A second annual JustServe night with the Kansas City Royals took place at the team’s Major League Baseball game on Friday, April 25.
“It was the culmination of wonderful relationships, the impact of JustServe in the community and the selfless service of so many,” said Elder Jeremiah J. Morgan, an Area Seventy living in the Kansas City area.
JustServe is a service provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that posts volunteer needs of organizations, allowing volunteers to search for service opportunities on JustServe.org or the app. Over 5,000 JustServe users are registered in Kansas City alone.
As part of the festivities, attendees participated in a family-friendly tailgate that included food, games and a service project putting together hygiene kits.
JustServe presented the Kansas City JustServe “Nonprofit of the Year” award to Jorge Coromac, director of the Westside Community Action Network Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
“This award recognizes the outstanding work that Westside CAN Center does, impacting so many families by engaging so many amazing volunteers throughout the years,” said Corrie Clasen, JustServe director for the Kansas City area.
According to the Westside CAN Center website, the organization’s mission is to “facilitate the creation of a safe, healthy, viable, civically engaged neighborhood in which to live, play and work.” They strive to accomplish this mission through planting orchards and gardens, providing health and legal services, giving food to those in need, participating in cleanup efforts and organizing other service projects.
“At Westside CAN Center, we are so grateful for the opportunity to celebrate with amazing volunteers that year after year help to implement programs and projects which impact so many families in the KC Metro area and the Westside,” said Coromac.
Prior to the first pitch — which was thrown by Elder Morgan and caught by his wife, Sister Rebecca Morgan — an interfaith youth choir sang the national anthem.
The choir was made up of 88 youth aged 10-18 from the Independence Missouri Stake, Zion Choir and Crescendo Collective youth choirs.
“These youth were extraordinary in standing as a light to the world,” said choir director David Dalley. “Their behavior and respect throughout the experience was exceptional. I could not be more proud of them.”
