In 2010, the Don Bosco Centers will celebrate 70 years of positively impacting people's lives in Kansas City. Over the last seven decades, the Don Bosco Centers has helped empower tens of thousands of individuals and families to acheive independence, to become self-sufficient, to build better lives.

Don Bosco's story starts in the late 1930's with the Italian community in Columbus Park. The residents of this Northeast Kansas City neighborhood wanted a safe place for their children to play and grow. Money and property were donated, and members of the Holy Name Society and the surrounding community all pitched in with their individual talents. They built the Center from the ground up, brick by brick. From the time the cornerstone was laid, the Don Bosco Community Center took one year to build. The organization officially opened its doors on September 8, 1940. Almost immediately, Don Bosco became a focal point in the Columbus Park and Northeast neighborhoods.

In the 1950's, the community began to change. Men who came back from World War II and the Korean War moved their families to the suburbs, and new people from different backgrounds moved into the Columbus Park and Northeast areas, many of whom were displaced Europeans. Don Bosco began offering English classes and other assistance. The 1960's brought more changes. Don Bosco became heavily involved in the Vietnamese Refugee Resettlement Program, which evolved into the agency's Nationalities Center (this Center was transferred to Jewish Vocational Services in 2003). Remnants of the Nationalities Center remained at Don Bosco in the form of the English as a Second Language Center. In 1974, the Senior Center was created, and in 1990, ground was broken for a dedicated building. Also, 1990 saw the addition of the Counseling and Family Support Centers. Most recently, the Charter High School was established in 2000. Over the decades, Don Bosco continued to offer youth programs through its original Youth Development Center.

After 70 years of evolution, the Don Bosco Community Center is now comprised of six interrelated centers making it a comprehensive social service agency that works to address the daily issues and needs of the residents of Northeast Kansas City.