Tenacious. That’s the word Madison uses to describe her artwork and herself. Madison has been painting and drawing since she was 3, and has continually grown as an artist. Presently, she has a collection displayed as part of the SWELL show. She calls it “Expressional Growth”, inspired by the way she has grown as a person and an artist. It’s …
Gifts That Give Back
Holiday Gift Inspiration Download Your Holiday Greeting Card Here Day 1: Give the Gift of Security One of our 16-year-old girls who lives in a HALO Home had to go to the hospital for a high fever. When the nurse asked if she had a safe place to sleep, she said, “For the first time in my life, I can say yes.” …
Painting, Virtual Reality, Professional Development at the HALO Learning Center
October has been an eventful month in the Kansas City Learning Center. We welcomed back 13 Fairfax kids to start a new year of programming. Fairfax is an alternative high school and has partnered with HALO for two years. As a background for our readers, all of Fairfax classes are online, and in the past, most of the students struggled …
Kelvin’s Success Story
Kelvin came to our Timau home in Kenya when he was just a little boy. His mother had died of TB, and he and his little brother had nowhere to go. He approached HALO Founder Rebecca Welsh, begging for a place to stay. The Timau home was at capacity and short on funding, and not in a place to take …
2nd Annual HALO I Defy the Odds Inspiration Breakfast Recap
On Thursday, September 20, HALO hosted its 2nd Annual “I Defy the Odds” Inspiration Breakfast at Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. Erin Duba and Holly Mihalovich started the event with a powerful speech describing why they choose to support HALO: “I support HALO because I’m inspired every day by these young people that open themselves to receiving and healing” and …
HALO Youth Mark is a Rising Basketball Star
Mark moved into our Bukesa home in Uganda when he was 10 years old. He stayed with us until recently, when he moved into boarding school. He is only in high school, but is already on his way to becoming a basketball star. His love for basketball started at a young age when he admired the players at Makerere University, …
I Defy the Odds Photoshoot
At last year’s HALO breakfast, Founder Rebecca Welsh said, “When we tell a child that she’s valued, that she’s an absolute treasure, and then finally she believes it, that’s when we see the best of this world. That’s the magic of love…she then slowly becomes a force that can and will defy the odds.” The healing power of HALO reaches …
Tiana’s Journey
Tiana came to HALO through a local mentoring program. She knew she wanted to go to college, but was struggling making ends meet and finding money for tuition. Five years later, she has consistently given back to HALO, volunteering with everything from special events to leading workshops for other HALO youth in our Learning Center. She has taught Professional Development …
14 Kansas City HALO Youth Graduate to a Brighter Future
HALO believes every child deserves the foundation of a family. Part of being that foundation is celebrating important accomplishments alongside our youth. Last Wednesday night, our partner Fairfax Learning Center held their High School graduation ceremony. Of the 38 children who graduated from Fairfax Learning Center, 14 were HALO youth. HALO has been partnering with Fairfax Learning Center since 2016. …
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s…your local superheroes!
We’ve been working on a very special project with Gordon Parks Elementary in Kansas City. Over the past few months, HALO hosted art workshops for the kindergarten and 3rd grade classrooms. For the final project we worked with the kids to create their own superhero. We talked through what kind of super powers they want, what their costumes look like, …