Kansas City Native Channels Healing Through Music at SevenDays Community Kindness Festival
Overland Park, Kansas: April 13 marks a sobering decade since the shocking shootings at two local Jewish facilities that devastated the tight-knit community and rocked the nation. The fateful day claimed the lives of Reat Underwood, William Corporon, and Terri LaManno.
In the aftermath of the tragic incident, Mindy Corporon, the bereaved daughter of William and mother of Reat, established a non-profit organization, SevenDays. Her mission was to channel the overwhelming grief into a force for good, pioneering a movement to combat hate by fostering an environment of kindness, understanding, and open dialogue.
Music: A Beacon of Hope
A promising beacon within this collective healing journey has been the transformative power of music. Amidst the heartache, residents found solace in creating, sharing, and appreciating music together. This integral role of music has been encapsulated in the Community Kindness Festival, staged at the iconic Jewish Community Center as an extension of SevenDays’ initiatives.
Enter Kate Cosentino: bridging connection through music
The festival’s scheduled headliner, Kate Cosentino, is not just another musician. An Overland Park native with a personal connection to the tragic incident, Cosentino – and her music – is a living testament to the resilience of the affected community.
“My cousin Terri LaManno was one of the victims, and a lot of my friends were auditioning inside during that,” shares an emotional Cosentino. “Navigating the tragedy was harrowing. Like a deer caught in the headlights, I was left grappling with a crushing sense of helplessness.”
In an inspiring demonstration of strength and unity, Cosentino clung to her music in the subsequent years, allowing the power of rhythm and melody to heal her emotional wounds. The singer-songwriter soon transitioned into a full-time career, taking her story – and her music – all the way to Nashville. Garnering nationwide recognition from her stint on NBC’s “The Voice”, where she advanced till the Knockout Round, Cosentino has reinforced the power of her passion.
Keeping the Message Alive
Cosentino’s homecoming performance at the festival is a testament to her dedication to community healing and spreading kindness. She embodies the spirit of the community – a tenacity to rebuild from the ashes, using her tragedy as a springboard for empathy, resilience, and understanding. “When it’s your community, the reality hits in an even deeper way than it ever possibly could.”
As she returns to the very stage where her personal journey to healing took flight, Cosentino hopes to inspire empathy among her spectators. The pain of her past, now converted into beautiful melodies, is her beacon of hope, illuminating the path to a more tolerant, kinder community.
In Concert With Music
Music, in this context, moves beyond a simple performance – it becomes an empathetic language, a therapeutic tool, and a beacon of hope that transforms the narrative of tragedy. As the beloved Kansas City native leads the Community Kindness Festival, SevenDays re-emphasizes its commitment to community healing – an echo of resilience that starts with one note, one song, one act of kindness at a time.
