Who We Are
Who We Are






Who We Are
Welcome to
A Head Start For Children & Families
Growing Futures Early Education Center, a Head Start for children and families, is a non-profit organization, providing quality early learning opportunities and family support services for children in Johnson County, Kansas. Our Early Head Start and Head Start programs are for children 0-5 and their families. Enrolled families also have access to a variety of comprehensive support services, including health and nutrition services, onsite play therapy, parent education, mental health, medical and dental health, family support and engagement opportunities. Our education program focuses on developing a child’s academic readiness, along with an emphasis on social and emotional development.
Growing Futures opened its doors in 1965 as a Head Start summer enrichment program for 17 preschool-aged children from low-income families, making us one of the original Head Start programs. Today, we serve 223 low-income children and their families with Early Head Start and Head Start programs and we regularly maintain a wait list of more than 100 children.
Although our program has grown since 1965 to meet the increasing needs of Johnson County families, our funding has not kept pace with the demand for services. More than 32,500 Johnson County residents, or 5.6% of the population, lives below the federal poverty level with 3,900 of those residents being children, ages 0-5. Thousands more earn just enough to avoid the technical definition of poverty, which is $21,780 for a family of three. During the past decade, Johnson County's population grew by 20%, while the number of people living in poverty increased by 134%. Now, more than ever, our services are desperately needed.
Though we are partially funded by the federal government, for every $100.00 we receive from the federal government, we are required to raise an additional $25.00. That means to maintain our federal grant, we must come up with a non-federal match of over $415,000, annually, to remain in compliance with our federal funding. We rely heavily on support from our community partners, corporate sponsors, donors, local grants and our volunteers. There are so many ways to get involved with Growing Futures and we hope you will join us in our mission - to nurture children and strengthen families to enrich our community.

Calendar
Head Start at Science City
March 7th & 8th
Students in our Head Start classrooms will explore Science City thanks to the support of our partners at PNC.
Panera Community Fundraiser
March 9th, 8am - 8pm
Dine in or order from Panera at 11022 Metcalf Ave. Overland Park, KS 66210 and support Growing Futures. 20% of your purchase goes to our organization.
Advisory Board Happy Hour
March 9th
Professional Development Day
March 10th
Mother Clucker On-Site
March 10th
We appreciate all the hard work of our staff and will treat them to delicious lunch.
Spring Break
March 13th - 17th
Our center is closed for Spring Break.
Kendra Scott Fundraiser
March 24th - 25th
Come visit us at the Plaza or Leawood locations. 20% of any purchases will go towards Growing Futures.
Volunteer Painting Week
March 27th - 31st
Volunteers will be on-site to paint Room 3.
Room 16 Reveal
March 28th, 11am
All the hard work the Ferrante Family has put into Room 16 pays off in this celebration!



Get Involved



We greatly appreciate all of our volunteers! Did you know that each hour volunteered counts as $22.70 toward our non-federal goal? A half day group project can raise a significant amount for our organization!


Testimonials


Leadership






“The first five years have so much to do with
how the next 80 turn out.”
- Bill Gates Sr. -
Contact Us!
Growing Futures Early Education Center
8155 Santa Fe Drive
Overland Park, KS 66204
913-649-9714




