Natasha’s Notes

A Note from Natasha It is hard to believe within a few weeks, Spring will officially be upon us! Just like all the flowers and buds from trees that we will soon start to see grow, our Pawsperity program has continued to blossom. Over the 9 years we have been…

A Note from Natasha 2025 is off to a busy start! Pawsperity is gearing up for our annual in-depth program evaluation. In addition to our internal tracking, we collaborate with the University of Missouri’s Kansas City Midwest Center for Nonprofit Leadership to survey graduates’ experiences and successes post-graduation. It is…

A Note from Natasha What an incredible year 2024 was for Pawsperity! 41 students graduated, which means each of those individuals, plus their families, have new opportunities and bright futures within the pet grooming industry. Most importantly, their lives are, and will be, transformed because of a stable career that…

A Note from Natasha It is hard to believe that December is upon us and 2024 is coming to a close. Our passionate team has been working hard all year long to continue fighting our mission of breaking the cycle of poverty. Our “all in” approach is not easy. Sometimes…

As we embark upon the upcoming holiday season, our goal is to engage as many new Pawsperity supporters as possible. With our growth and helping more students and families transform their lives, we know we must continue to increase the reach of our donor base. We have a lot happening…

As we gear up for the last few months of the year, we have many exciting endeavors to announce. One biggie is the upcoming launch of our very own Pawsperity magazine, Grooming, Love & Hope. We did take a pause last year from the magazine, with just being in our…

I am sure I’m not the only one loving the recent crisp and cool mornings and evenings. It’s an ideal time to enjoy the fall weather, maybe even with your canine family members, too! While I usually focus my note on our students and graduates, because they are our heart…

Within the last few hot weeks of summer, kids and families are starting to gear up for school. For Pawsperity, August means it is once again time for our students’ annual graduation. It will be the largest group of graduates yet, over 30! We look forward to seeing families, friends,…

I am not sure how it is already past the mid-year mark. As we embark on the hottest time in Kansas City, I hope you are staying cool. For us, it has been a full year since we launched our monthly Paw Membership Program last summer. We are very appreciative…

It is hard to believe summer is here! While many of you may be planning family vacations, we are entrenched in detailed planning for the latter half of 2024 . One exciting project that has been underway is our annual magazine publication. In 2023, with so much happening in our…

As we step into May, I'm thrilled to share the tremendous strides our community is making together. This month, we celebrate not only the growth and success of our mission, but also the support that makes our work possible. While eagerly awaiting the start of one of our largest classes…

It is hard to believe that warmer weather and Spring is finally here. Like all the flowers I’ve been seeing lately, I feel Pawsperity’s community partnerships are blooming, too. A big shout out to Bar K for allowing us to have our first ever Pup Pageant at their location on…

As Pawsperity’s Founding CEO, my goal has always been to impact as many lives as possible. Our new facility has allowed us to help more individuals move out of poverty to not only support themselves, but also their families.   We currently have 25 students preparing for an April class.…

During this giving season, we realize you may be asked to support some wonderful nonprofit organizations within our community and beyond. We hope you will also consider Pawsperity and our life-changing mission. It just so happens that due to a recent opportunity given by the Jack F. and Glenna Y.…

Fall is officially upon us. The air is crisper, leaves are falling, and before you know it, the holiday season will be upon us. For those of you who have attended the Gala in past years, you have not missed an invitation. Later this month we will share some exciting…

This year’s 2023 graduation proved to be an afternoon full of excitement and pride. Students have poured hundreds of hours into our grooming school over the past six to eight months. When asking a graduate if he felt different the day after the ceremony, he said, “Yes, actually. I do.”…

For many families this time of year, summer is wrapping up, vacations are ending, and fall planning is underway. The hustle and bustle of school starting in the next few weeks can make for extra busy schedules with clothes and school supply shopping and everything else deemed “back to school.”…

It is hard to believe that nearly half of the summer has already flown by! For us at Pawsperity, that means we are looking to the last half of an already busy 2023. While we have been in our new facility since the beginning of the year, we haven’t officially…

2023 has been an exciting year for Pawsperity. As you may know, we moved into our brand-new, three times larger facility in January, two doors down from our old building. Shortly after, we launched two new pet-related businesses under the same roof (a market rate grooming salon and a doggie…