Heart of Kansas City

About Our Chapter

NCL, Inc., Heart of Kansas City Chapter is a group of mothers and daughters who have come together in a commitment to community service, leadership development and cultural experiences.
Members shall reside in Johnson County, Kansas. Like all NCL, Inc. Chapters, Heart of Kansas City aims to foster the mother-daughter relationship by serving its communities together.

Our Chapter was organized in 2004 by a small group of dedicated women. This group included Linda Rogers who would become our first Chapter President. Familiar with NCL, Inc. after living in southern California, Linda wanted to bring NCL, Inc. to Kansas City.

The first official meeting to form our Chapter was held on March 31, 2004 at the Lionsgate Clubhouse in Overland Park, Kansas. The name “Heart of Kansas City” was selected for our Chapter. 

Our Membership during the first year consisted of eighteen Patronesses (mothers) and twenty-two Ticktockers (daughters). They volunteered over 700 hours in the community through initiatives with our first three philanthropy partners: Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, Rose Brooks and the Brain Injury Association. Our members served at auctions, charity boutiques, collected magazines and books, and baked Valentine’s Day cookies to support our philanthropy partners. Cultural events included a December Tea, a mainstay of all National Charity League chapters, and a performance of The Christmas Carol. Leadership positions were filled by twenty-three of our Patronesses and Ticktockers. In May, 2005 a New Member Ice Cream Social was held at the Lionsgate Clubhouse to recognize the accomplishments of our members through an awards ceremony and to welcome new Members into the Heart of Kansas City Chapter.

Our Membership has grown every year since 2004. We currently have over 300 active Members as well as many alumni Members in our community. We offer over 100 leadership positions to our mother and daughter Members and hold multiple cultural events throughout the year. Annually we give nearly 10,000 hours of our time volunteering in the Kansas City metro area; many of these hours are performed by mothers and daughters working alongside each other.

Blue Rose

Blue Rose: Our chapter has received the Blue Rose Chapter Award for the 2020-2021 year. We have completed our annual requirements, participated in #GivingTuesday and the national philanthropy program, and held a Sustainer Event.

 

 

 

Join Our Chapter

Interested in joining our chapter? Membership opportunities are dependent on chapter openings.

If you know someone in our chapter, talk to her about getting started, membership obligations and our membership drive timeline.  If you do not know someone in NCL, you are invited to complete this Membership Inquiry Form.

Membership Inquiry Form

For any questions regarding Membership, requests for transfers or assistance with connecting as a Sustainer, email us.

If your daughter will enter into the 7th grade in the next school year, now is the time to ask about joining the Heart of Kansas City Chapter of National Charity League, Inc.

We offer a six year program for mothers and daughters focused on fostering mother-daughter relationships in a philanthropic organization committed to community service, leadership development, and cultural experiences. Our daughters are in the 7th through 12th grades.

Our annual Membership drives takes place between October and January. Most Members join as their daughter prepares enter 7th grade. This means that if you are interested in Membership, you want to participate in the Membership drive which begins in October of your daughter’s 6th grade school year. Membership openings for prospective Members with daughters going into other grades are limited and considered on a space-available basis.

All Prospective members of our Chapter must live in Johnson County, Kansas.

If you know someone in the Heart of Kansas City Chapter, talk with her about to understand more about our organization. She can also share with you information about the Membership process and Membership obligations. If you do not know someone in NCL, Inc. you are invited to submit the following form.

Please submit a Membership Inquiry form, or for any questions regarding Membership, requests for transfers or assistance with connecting as a Sustainer, email us at HeartofKCMembership@gmail.com 

Mothers and their daughters (grades 7-12) participate in a program that embraces:

Community Service

We understand and serve communities in partnership with local and national nonprofits. Each NCL, Inc. chapter promotes social awareness by considering the local community’s needs and selecting appropriate non-profit organizations to support through different volunteer activities.

We work with the following philanthropies:

  • ALS Mid America Association Mid-America Chapter
  • Amethyst Place
  • Braden’s Hope
  • Brain Injury Association of Kansas
  • Charlie’s House
  • Community Fire and Police Stations
  • Happy Bottoms
  • Harvesters
  • KC Hospice
  • KCMO Angels
  • Lead to Read
  • March of Dimes
  • ReStore
  • River of Refuge
  • Ronald McDonald House Charities of KC
  • Rose Brooks
  • Shadow Buddies
  • Special Olympics Kansas
  • Sunflower House
  • Uplift
  • Village Shalom
  • WIN for KC
  • Wonderscope

Community Service

We work with 20+ philanthropy partners who are located throughout the Kansas City Metro area. Each year our Members invest approximately 10,000 hours of their time in the community. Our activities vary from year-to-year based on the needs of our philanthropy partners. Here are a few examples of how we support our community:

– introducing girls in the community to a variety of sports and fitness activities over four days during the summer at CAMP WIN

– provide babysitting services for children staying at Amethyst Place so their moms can attend required classes

– helping to run the clothing store at Rose Brooks and assisting residents with their shopping

– helping Charlie’s House hand out materials and safety supplies at events around the community

– assisting at March of Dimes’ March for Babies, Signature Chefs Auction and Nurse of the Year events. We also do annual Books for Babies and Pajamas for Preemies drives throughout the year for March of Dimes.

– packing diapers for Happy Bottoms, a local diaper bank, to be distributed to families in need across the metro area

– playing soccer, bowling, volleyball, basketball, tennis, swim and track and sharing a laugh with special needs children through Special Olympics

– preparing meals and snacks to comfort the families at KC Hospice and Ronald McDonald House

– helping with various activities at Village Shalom, such as playing Bingo and Trivia Games with residents, walking residents’ dogs, delivering newsletters and schedules, and helping in their library, as well as helping with with various special events throughout the year

– dressing, packaging and sorting dolls for Shadow Buddies, as well as helping at special events such as their annual gala and Fantasy Flight

We also help at annual local events such as the Going the Distance for Brain Injury, the WIN for KC Triathlon, the Walk to Defeat ALS, and the Walk to End Alzheimer’s.

