A picture of compassion, an example of fellowship, and an advocate for education is how Rev. Dr. Robert (Bob) Lee Hill described Deidre Anderson, Chief Executive Officer of United Inner City Services, as he presented her with the 2019 Evelyn Wasserstrom Award.

Anderson graciously received the award on Jan. 13, 2019, at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Interfaith Service at Community Christian Church. Each year the Kansas City chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference bestows the honor on a community leader who is committed to freedom and justice for minorities and oppressed people.

“Receiving this award is an indication that our community recognizes that the education of ALL CHILDREN is essential to our future,” Anderson said. “I hope that as a city, state, and nation, we will look beyond our differences and make it a priority to fill a gap that exists in too many children’s lives – access to a quality early childhood education.”

In her acceptance speech, Anderson said that access to quality early childhood education is a civil rights issue and respectfully challenged the audience to learn more about Pre-K education as it directly impacts our community.

“The early years are the formative years, and we have the opportunity to develop kind, compassionate, and well-informed citizens and leaders,” Anderson said.

Rev. Hill said he was pleased to present the award to Anderson as she is consistently saying YES to all children, all community members, and all opportunities to improve early childhood education.

Click here to view The Kansas City Star’s coverage of Anderson receiving the award.