Stephanie Betancourt's Contact Details

Stephanie Betancourt's Company Details

The Don Bosco Centers

Kansas City, Missouri, US • 100 - 249 Employees
Social Services

The Don Bosco Center was built by residents of northeast Kansas City who wanted a safe place for their children. In the late 1930s, the Italian community in Columbus Park decided that the children in their neighborhood needed a safe place to go with meaningful recreational activities. Members of the community volunteered their time to build the center on evenings and weekends. Construction of the original building took less than one year. When it was complete in 1940, the Don Bosco Center fulfilled its original mission by becoming the focal point for young people in Columbus Park and the Northeast. Our agency was originally founded for youth services. However, as the community changed over the years, Don Bosco grew beyond its original mission to meet the challenge of adaptation. The influx of immigrants to the northeast neighborhoods after World War II created a need for English classes and assistance with acclimation to life in the United States. This was the beginning of what became the Nationalities Service Center in 1975. The new Senior Center building was constructed in 1990 due to the tremendous increase in the number of Northeast seniors and their growing needs. The Don Bosco Center’s mission is to empower the immigrant and ethnically diverse population of all ages in the Kansas City metropolitan area to be self sufficient and contributing members of their community. In an effort to fulfill this mission and continue meeting the needs of our diverse community, Don Bosco offers two core programs which provide a unique service to the community. They are: English as a Second Language - enabling immigrants and refugees to become fully acclimated, productive and participatory citizens in the greater Kansas City community. The Senior Center - promoting the well being and independence of older adults in the community through education, recreation, and nutritious meals served on-site and delivered to homes of frail elderly.