The Pettis County Community Partnership seeks to provide a safe and caring community which blends and integrates its resources in developing opportunities for children and families to assist them in reaching their highest potential in the pursuit of happy, healthy, and productive lives. The Pettis County Community Partnership shall serve Pettis County, Missouri.

Mission Statement

The Pettis County Community Partnership has a mission centering on improving the quality of life for the citizens of Pettis County. The goals include matching community assets with community needs, acting as a catalyst for community action, and being a clearing house for information availabilitay and exchange.

Programs Offered:

ABC - Activity Builders for Children
Baby Think It Over - Parenting Simulation
Caring Communities - Educare
Family Nutrition Education Program
Healthcare Access & Wellness Initiatives
Literacy Center - Sabados Latinos
MO Reentry Process Steering Group
MRCC Food Co-op
PROP - Putting Roofs Over People
RSVP Retired & Senior Volunteers
Teen Pregnancy Prevention
West Central MO Multicultural Forum
"Blue Ribbon Vision" Partner

Main Contact:

Executive Director Cheri Heeren
Phone : (660)827-0560
Fax: (660)827-0633
pccp@iland.net

PCCP Staff 2008

Cheri Heeren, Robert Vickers, Lee Chronister, Laurie Bell, Majorie Bankovich, Kelly Mangel, Sandra Rodewald, Elizabeth Stewart, Linda Sudduth, David Rimmer

Click here to see the board of directors.

Our History

In 1995, representatives from Pettis County Counseling, Pettis County Health Center, the Center for Human Services, and Central MO Regional Center came together to look at the possibility of working together on community issues in an effort to avoid duplication of services. The Pettis County Community Partnership was borne out of this collaboration. A community needs assessment was conducted and published in 1996. The first full time employee was hired in October 1996. PCCP evolved into an umbrella organization where many programs and services fit comfortably beneath, but yet are tied to the six core results.

In 1997, PCCP was invited to partner in Missouri’s Caring Communities initiative involving seven state agencies. Capacity building activities during 1997 resulted in Caring Communities sites being selected and staff hired in January 1998.

The efforts of PCCP have grown rapidly during the past few years. Through the receipt of five grants (Robert Wood Johnson, VISTA, RSVP, Educare, and Putting Families First) – the partnership has been off and running. In October of 1998 we moved into an office located at 515 S Kentucky, which allowed for a large conference room which is used by many different local agencies as a neutral meeting ground for collaboration and by others such as Sedalia 200 School District, DFS, Foster Parent Association, and Reality Therapy for trainings. We provide in-kind office space for State Fair Community College Family Literacy Center and University Outreach and Extension for their Family Nutrition Specialist.

We work with many different populations, but the one seeing the most change is the Hispanic population. It is growing rapidly and is very fluid. We have supported the community in dealing with the impact of this trend by providing aides for elementary classrooms, full-time translators, and Espanol for Gringos classes, just to name a few.

In response to public concerns, local state legislators convened a group of community, state, and federal agency representatives to discuss the impact and issues associated with the burgeoning Hispanic population in the Pettis County area. The group chose to call itself the West Central Missouri Multicultural Forum and continues to be a vital working group. PCCP now has the responsibility of being the coordinating agency for this initiative. Efforts were made to include participation of members from the Hispanic families. Focus groups for the following issues were formed: Law Enforcement, Business and Industry, Health and Welfare, Education, Transportation, and Government. These groups meet to consider the needs, concerns, and opportunities and recommend appropriate community solutions and action. The Multicultural Forum has a membership of over 200.

PCCP’s efforts to secure a Missouri Migrant Education Center office in Pettis County were successful. We worked with the main office in Monet, Missouri and were able to secure the location of the satellite office in Sedalia rather than Marshall in Saline County. The Migrant Education Center was housed at PCCP until fall of 2001 when they needed space for a preschool and moved to a bigger building.