Team Conecta hosts Kick for Kindness fundraiser in Topeka

Team Conecta hosted Kick for Kindness at Gage Park Accessible Diamond in Topeka on Aug. 1, turning a low-barrier kickball tournament into a fundraiser for Street Team Ministry. The event tied the game directly to the cause, giving adult players and supporters a chance to compete while helping a local nonprofit with a very specific mission.

A Team Conecta post said the tournament started at 10:00 a.m. at Gage Park Accessible Diamond Field and featured food trucks, drinks, games for the whole family and local vendors, with all proceeds benefiting Street Team Ministry. The venue, Gage Park Accessible Ball Diamond at 4330 SW Conservatory Drive, is part of Shawnee County Parks and Recreation’s public park system, and the accessible setting helped make the event open to a broader mix of participants and spectators.

Street Team Ministry describes itself as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit primarily based in Topeka that works to reintegrate homeless individuals back into society and provide recovery support. The organization says its mobile outreach "meets people where they are" and pairs physical supplies with spiritual support. That makes a charity tournament like Kick for Kindness more than a social outing. It becomes a direct way to connect a recreational crowd with a ministry built around immediate, practical outreach.

Kickball is a natural fit for that model because it is easy to stage, easy to follow and easy to organize around teams in a park setting. The sport brings enough structure to feel competitive, but not so much formality that it shuts out casual participants or families. At Gage Park, that formula turned a familiar summer game into a fundraising engine, with the accessible diamond and team format doing the work of drawing people in and channeling their attention toward Street Team Ministry’s effort in Topeka.