Cultivate is Interrupting cycles of risk by equipping individuals and families for success through life skills, job skills and supportive relationships.
We interrupt cycles of risk by…
Investing in People by investing in problem solving skills, technical skills and trade skills necessary for a livable wage and job growth
Introducing new Pro-Social Relationships into the lives of at risk families and individuals to provide encouragement and support to our families and individuals
Developing Positive Life Skills is essential resilient and self reflective individuals become supportive and productive members of their families and their communities
Cultivate is a collaborative impact model nonprofit that seeks to build capacity through relationships, collaboration and innovation.
Our current programs include
Strengthening Families Collaboratives, small groups of faith communities partnering with city, county and state agencies and local non profits to create stable families by promoting connection, communication and limit setting in a community setting.
Certificate and Life Skills training program, Johnson County Residential Center, Johnson County Corrections. This program offers currently incarcerated offenders an opportunity to gain technical skills and certificates for in-demand trades concurrently learning and applying life skills integration into work and everyday life environments.
For more information about Cultivate and our work in the community, please contact:
Lee Jost
(913)406-9241 (Text or Call)
ljost@servantcov.org
PO Box 3018
Olathe, KS 66063
3 years ago I met Chantel. She came to Strengthening Families (SFP), a program our church runs in partnership with Johnson County Corrections. Chantel was a long-time addict and her family was exhausted and out of patience. She had been incarcerated in Johnson County Kansas and was in a 6 month in-patient treatment program offered by the county. This was her last chance. Part of her program included her being sent to SFP. When she arrived, I remember, she sat on one side of the table and her parents and daughter sat on the other side. The physical distance between them was nothing compared to the emotional distance that her addiction had created. Over the 14 weeks of class Chantel did a lot of hard work on her life; she addressed her addictions in treatment and worked hard to become a better mother and a daughter. By the end of class Chantel, alongside her family, were planning life after her release, Today, Chantel manages the repair and sales staff for a household appliance company. Chantel owes her new sense of pride and well-being, and possibly her life, to the program that gave her the tools, direction, and support she needed to succeed. She has been sober over 2 years, has a good and sustainable job, and she has rebuilt her family ties. Chantel serves on a nonprofit board with the goal of helping other families like hers.
There are countless families like Chantels and they need the same tools and community support she had, so that they too can experience a new and productive life. So where does help come from? For the last five years I have been facilitating healthy partnerships between state and county agencies and faith communities across the metro. To further foster these partnerships I have started a non-profit called Cultivate. Our mission is: “Interrupting cycles of risk by equipping individuals and families for success through life skills, job skills and supportive relationships.”
So THREE simple things: First, I am asking you to join what God has called me to. Join me in making a difference in the lives of countless folks in Johnson County, people who need to feel love and companionship, and be educated and mentored, as they walk journeys of recovery, reentry and redemption. Partnerships and Programs require my time to coordinate. Financial support would provide me the opportunity to devote my time to expanding our partnerships and program capacity. Financial support can make other things possible, scholarships to our program, equipment and clothing purchases for students, or offsite space to house after care programs and support services for our students and families. A monthly contribution would help secure a future for me working with at risk families and individuals and engaging the faith community across the county. Even a onetime year end gift will help. In faith I have dedicated much of my time to this effort believing God will bring supporters like you to the table.
Second, we need volunteers, people who are willing to understand the challenges people face when their wrong choices envelope their lives. Volunteer opportunities range one time a week coaching to preparing a meal for a family program. Finally and urgently, as I continue to build partnerships and serve the hurting I sense God calling me to dedicate more and more of my time to this task. There is an old axiom we use as church planters, “Prayer is the plow, plant behind the plow.” Join me in plowing God’s harvest field with prayer.
I would love to share more stories like Chantels with you and further explain the transformative power of Cultivate with you. Please also consider supporting our mission through a financial gift. Tax-deductible donations can be made to ‘Cultiivate’ and sent to Lee Jost, PO Box 3018, Olathe KS, 66063. I look forward to hearing from you!