Rep. Cleaver Presents Check to Thank You Walt Disney, Inc., Highlights Local Impact of $2 Million in Community Project Funding for the KC IMAGINE Project
(Kansas City, MO) – Yesterday, U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) hosted a press conference and check presentation to highlight the $2 million in Community Project Funding he secured for Thank You Walt Disney, Inc. and the KC IMAGINE Project. The funding will be used to restore the historic Laugh-O-Gram Studio for members of the public, strengthen professional development programs, and provide enrichment for the surrounding neighborhood.
The facility will become a center for digital media training, job creation, and entrepreneurship serving low-income Missourians in the immediate community and the Kansas City metro. Thank You Walt Disney, Inc.’s KC IMAGINE Project is one of fifteen community projects Congressman Cleaver championed and was able to secure nearly $40 million in federal funding for that will directly benefit residents of the Fifth Congressional District of Missouri.
“I am as happy as a Mahomes at Disney the day after a Chiefs Super Bowl win to have secured this federal funding for the rehabilitation of the historic Laugh-O-Gram Studio,” said Congressman Cleaver. “The efforts of Thank You Walt Disney, Inc. to preserve and restore this landmark to its glory for future generations of innovators and entrepreneurs makes a clear statement that Kansas City isn’t some Mickey Mouse town, but a city of great historical significance, at the forefront of innovation and community.”
“The cornerstone of the Laugh-O-Gram Studio project supports all the rest of a building,” said Butch Rigby, Thank You Walt Disney, Inc. founder. “This federal funding is the cornerstone to additional streams of funding and the restoration of the studio building.”
“This building, designed by Kansas City architect Nelle Peters, is of tremendous importance to the history of the Walk Disney Company and the entire Hollywood animation industry,” said Disney Historian and President of Thank You Walt Disney, Inc. “With Congressman Cleaver’s help, it will become a major asset to not only the Troost community, but the Kansas City community at large.”
Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Greenwood, Blue Springs, North Kansas City, Gladstone, and Claycomo. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee and Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance.