Kiwanis, MOMs edge closer to goal

Moms of Miracles (MOMs) have watched a miracle unfold in Iola the past few months.
Today the group has in hand $132,000, with a goal $153,000 in sight for its campaign to erect playground equipment in Riverside Park for special needs kids.
“I knew the community would help, but this is beyond any expectations we have had,” said Lesley Skahan, on behalf of MOMs.
Skahan also is quick to give credit to Mike and Nancy Ford, as well the Iola Kiwanis Club.
“We couldn’t have accomplished what we have without them,” she added. “Mike and Nancy have helped so much with marketing and grant writing.”
MOMs was organized in 2011 so mothers of children with special needs could share concerns and triumphs, as well as have time to themselves.
Lesley and Matt Skahan’s son, Mason, 4, is one of the special needs kids who will benefit immensely with accessible playground equipment. He suffers from a rare genetic disorder, Pitt-Hopkins syndrome, which has confined him to a wheelchair.
Lesley told Iola Rotarians in November that her son “is an inspiration to us, and others. He is a very happy little boy, and we can see the ‘wheels’ turning” in his mind.
The unique playground equipment is sure to draw people from a wide area, Skahan said.

WHEN SKAHAN and Mike Ford spoke to Rotarians in November, proceeds stood at $90,000. Fundraisers and grants, including $25,000 from the Kansas Health Foundation, Wichita, have pushed the total to $132,000.
Terry Sparks, an Iola State Farm Insurance agent, came up with the idea of “Quarters for a Cause,” for the MOMs effort.
For years Sparks has tossed quarters in a glass jar in his office, 15 W. Madison Ave. Noting that the deadline for the MOMs’ fundraising was drawing near — Jan. 31 — he called and offered to donate his jar of quarters, which he estimated at about $1,500.
He proposed the habit be taken a step further with a “Quarters for a Cause” campaign, which will have plastic jugs placed strategically in Iola and area towns to raise funds for the playground equipment.
The MOMs embraced the idea and over the weekend started putting out the jars.
“We have quite a few places, and may add some,” Skahan said, including those at Emprise Bank in Iola and Moran; Iola Pharmacy; Iola Vision Source; Class Act Saloon, Iola; Landmark National Bank in Iola and Kincaid; Community National Bank, Iola; Thrive Allen County; Fashionette, Blue Mound; Around the Corner coffee shop, Iola; Hairbenders, Yates Center; Kincaid-Selma United Methodist Church; Great Southern Bank, Iola; the Feed Bunk and Piqua State Bank, Yates Center.
Another fundraiser is at Iola’s Community National Bank, where employees are paying $5 each Friday for the privilege of wearing jeans to work. The bank is adding $10 to each employee’s contribution.

SKAHAN is confident the $153,000 goal will be realized, but even if it isn’t, fundraising will be close enough that the lion’s share of playground equipment will be installed.
The Jan. 31 deadline is in place so equipment may be ordered in February to arrive so it may be installed in April and ready for use when weather warms enough for outdoor play.
A tad more than the goal may be necessary, Skahan added, noting that concrete work and other odds and ends will increase cost a smidgen. Volunteers labor will help with installation.
While this project is winding down, Skahan and other MOMs also looking ahead to other things they can do for all special needs children.
Another possible venture is acquisition of large outdoor musical instruments, made of aluminum and weather resistant, which could be placed in the park as an adjunct to the playground equipment. They would be wheelchair accessible and also could be used by adults, for recreation and to express their musical creativity.

ANYONE WHO wants to contribute to the playground fund, in any amount, may contact Skahan at 620-363-4340 or Ford at 620-365-9494. Donations may also be mailed to the Allen County Community Foundation, 12 W. Jackson.