Laura McKnight leads a charitable lifestyle around the clock. By day she's the president and CEO of the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, and by night she and her husband, Clay Barker, deliberately choose to make charitable giving part of their lives.

Together Laura and Clay enjoy a busy household with five daughters ages 2–19. One day, two-year-old Lindy, admitted to Children's Mercy Hospital for an outpatient procedure, suffered severe complications.

"Philanthropy has created a margin of excellence at Children's Mercy Hospital that enables it to hire the best and the brightest," Laura said. "Unquestionably, the technical proficiency of the staff at Children's Mercy is why Lindy is here today."

Laura and Clay support Children's Mercy and all of the organizations they are passionate about through the very modest but mighty Laura McKnight and Clay Barker Fund, established at the Community Foundation in 2001. They love Kansas City and they give back because they know that every gift — even a small gift — makes a difference.