Ethan Kushnir is a Kansas City native and co-founder of a family-run business alongside his father and brother bringing PayMore, a nationally franchised electronics buyback store to the local market with six stores coming to KC and seven stores coming to St. Louis. After earning his Finance degree from the University of Kansas, Ethan began his career as a financial analyst at Prime Capital Financial, a wealth management firm. He later transitioned into entrepreneurship, combining his background in finance with a hands-on approach to operations, growth strategy, and customer experience. Passionate about technology, sustainability, and small business development, Ethan is focused on building a trusted local brand in the electronics resale space.
OVERVIEW:
We are a locally owned franchisee of PayMore, specializing in buying and selling new, used, and broken electronics. In addition to offering great value on devices, we provide a free e-waste recycling program to help the community responsibly dispose of old electronics. All items—whether sold or recycled—are professionally data-wiped to ensure customer privacy. We're committed to expanding our footprint with six locations planned in the Kansas City area and seven in the St. Louis area.
Erin Little is the founder and CEO of sisu, a mental health skill-building platform for teens and their families. For over a decade, Erin has sought to advance healthcare and educational equity at the global level through her work as a serial healthtech founder and educator, and as an advisor to NGOs and prominent early-stage investment groups.
OVERVIEW:
Sisu isn’t just our name — it’s our mission. Rooted in the Finnish concept of unshakable resilience in the face of adversity, sisu represents the quiet strength that keeps showing up, even when the road is long and hard. We’ve built our mental health platform around that same principle of holistic support: helping teens, their families, and schools find the strength to navigate emotional challenges before they become crises.
Our comprehensive solution combines Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) software with on-demand telehealth services, allowing schools and youth-serving organizations to identify and address mental health needs early, personalize interventions, and support the entire ecosystem — students, caregivers, and educators. Sisu is more than a tool. It’s a declaration: every teen deserves the strength to rise, the support to thrive, and a system that believes in their future.
We are again partnering with Walmart (157 & Metcalf) to sponsor a Holiday Shopping night with KidsTLC on Monday, December 1st from 4:30 to 8:30 pm. As in the past, members and spouses of our club (along with members of the TLC Staff) will assist the Kids from TLC in shopping and wrapping gifts for others in their families. Each will have a budget/limit of about $75, depending on how many come to shop (expecting 70 plus).
More details will be provided at upcoming meetings and through this Newsletter. In the meantime, please follow this link to sign up for as many of the four 1-hour shifts that night as you can…or stay for the entire evening as so many have in the past.
After shopping, we will help them wrap their gifts in the break room.
The plan is for the kids to come in four groups at 4:30; 5:30; 6:30 and 7:30 pm to make things more manageable for TLC and, hopefully, give the Kids a better shopping experience (each group to have about 15-20 kids). Please consider signing up for at least two of the four shifts starting at 4:30; 5:30; 6:30 and 7:30 pm.
Questions? Contact Mark Parman 913.827.7143 or Bill Morton (913.706.2582)
The November Festival of Trees, a fundraising event held November 19–23 at the Kansas City Holiday Boutique in the Overland Park Convention Center. This event raises essential funds to help provide warmth and support during the winter holiday season to low-income families in Johnson County, Kansas. The proceeds directly support the JCCB organization and help fund the Holiday Shop in December. Additionally, as Rosann Newcomer & Nina Kimbrough will discuss at one of your upcoming September meetings, the Johnson County Christmas Bureau offers other volunteer opportunities throughout the year.
Here is an outline the current volunteer needs. Generally, we need volunteers to engage with shoppers, assist with bidding, and help with package pick-up during shop hours. Most shifts are between 3 and 4 hours. Average of 4 shifts daily with around 20 openings per shift daily.
All volunteers will receive a free ticket to shop at the Holiday Boutique—a fantastic opportunity to enjoy this exciting shopping event. The JCCB FOT also partners with the Johnson County Young Matrons, who provide volunteers to staff the Coat & Baggage Check, which represents additional shift needs beyond the roles listed above. Organizing this fundraising event truly requires a community effort, and we would be very grateful for the support and assistance of the Overland Park Rotary Club.
Our District 5710 Million Dollar Challenge is gaining great momentum. Rotary International is working to grow the Endowment Fund to $2.025 billion by the end of 2025, and our district has pledged to raise $1 million toward that goal. We’re getting closer every day, and your participation can help us finish strong.
So far, more than $820,000 in gifts, pledges, and bequests have been fully documented, with additional commitments in process that could more than double that total. Many Rotarians have discovered that they had already included Rotary in their estate plans but had not documented it with The Rotary Foundation. This campaign is helping uncover those hidden legacies.
Every club is encouraged to participate by:
Naming a Foundation Chair and Committee
Hosting two programs each year about the Rotary Foundation and Endowment
Asking members to consider making an endowment gift in support of this campaign
Our goal is simple but powerful: to ensure that Rotary’s work continues to change lives for generations to come. Gifts can be made through outright donations, estate plans, or other giving strategies. Every contribution helps build a lasting legacy of service and impact. If you would like to learn more about how to participate or document an existing gift, please reach out to me at marc@searcyfinancial.com. Let’s continue spreading awareness and make this campaign a success.
We’re excited to invite you to Instrument Cleaning Day on Saturday, November 22nd at Meyer Music Blue Springs (1512 SW Hwy 40, Blue Springs, MO 64015).
Volunteer Shifts:
10:00am – 12:30pm
12:00pm – 2:30pm
Volunteers can sign up for one or both shifts here:
Save the date: OP Rotary Club will host a Holiday Social on Wednesday, December 3rd from 5:00 to 7:00 PM at the DoubleTree Hotel. Spouses or significant other guests are welcome. Guest charge is $25.00. The Holiday Social will replace our normal breakfast meeting.
FUTURE OF HOPE
The Future of Hope Committee will meet on Wednesday, 11/5, immediately after the club meeting to disperse this year's remaining grant funds. All club members are welcome to attend!
Youth Exchange Update!
Mike & Johnna Meyer are in Paris, France and Océ (last year's Exchange Student) came to visit them and show them around her home country!
Gleaning at Johnson Farms Plants and Pumpkins
17701 Holmes Rd,
Belton, MO 64012
November 8, 2025
10 am to 3 pm
Apples will be the main crop to harvest on the 8th. There probably will be some cabbage and winter squash that will be available too, however due to the unusually warm fall weather there doesn’t appear to be much of an abundance left of other vegetables.
Appropriate clothing for the conditions of the day should be worn by each gleaner - think layers, boots, hats, gloves, and sunscreen. Closed toed shoes are required. Johnson Farms will provide palletized bins, picking baskets & some short step ladders (however, most of the picking can be done from the ground). Johnson Farms will also provide have plenty of bottled drinking water and is working on lunch details for the crew. (It probably will be chili and vegetable soup).
All gleaners must complete a waiver prior to attending. The waiver can be found at this link.
Also, make sure to follow us and engage with our social media to help grow our club and community presence:
📸 Instagram:@overlandparkkansasrotary
📘 Facebook:
The November Festival of Trees, a fundraising event held November 19–23 at the Kansas City Holiday Boutique in the Overland Park Convention Center. This event raises essential funds to help provide warmth and support during the winter holiday season to low-income families in Johnson County, Kansas. The proceeds directly support the JCCB organization and help fund the Holiday Shop in December. Additionally, as Rosann Newcomer & Nina Kimbrough will discuss at one of your upcoming September meetings, the Johnson County Christmas Bureau offers other volunteer opportunities throughout the year.
Fellow Rotarians,
