{"id":1433,"date":"2016-05-06T21:03:07","date_gmt":"2016-05-06T21:03:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/?p=1433"},"modified":"2019-06-12T10:24:02","modified_gmt":"2019-06-12T15:24:02","slug":"kimberly-92-and-robert-95-warren-empowering-families","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/2016\/05\/06\/kimberly-92-and-robert-95-warren-empowering-families\/","title":{"rendered":"Kimberly ’92 and Robert ’95 Warren: empowering families"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shortly after Robert Warren \u201996 became a pastor and founded Word of Faith Worship Center in St. Joseph, Missouri, his wife, Kimberly \u201992, suggested that they open a learning center for children from their church and neighborhood.<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t even imagine that,\u201d Robert said with a laugh. \u201cThat was a huge step off the grid and into the deep.\u201d\"Warrens\"<\/a><\/p>\n

But open a learning center they did, using two buildings, a former school and the mansion of a former state governor; just south of 20th<\/sup> and Messanie Streets. Fifteen years later, MidCity Excellence Community Learning Center is thriving and continuing to serve an underserved population. Since it began, the Warrens\u2019 center has served more than 1,000 youth.<\/p>\n

Kimberly noted that children who come from families in poverty do not have the option of taking lessons or getting involved in a number of after-school or weekend activities because their families can\u2019t afford it. So she and Robert wanted to give children those experiences and keep them busy.<\/p>\n

Their center wasn\u2019t open very long before the Warrens realized they needed to expand beyond the children and offer something for parents, too. \u201cWe had to reach the entire family and empower the family from the top down,\u201d Kimberly said. So they added programming for computer training, GED training and helping adults find jobs.<\/p>\n

Recently, the center hosted a job fair for Tyson Foods, and 29 people were hired on the spot for full-time employment, and many more were scheduled for interviews.<\/p>\n

Today, the center offers programs for all ages in performing arts, computer training, leadership and social justice initiatives, holding after-school, evening and summer programs. Robert recently began a Man-Up program for at-risk teen boys, which offers activities for the teens, along with introducing them to successful male role models from the community.<\/p>\n

\"MidCity<\/a>\u201cThe boys want a positive, healthy alternative to risky behavior,\u201d Robert said. \u201cThey want someone to coach and mentor them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The center\u2019s performing arts groups, which include dance groups and choirs, entertain audiences throughout the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to show these kids that they are somebody right now, and they are contributing now;<\/em> not just when they are adults,\u201d Kimberly said. \u201cThey need little glimpses of success all along the way.\u201d\"MidCity<\/a><\/p>\n

Kimberly, from St. Joseph, and Robert, from a small town outside of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, met as students at Missouri Western. Both children of ministers, Kimberly was a psychology major and \u00a0Robert played football and majored in music. They were married in 1992 and both went on to earn master\u2019s degrees.<\/p>\n

Kimberly is a certified public school district grant writer, and her skills have helped the center \u00a0operate with grants she has received, along with a lot of collaboration and support from nonprofit organizations throughout the city. Grant funding allowed Robert, who is now the music educator at Carden Park Elementary School in St. Joseph, to work full-time at the center for 10 years.<\/p>\n

They have both received numerous community awards for their work, including being inducted into St. Joseph\u2019s Black Archives Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n

Missouri Western\u2019s relationship with the center goes back to its earliest beginnings. When they needed computers to get started, Kimberly found out Missouri Western had several old ones they were not using any more. She called then-president Dr. James Scanlon and the center got 50 computers. He also gave a presentation to the children at the center.<\/p>\n

Additionally, a lot of Missouri Western students volunteer there, new students have helped at the center through the Griffon Edge orientation service component, and Dr. Robert Vartabedian, Missouri Western\u2019s president, spoke at a Solutions Summit on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day this past January. The Warrens are also members of Missouri Western\u2019s Black Alumni Network (see article on p. 29).<\/p>\n

Kimberly said one of her favorite Bible quotations (Proverbs 29:18) reflects their work at the center: \u201cWhere there is no vision, the people perish.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t have a vision, a fire in your gut, you\u2019ll live a life without purpose or direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

So the Warrens help children and adults not only discover their vision, but achieve it. Every day.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to be part of the solution,\u201d Kimberly said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shortly after Robert Warren \u201996 became a pastor and founded Word of Faith Worship Center in St. Joseph, Missouri, his wife, Kimberly \u201992, suggested that they open a learning center for children from their church and neighborhood. \u201cI couldn\u2019t even imagine that,\u201d Robert said with a laugh. \u201cThat was a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[23,43,33,34],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1433"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1433"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1433\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4427,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1433\/revisions\/4427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}