August 14, 2026
Dysart Taylor shareholder/director Amanda Pennington Ketchum recently spoke and volunteered at the Lawyers Encouraging Academic Performance’s (LEAP) Back-to-School events benefiting Operation Breakthrough (OB). Ketchum currently serves as the president of LEAP.
To kick off the Back-to-School initiatives, LEAP held a school supply sorting event where volunteers sorted supplies and backpacks to be distributed to OB students. The sorting event coincided with a Play Date at OB, where school-age kids crafted, read and played with the volunteer lawyers. The group then held a reception for the 2026 Judge Margaret Sauer Sunshine Awards, where Ketchum spoke and award winners Maggie Boyd and Judge Alok Ahuja were recognized, and Judge Sauer was fondly remembered for her important work at OB.
The following day, LEAP hosted the Back-to-School Breakfast and provided backpacks and school supplies to the children, as well as a $20,000 donation for school uniforms.
“Everything about [the event] was wonderful. And it’s because of the obvious love that each of you has for our students,” Operation Breakthrough’s Director of Stewardship & Planned Giving Jennifer Heinemann said. “From the kids who got to play with young lawyers, to the kindergarteners who performed at the Sunshine Awards, to the hundreds of students, ages 4 to 18, who met you today — you made every one of them feel important.”
Lawyers Encouraging Academic Performance (LEAP) was created in 1994 as a not-for-profit foundation to further, promote and expand upon existing community service of lawyers in Greater Kansas City with a specific focus upon initiatives intended to encourage young persons in their pursuit of an education. Ketchum has been involved with LEAP since early in her career and has served as a board member for over a decade, and she currently serves as the board’s president.
Contact Amanda Pennington Ketchum at aketchum@dysarttaylor.com or (816) 714-3066 for more information.