Paige O'Connor (from left), Rory O'Connor, Cormac O'Connor, his sister Maeve O'Connor, Senator Jean Carnahan and Dara O'Connor celebrate the opening of the new Buck O'Neil Intergenerational Garden and Playground. Not pictured is Aishling O'Connor.

If you're vice president of operations for Walton Construction, on the board of the Builders' Association, a car mechanic, a brewmeister and the father of four children, chances are you're a busy guy. Add to that a devotion to charitable causes, shared with your wife, and you probably have seldom a second to waste.

That describes Rory O'Connor of Kansas City's Walton Construc-tion, one of the leading general contractors in the region. What makes O'Connor and his family unusual is that his four children, Aishling, 13; Maeve, 11; Cormac, 9; and Dara, 6, not only participate in charity work, but select the family's projects and then manage them.

It all started when wife Paige wanted a volunteer project they could all work on. There were not many agencies who wanted children volunteers, so the kids decided to collect crayons to give to hospitals and clinics. More than 500,000 crayons later, the kids moved on--to providing presents for children of the Good Samaritan Project; creating and delivering toy bags for children at Operation Breakthrough and the Jackson County correctional facility; selling lollipops to raise money for The Dream Factory; collecting and distributing baby supplies for migrant farm workers; and finding books to help set up a library for Sioux Indian children in South Dakota.

Their latest project was last summer when the family, with the help of Walton Construction, local businesses and the Tom and Kelly Bergin family, finished building a playground and inter-generational garden at Swope Ridge Geriatric Center for at-risk children and older residents.

Two years ago, the O'Connors received the "Hall Family Matters," the Heart of America Family Services' award for volunteerism. Aishling has also received the middle school Prudential Volunteerism Award for the state of Kansas.

"Volunteering gives us time together," says Rory O'Connor, deservedly proud of both Walton's and his family's commitment to the community. "But also, as Paige and I look back, many people we didn't know helped us out. We want to give back. In the bigger circle of life, these are the important things." caption Paige O'Connor (from left), Rory O'Connor, Cormac O'Connor, his sister Maeve O'Connor, Senator Jean Carnahan and Dara O'Connor celebrate the opening of the new Buck O'Neil Intergenerational Garden and Playground. Not pictured is Aishling O'Connor.

Tim Shellenberger

The Kansas City office of Ellerbe Becket is known worldwide for its design and engineering work on stadiums, arenas and other sports facilities. But one of its "divisions" here that probably isn't well known is its Ministry of Fun/Community Outreach.

That's the group of employees, volunteers all, who not only help create camaraderie and team spirit through holiday parties, float trips and the like, but also work to help both children and adults.

Tim Shellenberger is a perfect example of what can happen when you help out. He attributes his promotion to staffing manager partly to the leadership skills he gained while chairperson of the philanthropic group. "It was a terrific opportunity to work on some key projects that help kids and Kansas City," he says.

Those projects he's helped direct include the CUBE program-- Center for Understanding our Built Environment--which helps kids appreciate buildings and architecture around them. Its primary vehicle is a golf tournament where employees and vendors play to raise money.

Christmas in October is another major community effort he's helped coordinate at the company. Employees take the day to paint and renovate homes of people who can't do the work themselves. He was also campaign chair for the company's annual United Way fund drive where he helped double donations that year. With his help, the firm has also participated in BE2, done pro bono design work for the Mattie Rhodes art center and designed the new office for Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

Only 31, Shellenberger has completed his masters in architecture and is in the process of taking his licensing exams. Despite--or perhaps because of--his workload and commitment he's made to the community, Shellenberger is a happy guy. "I'm passionate about what I do. I feel so very fortunate to be in architecture, which I love. I enjoy seeing a project's effect on a lot of people. I am one of the few lucky people who absolutely love to get up and come to work every day." caption Tim Shellenberger

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