A family mantra led a Kansas City woman into a life of service and empowering women

Editor's Note: This interview is part of an ongoing Star series highlighting Kansas Citians from historically under-represented communities and their impact on our region. The series builds on The Star's efforts to improve coverage of local communities. Do you know someone we should interview? Share ideas with our reporter J.M. Banks.
Anna Thomas-Rios recalls one of the earliest lessons her parents taught her: 'To whom much is given, much is expected.' This saying has shaped her life, guiding her to believe that there is always more good to be done.
Coming from a family of educators, Thomas-Rios followed their path and used education as a tool to make a positive impact on students. Through the years in her spare time, she has volunteered with various community organizations, including The Family Conservancy and the Deron Cherry Charitable Foundation.
For the past six years, she has been honored to be a part of the Junior League of Kansas City, one of the oldest women's organizations in the area. For over a century, the group has united women from all walks of life to address critical community issues such as poverty, abuse, and women's self-sufficiency.
Thomas-Rios is currently organizing the 8th Annual C3KC Conference on April 8. The event brings together various members from corporate, civic, and community sectors to address and solve pressing issues facing the community.
Recently, Thomas-Rios sat down with The Kansas City Star's culture and identity reporter, J.M. Banks, to talk about the importance of volunteering, honing her leadership skills and managing the upcoming conference.
Banks: Can you tell me about your childhood and upbringing?
Thomas-Rios I grew up here in Kansas City and my childhood was pretty cool. My parents very much were the type who believed to whom much is given, much is expected and really instilled the need to give back. A lot of my family was actually in education just throughout the generations, my dad's grandfather was a freed slave and a professor at Morehouse (College). I went to Shawnee Mission East High School and I went to college at UMKC (University of Missouri- Kansas City).
I have been fortunate to get two graduate degrees in education and an MBA from Ottawa University. After that I went into higher education administration and worked at Johnson County Community College for a long time. Now I work as the education project manager for the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. Education and community engagement is something that was just kind of in my family.
It is just something I seemed to fall into throughout my life, and have always been involved with volunteer work in the community. I feel like I have been very fortunate and just have always wanted to give back because I have found it is a constructive and positive way to spend my free time.
How did you get involved with the Junior League of Kansas City?
I have been working with the Junior League of Kansas City for six years now. I was really just looking for the opportunity to volunteer and I was more familiar the league headquarters. We have a building over on 92nd Street near Ward Parkway and I grew up in the area so I became familiar with what the Junior League is just by proximity.
What kind of work does the Junior League of Kansas City do in the metro?
We are a women's training organization and we train women to be of service in their community and to be leaders civically. Our main causes are focused towards women and children and we have programs targeted towards addressing abuse, neglect, childhood development and women's self-sustainability. For over 100 years we have been doing our work to make Kansas City a better place.
We have had a hand in so many causes in the history of this city from saving Union Station to the building of the zoo. Because we are so old there really haven't been too many areas we haven't touched with our service and we just try to help to make a better community.
Has the Junior League of Kansas City done anything special to commemorate Women's History Month?
Yes, we have woken up every day as women and have gone into the world to do the work that needs to be done. This month we do the same work and make the same contributions as we do year round. That is what the women of my organization have been doing for generations even before they gave us a month and said we get to have recognition for our history.
We are living history and we make an impact in the community with the work we do everyday. Not just for women and creating civically minded women, but for the community as a whole
How do you think your time with the Junior League of Kansas City has helped you develop as a leader in the community?
The league has helped shape me as a leader by making sure that I know that I have a voice in the community. I have gotten self-esteem in a since, and have really built my confidence in making connections and networking. It has been super helpful just teaching me how to navigate in a room full of people and build better bonds with people who are also doing work to better the community.
It has given me the opportunity to work with others and understand their work in the community. It has really reinforced my obligation to make sure that I am doing as much as I can to be of service to the community and taking care of everybody.
Can you tell me about the C3KC Conference you are organizing?
It's a day-long community conference coordinated for 100 people. It's an all volunteer-led effort which is really amazing to think about. It is based on the idea of collaboration and the Junior League is a very big believer in bringing different parts of our community together. We feel like we can manage and solve some of Kansas City's biggest problems by working together.
C3 stands for corporate, civic and community and we bring together those three sectors to discuss topics like houselessness, food insecurity, issues in the workforce and early childhood education. Everything you can think of is really on our minds and up for discussion at the conference.
Have there been any challenges you have faced in putting together the conference?
I cant say there really has been any challenges that I have run into. We have so many people working together to put this on and when it comes to the league we have so many people approach us who want to be apart of it. We have such a large network of people we work with, our own internal process and event advisors so I really haven't ran into anything too difficult.
What do you think is the most rewarding aspect of the work you do with the Junior League of Kansas City?
I think being a part of this conference every year has been one of the most rewarding things. Being able to put everything together, bring everybody together and then the feeling of accomplishment the day of seeing everybody in the room.
What would you say to a woman who is interested in getting involved with the Junior League of Kansas City?
I always tell women that the league has given me more than I could ever give it. What I love about the league is it brings me in contact with women I would probably never meet. We all come from different backgrounds and we all have different perspectives. We do not all have the same ideas on leadership but we work together to learn and grow. Like I said, it is all about collaborating and working together in a more efficient way to resolve issues. Whether that's something within the league or we are trying to produce something for the city.
What are some of your organizations goals for the future?
I just want the league to continue to evolve based on the principle of collaboration by working together with community organizations and with community leaders. We all love Kansas City and believe it is a great town and we are going to continue to do our part in making it the best it can be. I think we have been doing work in the community for this long and I can only see us continuing to grow over the next century.
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