About Us

Engaged citizens build a strong community.

StandUp Blue Springs, launched in 2002 as Blue Springs WellLink, engages citizens in health, safety and community enrichment initiatives.    

Program Goals:

  1. The agency’s health initiatives improve access to quality healthcare for the uninsured and underserved in the Blue Springs area.
  2. The agency’s health initiatives educate children and families on healthy lifestyle activities.
  3. The agency’s citizen engagement initiatives provide an open forum and serve as an incubator for citizen ideas to improve the quality of life in Blue Springs.
Our agency serves 4,000 children and families in Blue Springs and Lake Tapawingo, and portions of Grain Valley, Independence and Lee’s Summit each year.  Volunteers are drawn from Eastern Jackson County. 
 
Our flagship program, Dental for Kids, serves more than 2,100 children annually with free dental care, dental education, outreach and supplies. 

Our newest initiative, Let’s Move! Blue Springs, is a local collaborative program that joins the national Let’s Move! framework with local resources to promote physical activity and healthy eating.  

Current StandUp Blue Springs activities include: 
 
  • Dental for Kids
  • Sparkle Smile Academy (children’s dental education)
  • Princess Party fundraiser for Dental for Kids
    (Annual event the first Saturday of October)
    — Volunteer or Contribute Funds - click here

  • Let’s Move! Blue Springs
  • Meet Me for a Mile fitness program
  • StandUp and Volunteer
  • StandUp Community Summits

    • Demonstrated Success:

    þ   Thanks to the generosity of local dentists and dental specialists, our Dental for Kids program has provided more than $400,000 worth of free dental care to low-income children in the Blue Springs School District since 2003.

    þ Out of StandUp Summit #2, volunteers leveraged $30,000 in private and public support through RUFF to create an off-leash dog park in Blue Springs for pet and owner health and socialization. 

    þ   Out of StandUp Summit #2, volunteers leveraged $110,000 in state and local funding to create a Blue Springs Frisbee© disc golf course to promote public health and address childhood obesity.

    þ Published two editions of the WellLink Directory to link residents to local health, safety and wellness resources.

    þ Staff and volunteers created an award-winning video about domestic violence in Blue Springs to draw attention to the issue in the community.

     Awards and Accolades:

    In 2010, the Blue Springs School District Board of Education honored StandUp Blue Springs and its Dental for Kids program for its contributions to students, the District and the community.  The REACH Healthcare Foundation, United Way of Greater Kansas City and Eastland Community Foundation have cited the Dental for Kids program as a community model for providing free dental care for children in need.  
     
    In 2006, StandUp Blue Springs received an Innovation Award from the Missouri Municipal League, which spotlights successful programs that can benefit other communities.