Kansas City's economic vitality is secondary to the quality of life the community affords. The area offers a rich frontier history, tree-lined neighborhoods, and a low cost of living. Plus, its people are open and friendly. For living, working, and raising a family, Kansas City is one of the best places in America.

Of course, Kansas City knows that keeping the community strong takes work and dedication. To help retain a high quality of life for all, the city offers a wide range of innovative programs that target a wide range of individuals. Examples include:

The Silver Haired Legislature (SHL)
SHL is a formally elected body of citizens 60 years of age and older that promotes conscientious legislative advocacy for Missouri's older adults. All members are volunteers who serve without pay.

The Full Employment Council
This local, business-led workforce agency works in partnership with the Workforce Investment Board. It strives to make the system more user friendly to persons with disabilities, the group with the highest unemployment rate in the United States -- consistently over 40 percent.

The Rewarding Youth Achievement Program
This program has helped hundreds of high-achieving youth with meaningful internships, college tours, and $1,000 college scholarships.

Partners in Quality (PIQ)
The vision of PIQ is to build a nationally unsurpassed early learning system in metropolitan Kansas City, ensuring the success of all children in the community. The mission of PIQ is to engage a broad, influential group of metropolitan Kansas City organizations and individuals to design and implement an early learning system through individual commitment and collective action.

ArtsLinks.org
This organization was developed to increase awareness and access to information about Kansas City's metropolitan cultural community. Containing two databases, a metro-wide calendar of cultural events and an index of over 400 arts and humanities organizations, artists, and arts educators, ArtsLinks.org is offered as a free service to local artists, arts organizations and the public. ArtsLinks.org offers increased internet exposure to participating artists and organizations, improved public access to and awareness of local arts events, and increased public knowledge of metro area cultural resources. ArtsLinks.org has also linked with ArtistsRegister.com (Missouri) which provides metropolitan Kansas City and Missouri artists with the opportunity to display and market their work on the internet. The ArtistsRegister.com (Missouri) project is funded by the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency, and American Centuries Companies.