Operation Breakthrough is a childcare and social services facility in Kansas City that serves over 400 low-income children daily. It provides educational programming, health services, and family support to empower children and their families. Waddell & Reed has supported Operation Breakthrough for over seven years through donation drives for school supplies, Thanksgiving meals, winter coats, and over $200,000 in donations. A grant would help Operation Breakthrough continue providing free services to vulnerable children in need of support.

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2. Whom did we serve?
Operation Breakthrough,
the largest single-site early education child care and social
services facility in Missouri, serving over 400 children daily from
Kansas City’s urban core.
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More than 80 percent of the Operation Breakthrough children come
from families who survive on income of less than $15,000 per year.
Operation Breakthrough’s core mission is to help children in poverty
reach their potential by providing them a safe, loving and educational
environment while their parents are working, attending school or job
hunting.
Operation Breakthrough is open 11 hours a day, five days a week, to
children ages 6 weeks to 13 years.
In addition to Head Start educational programming for children ages 0 to
6, and homework help, literacy activities and extra-curriculars for
school-age children, Operation Breakthrough also provides children with
on-site health and dental care, mental health programming and
occupational and speech therapy.
To empower the children’s families, Operation Breakthrough provides an
adult health clinic, adult therapy and support groups, assistance with job
and housing searches, case management, a food pantry, a clothing closet
and referrals to community resources.

3. What did we accomplish?
Waddell & Reed has proudly supported Operation
Breakthrough in many ways for more than seven years.
For the specific time frame June 1 – November 30, 2013,
we have held two independent drives: one is for school
supplies for the children with a total of 26 boxes filled
with pens, pencils, notebooks, etc.; the other initiative is
our annual Thanksgiving Dinner Box drive that provides a
turkey and all the Thanksgiving trimmings for more than
475 low-income families.
School
supply
drive
In August 2013 we also held an internal auction for
another 501c3 charity, with many items from that auction
donated toward filling backpacks for Operation
Breakthrough. In October, we invited 3- to 5-year-olds
from OB to trick or treat in our offices. Various work
teams at Waddell & Reed have collected can openers and
Halloween costumes for the OB children this fall, as well
as shopping for 150 new winter coats for the children.

4. What did we accomplish?
Winter coats
for 150 children
Trick or treating!

5. What did we accomplish?
Fixings for
Thanksgiving dinner
for more than 475
low-income families.

6. Plan for ongoing relationship with OB?
Leadership and employees have donated more than $200,000 to OB over the past six
years. This funding is especially important to Operation Breakthrough in the face of
government cuts. OB must raise 65 percent of its budget every year in private donations.
Of special note, in honor of Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. CEO and Chairman Henry J. “Hank”
Herrmann’s 40th Anniversary in 2011, the company raised more than $100,000 toward the
renovation, operation and stocking of Operation Breakthrough’s food pantry, which feeds
more than 500 people each month, 75 percent of them children. Employees and their
families also have volunteered innumerable hours to OB, shopping for children’s winter coats,
painting offices and therapy rooms, collecting thousands of toothbrushes for OB families, and
conducting holiday celebrations for the children. The Waddell & Reed family looks to continue
demonstrating its support into 2014, as we greatly value this very meaningful partnership with
one of the area’s important non-profit organizations.
CEO Hank
Herrmann with
Karen Herrmann
and OB children.

7. What would OB do with grant funds?
A grant from the Super Service Challenge would help Operation Breakthrough continue to
provide free services to the Kansas City children who are most in need. One in 4 of OB’s
children is homeless or in foster care. These vulnerable children arrive at OB’s doorstep
needing almost everything, from dry diapers to a hot meal, from immunizations to caring
teachers, from lively lessons to undisturbed naps. All of the above is provided every
weekday at no cost to parents who are struggling just to pay rent and utilities on minimum
wage. Operation Breakthrough could not provide a “one-stop-shop” of family services
without charitable donations. With recent cuts to Head Start and food stamps, fundraising
in the private sector is even more vital for the future of the 400+ children who count on
Operation Breakthrough for safety, education and TLC.