Best of KC 2023: Halley Vincent is the shape of punks to come

Halley Vincent loads up her riding lawnmower and prepares for delivery. // Courtesy photo

This month, we published The Pitch’s annual Best of Kansas City issue. You can browse the results of the readers’ poll here. The issue also included a list, compiled and written by our editorial staff, of some of our current favorite things about Kansas City in 2023. We’ll be publishing these items online throughout November. 

Teenage activist and entrepreneur Halley Vincent is making waves in the Shawnee community by spearheading literacy in her neighborhood and beyond. 

After spending much of her time volunteering at her local animal shelter, and reading books to dogs and cats awaiting homes, she knew she had to take her passion full force. At eight years old, she founded her nonprofit organization, Paws Up KC, with a mission to tackle community service issues of animal adoption and literacy at the same time. All of the organization’s proceeds go towards local charities such as Chain of Hope, Great Plains SPCA, and the Humane Society of Greater Kansas City.

“I think people don’t realize that books, literacy, and animals really do connect in many ways,” says Halley. “I like to say that the same people that have a stack of books next to their beds are usually the same people that have a cat in their lap or a dog at their feet.” 

To further expand her mission, Vincent put Paws Up KC on wheels by transforming a broken lawn mower into a bookmobile, which she uses to provide free books to the community while seeking donations to benefit local animal shelters. 

In addition to her nonprofit, Halley has also worked to fight injustices in her local community. One of the most notable is moving Shawnee Mission North High School to change its mascot after nearly 100 years in 2021.