Nina Falls: A life of caring for her community

Nina Falls laughs as she thinks about how she chose Independence as the place to live.
“I was taking care of my grandmother and Independence was the first place down 24 Highway,” she said with a twinkle in her eye. “I just started coming this way, and it felt like home to me. Small-town living in a big town.”

Growing up
Falls grew up in the inner city of St. Louis. She was born in 1961, the time of the civil rights movement, and her parents were at the center of the activities. Many times, Falls said she would be taken to rallies or protests, but at such a young age, she was not always sure what the message was. However, she said she knew it was important.
“I had a good childhood, very diverse and very spiritual,” she said. “My grandmother and parents were pretty active in the times, and I saw how life should be.”
Music and the arts were also a part of her upbringing, which Falls said led to an eclectic love of music. From the opera to the symphony, Falls said she would go to all kinds of performances. That love for music and the arts has carried on into her adult life.
“My uncle had friends in the symphony, so they would come over some evenings and play,” she said. “I went to a lot of places to see a lot of things. It shaped me into who I am today.”
But it was her grandmother, a church minister, who made the biggest impact on her life.
“I attended a lot of church, but that is where my grandmother shined,” she said. “She was a mover and shaker, an excellent person.”

A life of service
At a young age Falls said she knew what she was meant to do with her life – service.
“I was 5 years old, and I knew that serving others was what I was supposed to do,” she said. “I knew that community service and empowering people was important.”
Elmer Falls, Nina’s husband, agrees, saying his wife has always been on the same path – doing what she can to help those in need.
“It doesn’t surprise me that she is doing what she is today because this is always something she has done,” he said. “She always responds to everyone’s needs and wants. If someone needs something, she makes sure they get it.”
So when she and her family moved to Independence in the early 1990s, she began volunteering at St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church in Independence as a youth director and missionary. That work led to the start of what she has been doing for 18 years, working with children and their families.
“As a young woman, I wanted to work with community organizations,” she said. “I just wanted to make sure our local community was supported.”
Falls started volunteering with after-school activities at Randall Elementary School, then she found LINC, the Local Investment Commission, a nationally recognized organization with the goal of improving the lives of children and families in Kansas City, specifically through its Caring Communities program within the schools.
Beginning as a volunteer, Falls later became the Caring Communities coordinator for Thomas Hart Benton and Bryant elementary schools, a position she loves. She describes herself as the “person that families come to talk about their lives” and to see how they can improve their situation.
“I like the people a lot. I like for those people to feel like they can do anything they want to do,” she said. “Caring Communities pushes them to do what is already inside. They are being empowered.”
LINC and Caring Communities have left an imprint on Falls, and the same can be said for her impact on Caring Communities.
“What a great person,” said Leslie Hochsprung, principal at Benton. “She has certainly made an difference here with the lives she has touched.”
Falls said she is the person who finds the answers, something she has done since she was a child.
“People always came to me with some sort of situation. Even at that (young) age, I felt like life was serious, and instead of playing games, I wanted to help,” she said. “I would look information up in the library, in telephone books, even on TV shows. I was always looking up information to give to people. I am not supposed to be the important one. I am supposed to be the information giver.”


Communitywide caring
But it is not just Caring Communities where Falls has made an impact. She has been active in Truman Heritage Habitat for Humanity, she was a mediator on the Fort Osage Parent Advisory Board, she started the Hawthorne Apartments Tenant Association and food pantry, and she was involved in the Community of Concerned Citizens organization and Parents Anonymous Advisory Board.
And she remains involved with the Independence Heritage Festival – a project dear to her heart. Started in 2005, the goal of the festival is to celebrate the community’s growing diversity and heritage.
“It has brought so many diverse people together in our community,” she said. “I think Independence is a great place to live, and it is changing. This is one of the ways we can make sure that everyone in Independence feels welcome in our community.”
But it is her children – Ryan, Jermaine, Jared and Alex – who bring joy to her life each day. The values she was raised with, Falls said, are the same values she wants to instill in her children.
“They are wonderful and creative people,” she said. “But I want to make sure they have empathy. I would take that over money every day. Empathy and courage are the two most important things they could have.”
Elmer Falls said Nina is not only the perfect person for Caring Communities but to help other organizations in the community.
“She is the most pleasant, caring and thoughtful person anyone could ever imagine,” he said. “She is just doing what she has being doing since she was a kid. I don’t think she knows anything else.”
Falls said if she has learned anything, it is the importance of women’s role in society. She said it was not that long ago when the woman’s job was to stay home, cook and raise the children. Now, Falls said, things are different.
“We can now come together and empower each other as women,” she said. “It used to be the men that got the job done. Now, we need to make sure that we both get the job done. We don’t have to look to men for the answers. We can look to ourselves.”