Perhaps it takes an outsider to see the difference Thrive Allen County has made to the area.
“Of all the counties we serve, Allen County is unique,” said Brenda Sharpe, CEO of the REACH Healthcare Foundation, Kansas City, Kan.
“You have an energized population that is really trying to make a difference in the lives of the underserved,” she said. “There is something different happening in Allen County from everyone across the state.”
Sharpe spoke at Friday night’s Thrive Allen County annual meeting.
The REACH foundation gives about $5 million in grants to six counties between Kansas and Missouri each year. Local beneficiaries over the past several years include Hope Unlimited, the Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center, Thrive Allen County, SAFE BASE and TFI Family Services.
Sharpe credited Thrive Allen County as the impetus for bringing such funds to the area.
Its efforts in combating poverty and poor health outcomes ring a bell with Sharpe, who hails from the western Kansas town of Dighton, population 1,300, which is “dying on the vine,” she said.
The closing of its elementary schools is the death knell for her hometown. Meanwhile, nearby Scott City, which is building a new high school and hospital, is garnering population from its outlying districts.
REACH recently gave $62,000 to Thrive for its daily operations.
“We believe in you,” she said. “Healthy lifestyles do lead to a thriving community.”
SEN. JEFF KING, echoed Sharpe’s praise for Thrive, saying it is the model for “Together We Succeed,” the economic summit held Thursday which drew a large crowd from 17 counties to Iola.
“Thrive has shown that what we want to do in a large region has already worked in Allen County,” King said. “We want to work together to better the lives in southeast Kansas.”
JUST SHY of 300 people gathered for the fourth annual dinner at parish hall of St. John’s Catholic Church.
The night’s theme, “Celebrate Success,” recognized those who have contributed to Thrive’s growing influence across the county.
“We’ve affected more than 2,000 people,” said David Toland, executive director of Thrive.
That reach has made a $2.5 million economic impact on the area through all programs funded by various foundations.
Besides the REACH Foundation, Thrive also receives funding through the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City, Kansas Health Institute and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, as well as private donations and revenue earned from participation in programs.
Its budget this year is $292,186 — which actually is down $100,000 — Toland said, due to a continued weak â¨economy, which affects foundations’ investments.
“It’s been a year of tightening our belt,” Toland said, which has led to intensified fundraising efforts, including a “Thriver” program in which fans can become financial “friends” with their gifts.
On a broader scale, Thrive also is backing the creation of the Allen County Community Foundation in which donations will create a pool of money to fund area nonprofits such as Hope Unlimited, SAFE BASE, the Bowlus Fine Arts Center and Thrive.
“We’re waiting on word from the Kansas Health Institute whether a $500,000 grant will help us kickstart this effort,” Toland said.
Leaving the community foundation as the beneficiary in one’s will is crucial to its funding, Sharpe said. REACH also has donated $25,000 toward seed money for the community foundation.
AS KEYNOTE speaker, Jason Wesco, deputy director of the Kansas Association of the Medically Underserved, said Thrive is working to make Allen Countians “civically engaged.”
“You are waking people up to come together, to get to know each other, to notice our differences, and to attend to each other,” Wesco said.
Wesco cited Iola’s new dental clinic as evidence of reaching out to the poor.
The clinic, managed by the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas, accepts all patients regardless of their ability to pay. It opened in 2008.
Wesco was instrumental in helping bring the dental clinic to Iola. He was then chief operating officer of the CHCSEK, a health center that is federally funded.
After meeting with Thrive representatives, Wesco said, “there was this glimmer of light,” about the possibilities of reaching out to the underserved in Allen County.
Since its opening, the clinic has tallied more than 15,000 patient visits and has worked to recruit more professionals to the area. Dr. Arthur Unruh is the current dentist at the clinic. His wife, Jennifer, works in graphic design for B&W Trailer Hitches in Humboldt. The clinic also has four dental hygienists on staff.
“Yours is a community of ‘yes’ — a rare and precious thing,” Wesco said.
