Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Boys and Girls Club
The Olathe Boys and Girls Club serves K-12 students before, after school and during the summer.The goal is to have each Club member graduate from high school with post-secondary plans in place.We are currently licensed serve 125 students.
ELL Family Preschool
Center of Grace currently provides a preschool for children whose parents attend JCCC English language classes. Preschool children and toddlers are introduced to preschool curriculum on a daily basis as they learn English and get ready for Kindergarten.
Community Dinners
The Wednesday and Thursday Night Community Dinner provides a free meal to anyone who is hungry or would like the fellowship of a meal with others. The leadership team plans the meal, does the shopping and lines up the volunteers to prepare and serve the meal. Those dining with us vary in their circumstance from people attending meetings at the Center to the homeless looking for a meal and a temperature controlled environment for a few hours. We mainly serve the working poor and families struggling to have enough food to feed their family, and the elderly who gather for a nutritious dinner and conversation.
Shoe Fund
The Shoe Fund provides new shoes for Olathe school age children, in partnership with the Olathe Mayor's Christmas Tree Fund. The need of the child must be verified through a school counselor, nurse or social service agency. It is often necessary to provide a new pair of gym shoes for a child or youth so they may participate and pass a gym classes.
Where we work
Awards
Affiliations & memberships
Boys and Girls Clubs of America 2012
Affiliate/Chapter of National Organization (i.e. Girl Scouts of the USA, American Red Cross, etc.) - Affiliate/chapter 1958
External reviews

Photos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of meals served or provided
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Community Dinners
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of hygiene kits distributed
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of children who receive new clothing
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Number of individuals, adults and children, who received clothing.
Number of patients who borrowed medical equipment
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of students enrolled
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Boys and Girls Club
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Number of students enrolled in the Olathe Boys & Girls Club.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Our mission at the Center of Grace is offer a safe space of hospitality for all; attend to basic, health, and educational needs; an provide opportunities to share, learn, and grow into self-sufficiency.
We help with basic needs by providing free community meals, a community garden, clothing, free shoes, underwear and socks in partnership with the Olathe Mayor's Children's Fund, hygiene items, and assistance with rent and utilities.
We offer free dental screenings, x-rays and cleaning services in partnership with Johnson County Community College (JCCC), as well as a medical equipment loaning program, for patients to borrow walkers, wheelchairs, commodes, shower chairs, and hospital beds.
We provide a free English Language Learner Preschool, where children can learn English and prepare for kindergarten. We partner with Olathe Parents as Teachers to provide a parent educator who shares parenting and child development resources with the immigrant/refugee parents. We partner with the Boys & Girls Club to offer before, after school and summer educational opportunities for K-12 students. The goal is for each student to graduate from high school with post-secondary plans in place. We also partner with JCCC to offer English classes for adult immigrants four mornings and four evenings a week. We also offer free basic computer skills classes.
We recently began a partnership with KC Scholars to provide certificate and career training opportunities for low-to-modest income individuals, with the goal of increasing their earning power and become more self-sufficient.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
In order to continue offering our basic services we continue to build our volunteer base and our partnerships with local businesses, civic organizations, and communities of faith. Our food program, clothing closet, hygiene item distribution, and medical equipment are all lead by volunteers.
We continue to look for grants to fund our ELL Preschool, where we currently serve 25 children.
Last spring we completed a $6 million addition and renovation project, doubling the area for the Boys & Girls Club. This allowed us to go from 125 to 252 children and youth enrolled last summer.
We also secured a grant from the Kansas Health Foundation to provide a fully operational technology center where we are offering free computer classes.
We recognize that in order for people to transform their lives and become self-sufficient they need opportunities to grow and learn so we will be applying for grants to have a work development center, where people can look for jobs, work on their resumes, and apply for jobs.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?
Paper surveys,
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals,
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With whom is the organization sharing feedback?
The people we serve, Our staff, Our board, Our funders, Our community partners,
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Arms of Grace dba Center of Grace
Board of directorsas of 03/02/2023
Mr Miguel Romero
National Association of Insurance Commissioners
Term: 2023 - 2026
Mrs. Tracy Hemsath
K-State Extension Office
Term: 2023 - 2027
Scott Dandy
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Brent McCune
Coble McCune Wealth Management
Janice Blansit
Director Adult Education Johnson County Community College
John Nelson
BKD Accounting Firm
Bill Elvin
QC Holdings Inc.
Raul Duran
Arvest Bank
Jennifer Meyer
Kansas City Community Gardens
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as: