KSHB 41 reporter Grant Stephens covers downtown Kansas City, Missouri. He also focuses on stories of consumer interest. Share your story idea with Grant.
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A Kansas nonprofit that has spent years helping mothers across the Kansas City metro is growing again - this time into a space 10 times larger than its previous location.
The All For Moms Foundation recently moved into an 8,000-square-foot facility in Paola, Kansas. Co-founders Allie Lohman and Katie Warner say the expansion is a direct response to rising demand for the organization's services all across the KC metro.
"Now we have the capacity to really bring a huge volume from the community," Lohman said.
The organization started as a nonprofit focused on helping women declutter and organize their homes but has since evolved into a much broader support system for mothers.
Half of the new building operates as a thrift store, which sustains a steady flow of donated goods and generates revenue to fund the organization's programs.
"It gives us a variety of items to pick from, to bring stuff out to the moms, and then also a variety for the community to select items. And that gives us more power to raise money for the programs," Lohman said.
The expanded space also includes a dedicated resource closet where the organization provides free diapers, wipes, and maternity clothing to families in need. Warner said the room is designed to grow into even more.
"This is going to be our resource closet. We're able to help 100 families a month with diapers, wipes. We have maternity clothes. We give those all away for free to support the community. So then also, in the future, it's going to be a space that we can do community baby showers, where moms can come and hang out, where we'll be able to do classes just to support the moms in the area," Warner said.
Mental health has always been at the core of All For Moms' mission. The organization and cleanup cases the nonprofit takes on have grown more extreme over the years, but the focus on mental health has remained constant.
The CDC reports that maternal mental health disorders impact one in five women during or after pregnancy. A review by the Missouri Health Department highlights a shortage of accessible mental health services and providers for mothers and children.
"It's worse when you're a mom, the pressure of all the things you should be achieving, because now you're affecting someone's life," Lohman said.
All For Moms provides six months of free therapy to the women it serves - layering mental health support on top of the physical and material assistance it offers.
Lohman said the organization's growth has always followed the need, and she expects that to continue.
"When we started, it was in our basement, and it was in a storage unit that was 200 square feet, and then we had an office that was 800 square feet. And now we have all this space, and we have a vision for years down the road," Lohman said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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