be serve on a Fit Club committee, or be an “assistant coach” volunteer, please contact Kevin through the office. And FYI, the benefits - outward and inward - are many for ALL involved.

“I’m a better coach because of the time I’ve been here,” Kevin said. “It’s more impactful than anything I’ve ever done. I see it not only improving people’s health but giving them a huge boost in confidence.”

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