In Celebration of the Kc Shepherd's Center 50th Anniversary

Floor Speech

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Mr. CLEAVER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the KC Shepherd's Center on their 50th anniversary and their 5th annual 70 Over 70 Awards. These are outstanding achievements. The efforts of the KC Shepherd's Center to support, celebrate, and empower the older residents of the Greater Kansas City area by fostering independence and connection are truly commendable. As the Nation's first Shepherd's Center, the Kansas City location serves as a model for the 56 Shepherd's Centers across the country working to create a better world for senior citizens. As we look back on the previous five decades, let us take a moment to reflect on all of the invaluable services the KC Shepherd's Center has provided to the aging populations of Missouri's Fifth Congressional District.

By reducing isolation and loneliness, increasing social connection and activity, and creating opportunities for purposeful living, the KC Shepherd's Center makes a profound impact on the overall health of the seniors the organization serves. Moreover, by providing Meals on Wheels to over 1,000 elderly adults each week, the KC Shepherd's Center has made significant progress toward reducing food insecurity among older generations. Together, these efforts ensure that the Greater Kansas City area is a fine place to live for aging populations.

Founded in 1972 by Dr. Elbert Cole, then Pastor at Central United Methodist Church, the KC Shepherd's Center has faithfully lived up to its ``of seniors, by seniors, for seniors'' model. Believing firmly in the importance of listening to the voices and wisdom of older adults, the KC Shepherd's Center has built its programs around the needs expressed by senior citizens in our local communities. In doing so, the KC Shepherd's Center has helped thousands of seniors over the last five decades stay active, receive the care they need, and remain in their own homes as long as possible, leading meaningful, independent lives.

Each year, the KC Shepherd's Center provides services to more than 2,800 older adults in the Kansas City region. Guided by their understanding that social engagement is not a luxury but a basic human need, the volunteers and staff at the Shepherd's Center help reduce the devastating physical, emotional, and mental impacts of isolation and loneliness. To fully understand the impact that the KC Shepherd's Center has on the local senior population, however, one must look not only at numbers and figures, but to the ``Shepherd'' of the 23rd Psalm, from which this organization takes its name. Indeed, the volunteers and staff at the KC Shepherd's Center are ``thy rod and thy staff'' for the thousands of senior citizens they faithfully serve. In other words, they are truly doing God's work.

Madam Speaker, on behalf of Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, I want to congratulate everyone at KC Shepherd's Center on their 50th year anniversary as well as their 5th annual 70 Over 70 Awards. The Shepherd Center's contributions to Kansas City's older population cannot be overstated, and it is a true honor to serve as their Congressman.

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