Kathleen Webb ’79 said she is simply doing the work God has given her to do, building on the foundation of her educational experience at Newman.
That work — helping those living in poverty and facing other challenges — led to Webb’s selection as the 2025 Beata Netemeyer Distinguished Alumni Award at her alma mater.
The award is named for the first provincial of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ (ASC) and honors alumni who continue her spirit of service as they minister with others, bringing about the mission of Christ.
Webb graduated from Kansas Newman College — now known as Newman University — with a degree in history and secondary education. Although she didn’t become a teacher, children have remained the heart of her passion.
Today, she is helping children in Wichita and their families receive essential care as they navigate hardships.
Webb’s nominators highlighted her emphasis on caring for people and uplifting families.
“Kathleen has and carries out her passion for helping those living in poverty and others struggling with persistent mental illness. She has trusted and leaned on God throughout her journey and is faithfully obedient to do God’s work,” the nominators wrote.
Webb leads a nonprofit that has grown from $50,000 to $1.3 million in revenue in just seven years.
Children First supports students and families through several initiatives, including mental health services in schools, garden-to-kitchen programs and emergency support for housing, food and stability.
Webb also co-founded the St. Patrick Advocates of Divine Mercy to help the poor, which has provided $105,000 in aid to more than 500 people.
An educational experience to remember
When Webb decided to attend Newman, she considered either nursing or teaching to be good careers for women at the time, Webb recalled.
“Since my mom tried to teach me to cut up a chicken and I couldn’t do it,” said Webb, “I kind of figured maybe nursing was out for me. And so I said, ‘I’m gonna become a teacher. … I’ll just become a history teacher,’ and that was that.”
Newman was her first Catholic education experience, and she wasn’t sure what to expect. After meeting some of the ASC sisters, she immediately felt welcome and her feelings of apprehension melted away.
She became highly involved at Newman, joining the history club led by the late Sister Charlotte Rohrbach, ASC, serving as a resident assistant for on-campus housing and performing in a talent show with professors.
She recalled how her academic experience at Newman was different from anything she’d been exposed to up until that point.
“Writing all those history papers and learning how to research was a game changer for me,” she said, crediting those skills for her success in grant writing today.
She added, “Newman gave me my first Catholic education — and a foundation for everything that came next.”
Leaning into God’s work
Webb said that her faith journey changed throughout her life. About eight years ago, she changed the way she prays, she said, which hugely impacted her life.
“I prayed to God and I said, ‘Look, I’m really open, God, to what you want me to do. Just send me where you need me.’ And that was that. Every day, I would just tell God that I’m open and ask Him what He needed me to do. And my life changed dramatically in ways that I would’ve never expected.”
She and her husband, Michael, settled into his childhood home, where nearby neighborhoods were no stranger to poverty. Webb said she was a “dash-in, dash-out” churchgoer at the time before one day feeling called to become more involved.
Her priest mentioned a widow who lived nearby was in crisis. Webb sat with that information for a couple of weeks before she felt compelled to ask if anyone else had helped out yet.
It was the opening she’d prayed about.
After connecting Webb with the widow, her priest asked if she would be interested in serving on the parish council.
As she considered the request, Webb said, “I walk in (to my living room), my husband’s on the couch, and I said, ‘Do you get to say no to Jesus?’ And he said, ‘No, I don’t think so.’”
This change in Webb’s life led to more than she’d imagined at the time. The more people she connected with, the more fulfilled she became. She was eventually led to Children First.
“I was working with my daughter — we had taken over the organization — and we were doing a girls’ STEM program (science, technology, engineering, math) and that kind of ran its course. And then one day, she said she was ready to move on and do a different job.
“Children First was dormant for a little while, and one night I just woke up and I thought, ‘I’m gonna make myself the boss.’”
With no budget for the organization, Webb used LinkedIn to make community connections; soon, she had a full board and volunteers to help make a difference in the lives of children.
She began by helping put social workers into schools that were without counselors.
“I was invited to a dinner at Newman, and I’m sitting at this dinner, and it’s two days before a major grant is due, and I needed a sister to help sponsor. And lo and behold, I’m seated right next to Sister Sue.
“I explained to her what I was trying to accomplish. She explained to me that she was a social worker working in Kansas City and knew exactly what I was trying to do. She told me to put her name on that application. And that was the very first grant that we won. And then we were in business. From there, we had enough money to hire a part-time social worker, and that’s how we got started with that.”
Today, Children First has social workers in 16 Catholic schools in Wichita, Hutchinson and southeast Kansas.
“That is God’s work. That is not me. I am just a surfer on God’s wave.”
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