Finding their “Yes”: A Night of Connection, Food, and Community in Frankfort
I had the privilege of attending a Parent Cafe hosted in partnership with the Just Say Yes program in Frankfort, Kentucky — and it left me more hopeful than ever about what's possible when schools, families, and community partners show up for each other. We know from the America After 3PM report that cost is the number one barrier keeping Kentucky families out of afterschool and enrichment programs. Just Say Yes was built to answer that barrier directly, and this event was a firsthand look at what that answer looks like in practice.
The kickoff event I had the privilege of attending was for South Frankfort's Parent Power pilot program: a Parent Cafe and Yes Card Orientation for sixth grade families. Free of charge and open to every family in the class, the Yes Card connects students directly to prevention resources and programming without cost ever standing in the way. Parents and caregivers shared a meal together, sixth grade Parent Ambassadors hosted their very first Parent Cafe, and families left with information about the Yes Card and other resources for their students.
More than a meeting
What struck me first was the dinner itself. Thanks to a partnership with FIS Food Service and the FoodPrints teachers and students, the meal was a genuine community effort from start to finish. Middle schoolers shucked the corn. The salad was locally sourced. Ms. Tasha's spaghetti was, by all accounts, delicious. Students even arranged the flower centerpieces on every table.
It's a small detail, but it matters: when kids have a hand in making an event happen, literally putting food on the table, it changes the tone of the whole room. Parents weren't just attending a program. They were sitting down to a meal their own children helped create.
Childcare that lets adults be present
None of this works without childcare, and SSS Track & Field stepped up to keep kids safe, happy, and occupied so their grown-ups could actually focus on the evening, connecting with other parents, learning something new, and taking a breath. Anyone who has tried to have a real conversation while also watching a six-year-old knows how valuable that support is. It's an often-overlooked piece of what makes family engagement programs actually work.
Led by their peers, for their peers
The real heart of the night was the host team, a group of sixth grade Parent Ambassadors who spent hours planning a Parent Cafe experience relevant and meaningful to their peers. Their theme, "Find Your Yes: Helping Our Children Explore, Connect, and Belong," set the tone for the whole evening. There is something powerful about parents building this kind of space for other parents, rather than having it handed down from the top. It's peer support in its truest form.
For anyone unfamiliar with the concept, a Parent Cafe is simply a short, structured time for adults to come together, meet one another, and get the kind of support that only comes from people walking the same road you are.
What comes next
This was just the first stop. The Parent Power pilot will continue with a Parent Cafe for every grade level, along with additional supports designed to strengthen connections among parents, boost home-school collaboration, and deliver peer-to-peer, age-and-stage-appropriate resources for SSS families. The next Parent Cafe is set for September 17th, open to all seventh grade parents and guardians.
And the momentum doesn't stop at SSS. Starting in October, Parent Cafes will open up to all parents and caregivers in the community, hosted at the Paul Sawyier Public Library in partnership with WeAreFrankfort and Franklin County Schools. That kind of full-circle community engagement — a library, a school district, a local nonprofit, and families all rowing in the same direction — is exactly the kind of collaboration Kentucky communities need more of.
If you want to learn more about the broader work behind this program, I'd encourage you to check out what the Just Say Yes team is building at justsayyesky.org.
Why this matters for Kentucky families
That cost barrier we started with doesn't disappear just because a program is well-designed — it takes intentional partnership to actually remove it. That's what made this night stand out. Between the free Yes Card, a meal made possible through community partnership, and childcare provided at no cost to families, every piece of the evening was built so that money was never the reason a parent stayed home. Programs like this don't just chip away at that barrier — they build something more durable alongside it: a genuine sense of community engagement, where families, schools, and local partners are all invested in the same outcome.
This is the kind of innovative, access-focused programming that gives kids — and their grown-ups — a real chance to explore, connect, and belong. We're grateful to have been in the room for it, and we can't wait to see where the Parent Power pilot goes next.
