We were lucky to catch up with Porsche Seals recently and have shared our conversation below.

Porsche , appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

Risk taking varies as we grow and learn. When I was a child, my parents were always searching for ways to offer my brother and I the best education they could offer and afford. So, my risk taking looked like changing schools sometimes as a child, but I always pushed myself to make the best of my new environment by making friends and getting involved in clubs and activities . As I grew older, I took risk like joining a school club in high school that chose me to take a trip on the Amtrak from Kansas City to Chicago, then from Chicago to Washington D.C to protest for animal rights with other teens. Then as a young adult, my risk taking led me to the love of my life by, hitting send on an instant message to say, “Hi” to a guy I had never met before. We fell in love and have been married over 20 years. Following my heart and taking the risk to stay home and raise my children in a climate that encouraged me to prioritize myself afforded me the experience of 13 years of homemaking and spending time with my children that I will never be able to replicate. Risk taking pushed me to go back to school and finish my degree as an adult learner. Risk taking pushed me to reach out to a company I love and ask them for a job they were not hiring for. Risk taking pushed me to apply for a position I did not have all the qualifications for, but I believed that I could accomplish what was in my heart. When I think about risk, I think about trusting God’s plan for my life and the knowing that if he opens a door for me, I can not allow fear to keep me from accomplishing my goals. Risk taking means understanding that the worst they could say ‘no,’ my passion and heart for what is inside me can not be replicated, and if nothing else- I gained an experience.

Porsche , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Well, my name is Porsche Seals. I am currently the Executive Director for the Caring for Kids Network. Our vision is to see all children have hope and reach their highest potential. We do this by mobilizing community organizations to work collaboratively through a goal-based school partnership to build long-lasting relationships to support schools, students, and families. When it is all said and done, we hope to see transformation in our communities so that children have a hopeful future. The initial model for our dream came out of a prayer movement, the a desire to see churches serve schools without an agenda. However, we have extended our collaboration to include the brilliance of the business community and the passion of the nonprofit and civic sectors. While every school is essentially its own mini collective impact model, we tackle common challenges that we learn from school leaders such as academics, staff morale, student and family support, and family engagement. What sets us a part from other organizations is our true belief that we are simply better together. We deeply desire to see collaborative, relationship focused, goal-based school partnerships exist. It might take a little longer to get to the goal, but pooling resources allows us to serve more children and families. Because of those three pillars, it makes me most proud when I see school communities flourish and begin to build trust where it did not exist. You would be surprised how quickly you can build trust when people simply follow through on commitments. Essentially, I want people to know that anyone can serve in their communities, we just happen to believe that one of the most valuable places to start and see impact is in school partnership.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When I first became the executive director there were so many things I did not know about my position. All I knew was that I had the passion for the organization and a willingness to be learn and fill in the gaps where I lacked understanding of the role and responsibilities. Now, the challenge was hard, but it has been worth every tear, late night, and early morning. My first task was getting out of the “red” and making budget my first year, during the pandemic. This was no easy task. I took every virtual course available to learn about virtual fundraisers, while trying to simply learn daily task. We met will funders virtually, wrote letters, made phone calls and yet still experienced a 41% deficit in the second quarter. While this was devastating, I was determined not to quit. After much prayer and coaching, I advised the board of directors to approve a more conservative budget. Then I decided to host a virtual event. Although we worked hard, we did not reach out goal. However, I kept pushing, and we did make budget by the end of the year. Today we are fiscally stable and have established a contingency fund for organizational emergencies, offer health reimbursement accounts to our team, and have grown the organization to serve of 47, 000 students through out school partnerships. So, even though times get hard, it is imperative to stay the course and focus on the goal.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

When I think about leading a team, I think about the golden rule, “treat others the way you want to be treated.” I absolutely LOVE my team. I respect my team. I deeply value the words, expertise, and knowledge of my team. It is important to hold each other accountable by creating a community of trust and integrity. We hold one another accountable through the power of prayer and our core values. I check- in with staff one-on-one to not only discuss projects, but to check on them as people. It is important to exercise compassion and empathy as a leader. I celebrate wins from work and home. If there are challenges, I work to help create solutions for pain points instead of treating misses like failures. We acknowledge birthdays, celebrate anniversaries, and encourage mental and physical health support. We keep the boundaries of each person in the forefront of our minds. Simply put, we treat each other they way we want to be treated.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.caringforkidskc.org/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/caringforkidskc
• Youtube: Caring for Kids KC