Heart on Kauffman Foundation campus invites the Kansas City community to come together in common unity

An idea evolved into a heart and now, an installation at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

“This idea of ‘community through common unity’ laid on my heart really, really heavy,” said Jenn Vogel, whose idea inspired the creation of KC Metro Fellowship’s 2026 Parade of Hearts submission.

It came to her while she was doing rideshare services – connecting with people as she travelled with them to destinations across Kansas City. For Vogel, it became an idea in search of an outlet. Parade of Hearts wasn’t something she had even considered.

“I’m the kind of person that goes to the Parade of Hearts public event, runs around, a ball of enthusiasm, getting everybody excited about it. I tell everybody that visits Kansas City, oh, you got to do the scavenger hunt. You got to go see the hearts! They’re part of Kansas City,” Vogel said.

“I would have never … but when I read the call for artists, I was pressed within myself. There was this, this nudging, this pushing. You have to do this.”

Alana Anderson, and her mother, Carmellya Anderson, who met Vogel through KC Metro Fellowship, became her core team. “They were there faithfully. Sometimes it was just the three of us, and sometimes it was people from the community.”

She said this is where the project became a living manifestation of the message.

“We had to rely and depend on people from the community to come together to actually make it happen,” Vogel said. “It’s really cool how it took different people from the community to come together – regardless of our background, our experience, the color of our skin, our beliefs, regardless of our political opinions, any of that – and enjoy the process and learn from one another, appreciate one another, contribute value, and deposits of love to one another during the process. It was really great.”

She hoped the heart and its message would be a permanent fixture in Kansas City’s landscape. She said in her heart of hearts, she knew it would find a special place.

“We are so excited to host it and present it prominently,” said Dr. DeAngela Burns-Wallace, Foundation president and CEO. The heart is stationed at the entrance of the Foundation’s campus at 4801 Rockhill Road in Kansas City, Missouri. “We have thousands of people who come through daily into the Conference Center – and I will tell you, there is always someone out here taking pictures.”

With the hearts the Foundation sponsors, Dr. Burns-Wallace said they aim to select hearts that align with the mission and vision of the Foundation, as well as our founder’s legacy. In 2024, “Takes Heart” designed by Laura Noll Crossley, found its place at the Foundation. The heart focused on women entrepreneurs, which sits at the core of the Foundation’s strategic priorities and Ewing Marion Kauffman’s legacy. It now has a permanent location on the east side of our campus.

This year, Dr. Burns-Wallace said “CommUnity Through CommonUnity” captured what Mr. K believed about the strength of Kansas City, this region, and our community.

“There’s power in community and that’s what I think we saw,” she said.

The heart illustrates puzzle pieces that fit together in skin-toned shades, each labeled with a variety of identities. “I think, for me, it played on the power of community when it comes together, and how the pieces come together,” said Dr. Burns-Wallace.

Vogel said the idea is simple, yet profound.

If I were to put ‘community through common unity’ in a simplified, succinct phrase, it would be, ‘I need you and you need me.’ So, let’s stop just walking by each other and ignoring each other, you know? Let’s walk across the yard and knock on our neighbor’s door.

— Jenn Vogel

“If I were to put ‘community through common unity’ in a simplified, succinct phrase, it would be, ‘I need you and you need me.’ So, let’s stop just walking by each other and ignoring each other, you know?” Vogel said. “Let’s walk across the yard and knock on our neighbor’s door.”

It takes the act of connecting.

“That’s the beauty of art, because it inspires. It’s why we support Parade of Hearts,” Dr. Burns-Wallace said. “Art is a reflection of life. It makes us think. It inspires us. It challenges us, and sometimes it makes us uncomfortable.”

Dr. Burns-Wallace said that’s one of the reasons she loves the puzzle piece design of the heart. “Sometimes, I think people want us to think that we’re siloed or we’re in a box in community – you do this, or you do that – and we’re not. We’re a little bit in your space and you’re a little bit into mine.

“How do community members see themselves in the puzzle pieces? Do they see the through line?” said Dr. Burns-Wallace. “I hope people will explore their role in that connection of community and that unity and how it comes together.”