Leadership Development

We build capable, courageous leaders through opportunities to learn, reflect and develop. Our leaders become successful in their education, career and communities by learning the necessary skills during their NCL experience.

Examples of skills developed include:

  • Confidence
  • Consensus building
  • Team building
  • Conflict resolution
  • Event planning
  • Parliamentary procedure

Our Chapter Board of Directors:

  • President: Michelle Herrold
  • President Elect: Susan Steimley
  • Secretary: Gretchen McCourt
  • Treasurer: Kathy Ramsey
    Sandra Archer
  • Parliamentarian: Miki Herman
  • Vice President Communications: Shelley Mathews
  • Vice President Membership: Angela Barleen
  • Vice President Philanthropy: Jennifer Winston
  • Vice President New Members: Lyn Petro
  • Vice President Ticktockers: Elizabeth Lewis
  • Vice President Chapter Engagement and Inclusion: Amara Napper

We offer a variety of leadership roles, resources, and approaches to equip mothers and daughters as leaders.  Working with a group to accomplish common goals is incredibly rewarding, and also develops leadership skills as you work alongside others. Members have opportunities to engage in experiences that build essential skills, such as confidence, consensus and team building, event planning, conflict resolution and parliamentary procedure.  These skills help you to grow as a leader whether you are a mother or daughter.

There are a variety of leadership roles available to mothers and daughters in our Chapter.  Leadership roles for mothers include serving on the Chapter Board, as a philanthropy partner liaison, working directly with a grade of young women, as a committee chair, or committee member.  Leadership roles available to daughters include serving as a class officer, committee chair and committee member.

We work with members to find the right job for you at the right time.  In addition, we offer job specific training for most leadership roles.  Leadership training for members is provided in the Chapter through one-on-one meetings, peer interaction, on-demand resources, and occasional workshops.  In addition, there is training available at the District and National level as your area of responsibility increases.

In 2016 our Chapter initiated a program we called “Ticktockers: Ready, Set, Lead” as an additional way to grow our daughters into stronger leaders.  This approach was modeled after initiatives successfully used in other Chapters.  Two classes are empowered to create a vision for an event attended by the entire chapter, and then have responsibility to work together to plan the event.  These young women work with a group of mothers who mentor and empower them through this process. The results have been amazing!  Our young women have created fresh, engaging events which appeal to mothers and daughters.  We have witnessed young women becoming empowered, creative, responsible leaders and team Members.

Cultural Experiences

We preserve National Charity League traditions and core values, while appreciating the growth that comes from connecting with different communities and cultures. We continually strive to build stronger ties with our communities and the individuals within them. It is through this understanding that we grow and develop broader worldviews that will shape and support our lives.

  • Traditions – We celebrate the richness of our history through traditions that honor the past while serving the future.
  • Values – We embrace values that make us strong as an organization of mother-daughter leaders.
  • Community Connections – We build connections through experiences that impact our communities.
  • Etiquette – We encourage and mentor kind, respectful and gracious social conduct.

We celebrate the richness of the NCL, Inc. focus on cultural experiences through traditions, the arts, and values. Like all NCL, Inc. Chapters, we hold a mother-daughter Tea annually to honor the past and prepare our daughters for the future. It is a fun social time which teaches etiquette, how to serve as a hostess, how to be a good guest, and develops leadership skills. This Chapter-wide event is planned by two of our classes in partnership with a group of mothers. Planning for this event provides the opportunity to learn to work as a group to select a theme, invitations, menu, and speaker while staying within the budget. Our Sophomore class typically presents a fashion show during the Tea which gives these young women the opportunity to practice presenting themselves in public. (And, they have fun dressing up!)

Senior Recognition is an annual event which honors our graduating Senior class; it is also a tradition across NCL, Inc. Chapters. This event is an opportunity to celebrate the values of friendship, the growth of the mother-daughter relationship, and reflect on your NCL Experience. The Senior class daughters and mothers work together to plan this event.

We explore culture through the arts. We offer mothers and daughters the opportunity to attend cultural events in our community. These cultural activities include musicals, the symphony, dance performances, museum tours, and cultural festivals. They offer unique opportunities to spend time together as mother and daughter as well as with new friends and longtime friends in the Chapter.

Finally, we strive to embrace and teach values such as kindness, courtesy, thoughtfulness, respect, self-respect, empathy, and generosity. These values in graciousness provide a foundation which make us strong as an organization and as leaders as we reach out into our community. They are values which allow us to develop healthy relationships and bonds with all people.

Our Mission, Vision, and Core Values

ABOUT

National Charity League, Inc. (NCL, Inc.) is a national non-profit organization comprised of mother and daughter members in Chapters across the United States. NCL, Inc. was established in Los Angeles, California, in 1925 and incorporated in 1958.

MISSION

To foster mother-daughter relationships in a philanthropic organization committed to community service, leadership development and cultural experiences.

VISION

Through the mother-daughter relationship, National Charity League, Inc. will develop strong women leaders serving and impacting communities today and for generations to come.

CORE VALUES

  • Honoring the mother-daughter bond by together learning, growing and modeling responsibility and graciousness
  • Empowering women with the skills and confidence to lead
  • Nurturing through mentorship
  • Inspiring a legacy of social awareness and compassion
  • Providing depth of support in local communities
  • Integrity and excellence in everything we do