Jake Schloegel, the owner of Schloegel Design Remodel, is a longtime volunteer with the Urban Ranger Corps, a Kansas City nonprofit that provides training, academic support and summer jobs to youths in the city’s core.

Schloegel, who serves as the group’s board chairman, got involved with the Urban Rangers after reading about the program in the newspaper. Father John Wandless, then pastor at St. Louis Parish, started the corps, which paid teenagers to fix up houses near the church property.

“Being in that business of remodeling homes and being inclined to do community service work, I thought, hey, this could be a great combination,” Schloegel said.

Today, the Urban Rangers mow vacant lots and do painting and other exterior maintenance for homes in the Swope Parkway-Bruce R. Watkins Drive area. The goal is to help the young men obtain valuable skills while also making a positive impact on the community.

“I think there are a lot of good young men in that area who are being put in a box,” he said. “They’re kids. That’s all they are, like we all were at one time.”

The Urban Rangers are gearing up for the Urban Rendezvous, an annual fundraising dinner on Oct. 24 at the Downtown Marriott. KMBC-TV meteorologist Bryan Busby will be the emcee. Tickets cost $125. For more information, visit www.urckc.org.