“Yes, SEK is an unhealthy place, yes we are poor, yes we die younger and more violently than our peers, yes we are less well educated.
“But you all know what occurs and you recognize the fact. And that to me is the measure of a community — not being afraid to acknowledge what needs changing and then creating the change necessary to make Allen County a better place to live, play, work and worship.”
“And to my mind, that really gets to the crux of what Thrive is and what Thrive does. I’ve heard it called a community development organization, but that’s not it really. It’s a civic engagement organization. To me there is a critical difference. Community development often is seen as project-based and time-limited. A park, a dental clinic, a new business. Important all, but these are the whats. Civic engagement is the how — how we come together to solve problems, how we engage diversity of thought, how we behave as a community.
“In these days of poor public behavior, political grandstanding, rudeness, blame and the seeming inability to disagree with civility, it’s easy to be discouraged back to sleep. Thrive is a critical vehicle for keeping awake people, awake.
“Thrive is the vehicle by which you, the citizens of Allen County, give voice to your vision for the future. Thrive helps point the way.”
THE NIGHT’S winners represented individuals, organizations, communities and schools that helped raise the level of education and health through various endeavors.
The entire citizenry of Elsmore won the night’s highest award for community excellence named “The Donna,” after the late Donna Talkington, an Iolan who volunteered for numerous local and state organizations.
Elsmore’s efforts to renovate its community center into an exercise center this past year has capped several years’ worth of efforts to bring healthy activities to the small town of 67. It also has created a playground, where before only a portable basketball goal — which had to be moved when cars came — was available recreation for the town’s kids.
SAFE BASE’s Angela Eyster accepted the “Healthy Allen” award for the after-school program’s many efforts to teach children the importance of good nutrition and exercise. Its development of the Wayne Garrett Garden was noted for teaching children the benefits of home-grown produce as well as the fun of gardening. The award came with a $5,000 gift to SAFE BASE from the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City.
Iola’s Donna Culver, Moran’s Kathy Ward, and Humboldt’s Ellery Robertson were recognized as their community’s “Unsung Heroes,” for their behind-the-scenes efforts for safety and healthy living. Each were given $150 from a joint contribution from Community National Bank, Great Southern Bank, Emprise Bank and Commerce Bank.
Iola’s two new dentists, Ryan Coffield and Unruh, were recognized by Adriana Pecina of the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City. The Kansas City foundation gave each a monetary stipend to locate in Iola. Coffield joined the practice of Vernon Lee. Unruh works at the CHCSEK dental clinic.
The Iola Recreation Department won the Recreation award for its commitment to community-wide programs. Since it became a stand-alone department in 2008, involvement in Iola rec programs have increased 30 percent. It also partnered with SAFE BASE this year, playing a lead role in the effort to improve Allen County’s health ranking.
The dental clinic run by the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas was recognized for its contributions to excellence in health and wellness. The vast majority of the clinic’s 1,100 Allen County patients live below the federal poverty level. The clinic also takes patients from surrounding counties.
Humboldt school District 258 was honored for its Excellence in Education. Humboldt was ranked second as one of the “Best of the Best” high schools in the United States, according to U.S. News and World Report. Its advanced technology programs helped propel the high school in the rankings.
Nelda Cuppy and her husband, Larry Manes, and Fred and Joyce Heismeyer were recognized as Volunteers of the Year.” Cuppy and Manes were among the original founders of Thrive and have remained steadfast contributors, generously giving of their time and talents.
In the three short years that the Heismeyers have lived in Iola, they, too, have taken up Thrive’s banner. Joyce Heismeyer was instrumental as CEO of Allen County Hospital of taking over the Jingle Bell Jog responsibilities. Fred, meanwhile, helped Thrive administrators and its board of directors further develop the organization’s goals through his expertise in business management. He also was handy with a hammer when it came to building floats.
Joyce Heismeyer has since accepted a position as chief operating officer at Kansas Heart Hospital in Wichita. Fred is to join her mid-December when his teaching duties at Allen County Community College come to an end.
