“The power behind the puppets:” Kentucky Kids on the Block

“The power behind the puppets:” Kentucky Kids on the Block Story by Eric Modrovich Photos by Corinne Tucker and Megan Geisler Illustrations by Jordan Hale The mission of Kentucky Kids on the Block, according to the organization’s website, is to use puppetry to teach kids and community members to accept differences in people. The Kids on the Block is a national organization that began performing in 1977 and, according to the Mental Health America of Georgia Kids on the Block chapter website, has since performed shows internationally. The Kentucky Kids on the Block office displayed two of their first puppets, made in 1977, in their office in Bowling Green on Sept. 29, 2026. The Bowling Green KYKOB started in 1985, and all of their current puppets have been remade. (Photo by Corinne Tucker) The KYKOB chapter was later founded by Jamie Gaddie Higgins and Alice Kummer in 1985, according to the KYKOB website. Amanda Guerra, a Cave City native and the director of programs and lead puppeteer at KYKOB, said she joined the organization in 2011 soon after graduating from WKU. Guerra said she originally began studying photojournalism on the Hill because she enjoyed photography. She said she enjoyed the photographic aspect of the major much more than she enjoyed writing stories and studied photojournalism at WKU for a few years. Guerra said she didn’t really know what college degree she wanted to pursue at first, so she began to take many different classes from many different fields. She said she later decided to pursue a family child studies degree at WKU. Guerra said soon after graduating from WKU, she wanted to join a nonprofit. She said about a month after submitting her resumé to KYKOB, she was called back for an interview with them. “I didn’t know I was interviewing for a puppeteer position when I went,” Guerra said. “I hadn’t done any puppeteering or anything.” Guerra said KYKOB began in 1985 as Bowling Green Kids on the Block. She said the original idea came during a time when children with disabilities typically attended separate schools from those without them. “(The kids) weren’t taught about the children with special needs, so they weren’t used to seeing someone…with a disability,” Guerra said. “There was a teacher who had a child (with) cerebral palsy and was in a wheelchair, so she wanted to teach her students about this child.” Posters displaying shows performed by Kentucky Kids on the Block lined the walls of the organization’s office on Sept. 30. 2026. (Photo by Corinne Tucker) Guerra said this teacher made a puppet that exactly resembled this child. She said the fact that the teacher made this puppet inspired the idea for Kids on the Block. “The style of puppetry we do is called Bunraku,” Guerra said. “We wear all black, even a black hood and gloves, and we have a black screen behind us.” Guerra said she and the other puppeteers at KYKOB prop their puppets up in front of them while the puppeteers blend in with the black backdrop so that the children focus on the puppets and tend to forget that the performers are there. Amanda Guerra, director of programs and lead puppeteer for Kentucky Kids on the Block, and her associate performed the organization’s show “Child Abuse Prevention” at the organization’s main office located in Bowling Green on Sept. 30, 2026. (Photo by Corinne Tucker) Guerra said children sometimes feel more at ease talking to a puppet, especially during question-and-answer segments in the shows. She said the children will ask these puppets questions that they didn’t feel comfortable with or didn’t know they could ask. “A child might not feel comfortable opening up and talking to an adult about something,” Guerra said. “If an adult has abused them, they may be nervous around adults, so they may be afraid to tell (someone else).” Ashley Reynolds, the executive director of KYKOB from Morgantown, Kentucky, said she has been with the organization for 13 years. She said that their child abuse prevention program is her personal favorite. “I feel like (that program) does the most good by intervening the fastest by helping children…(talk) to a safe adult,” Reynolds said. “So I’m very passionate about the child abuse program, but all of our programs are very impactful and powerful.” Reynolds said she was originally a grant writer at KYKOB before advancing to the newly created position of development director and eventually to executive director. “I got started with Kids on the Block because I was passionate about volunteering and nonprofit work,” Reynolds said. “We have a front row seat to changing children’s lives through an amazing gift…of puppetry.” Claire, a Kentucky Kids on the Block puppet, sits on display in the organization’s office in Bowling Green on Sept. 30, 2026. Claire is used as a character during the informational shows performed by the organization. (Photo by Corinne Tucker) Amanda Guerra, director of programs and lead puppeteer for Kentucky Kids on the Block, said that Renaldo is one of her favorite puppets to perform as because of his personality. “He is really witty and funny,” Guerra said. “He is blind, but he still has this huge personality.” (Photo by Corinne Tucker) Reynolds said the puppeteers communicate many impactful ideas to their audiences. She said even though she does not perform in the shows, she finds and delegates resources, organizations and other people to make them reality. Reynolds said the drawings and letters from kids that KYKOB’s Bowling Green office displays all tell individual perspectives from the kids’ points of view. “Every letter is special,” Reynolds said. “These kids definitely want someone to talk to, and the puppets provide that safe way to communicate.” Alejandra Larios, originally from Guatemala, works as a human resources business partner at Scotty’s Contracting. She said she and the organization are closely affiliated with KYKOB. She said Scotty’s Contracting helps sponsor KYKOB’s Pound the Pavement, a racing event for children held annually to celebrate the new school year. Scotty’s Pound the Pavement Kids Run Committee Chair and Human Resources Business Partner, Alejandra Lairos, helped partner Scotty’s and Kentucky Kids on the Block to put on Scotty’s Pound the Pavement in Bowling Green on Sept. 30, 2026. (Photo by Megan Geisler) Lairos said Scotty’s Contracting has lent its aesthetics and logo to the racing event because they sponsor it. “Pound the Pavement is one of the biggest races that brings in all the money for their school program,” Lairos said. “$55,000 is what we raised to fund their programs for this school year.” Lairos said she watched KYKOB’s puppet shows when she was a child, so she knows firsthand the difference they can make. “Now (I’m) on the other side of the coin of where I’m able to be part (of it) and raise funds,” Lairos said. “(I can help) continue to support them so they can continue programs.” The Scotty’s Pound the Pavement Kids Run Committee, led by Executive Director of Kentucky Kids on the Block Ashley Reynolds, met on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, to discuss the most recent race. Scotty’s Pound the Pavement is an annual children’s running event held at the start of the school year by Kentucky Kids on the Block and Scotty’s Contracting and Stone. (Photo by Megan Geisler) According to kykob.org, the organization performed for over 33,000 children during the 2025-2026 academic year across 39 of Kentucky’s counties. “You touch so many different (people) within our community,” Lairos said. “Whenever you look at the Bowling Green community specifically, we’re so diverse.” Lairos said non-English-speaking parents often rely on their children to speak that language on their behalf. She said she once saw a girl with her family and felt connected to her. Show puppets sit on display in the front room of the Kentucky Kids on the Block building located in Bowling Green on Sept. 30, 2026. The puppets are used as characters during informational shows put on by KYKOB. (Photo by Corinne Tucker) Lairos said that, for almost the past two years, KYKOB has started performing “pre-shows” before the Pound the Pavement races start. She said she enjoys the ones in which healthy habits are explained and addressed. “Being able to have the kids’ attention and teach them about healthy habits…is a full circle moment for them because they see it through their programs,” Lairos said.