Newsletter - December 2021 Edition

IN THIS ISSUE: Happy Holidays! Don't Forget! Enroll for 2022/Report for 2021 PRIDE Community Happenings Plan Your Next Cleanup Campaign The Kansas PRIDE Toolkit Continuing Opportunities Section External Funding Resources Trees & Shrubs Up for a Community Visit? We Are, Too! Catch Us on Facebook & Facebook Live! Events Calendar 2021 Kansas PRIDE Communities

Happy Holidays to our Kansas PRIDE Volunteers! And a quick note to let you know that Kansas PRIDE Staff will be out of the office from December 23-31, 2021. Take care, stay well and have a Happy New Year!

Don't Forget! Enroll for 2022/Report for 2021 The weather outside might not be pleasant (hope it is though!) and you might be spending some time inside over the holidays. If you find yourself bored, what could be more exciting than enrolling for the 2022 Kansas PRIDE Program Year!? Nothing, that's what! We recommend you wait to enroll until after January 3rd to guarantee that Jan or I will be in the office to assist in case of any issues, but you can report your amazing 2021 efforts any time before then! And just a reminder, your Resolution is good until January of 2024! Just don't forget to carry over your current resolution number in when you enroll. You can see the new resolution date details in the October 2021 newsletter. CLICK HERE to get your reporting done if you want to get it out of the way before things start getting chaotic when the holidays roll around. You can find video guides on how to enroll and report on our Education page. We're here for you if you need any help! Thank you for all you do! - Jaime Menon, Co-Coordinator of the Kansas PRIDE Program, jmenon@ksu.edu

PRIDE Community Happenings

We received word from Alton PRIDE about their recent Halloween activities. Local youth celebrated while learning about the importance of soil, thanks to a party held in the Alton Community room sponsored by Alton PRIDE and the Osborne County Conservation District. The October "Yard of the Month" (pictured above) winner generously donated their $25 prize back to the group. You can read more about this and other projects on their Facebook page, linked above.

Delia Community PRIDE reports that their Delia Days Festival was a great success this year. It was a beautiful day, there was a nice sized crowd, and many volunteers to make the day exciting and fun. Horse rides, games, art, and train rides kept the kids busy, while adults enjoyed the washers and kickball tournament and quilt show. Something new this year was a dance featuring a band with a local connection. Area newspapers helped promote the event before, and reported on its happenings after.

Anthony PRIDE held a free community and alumni street dance with over 500 estimated to be in attendance. The dance followed the community's 9/11 Memorial remembrance, and was held during the weekend of Chaparral High School's 50th year of uniting the communities of Anthony and Harper. The street dance was an event for young and old alike, and was made possible by the sponsorship of 23 local businesses which paid for the band and incidental expenses.

Plan Your Next Cleanup Campaign It's that season again when we like to remind you about the colder months being a great time to plan your upcoming spring and summer projects. For those of you thinking of a cleanup/fix-up campaign, K-State Research and Extension's publication MF931 might be of interest to you: Conducting a Community Cleanup Fix-up Campaign - available free as a PDF. - Jan Steen, Kansas PRIDE Program Co-Coordinator, jmsteen@ksu.edu

Does the conversation above strike a chord, or seem familiar? Well, we've got a new and improved Kansas PRIDE Toolkit that has resources for Getting Started, Fiscal Responsibility, Staying on Target, Telling Your Story, and Volunteer Nature, Motivation and Maintenance! Click on the conversation above or FOLLOW THIS LINK to check out your toolkit!

CONTINUING OPPORTUNITIES SECTION

From K-State Research and Extension GRANT WRITING WORKSHOPS In 2021, K-State Research and Extension Grant-writing workshops went online. The online workshop is designed to be presented to participants in two 3-hour courses and will cost $60. Local Extension agents are the hosts for the workshops, but since workshops are online, you can attend any workshop in the state. There are two ways to participate: go to our website (https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/community/) and under "Events" on the right side you can register at a scheduled workshop or ask your local extension agent to host. For more information, contact Nancy Daniels nkdaniels@ksu.edu

FIRST FRIDAY E-CALLS K-State Research and Extension offers entrepreneurship webinars every first Friday of the month.  Visit our Webpage for all past sessions. Registration information for upcoming sessions can be found HERE. FIRST IMPRESSIONS Ever wonder what people visiting your town think? First impressions are important as the community works to improve the overall quality of life and develop its sense of place. Interested in First Impressions for your community? Visit our Webpage to learn more.

External Funding Opportunities Want to put your new grant writing skills to use? Here are some opportunities for project funding outside of the Kansas PRIDE grants: The USDA’s Community Forest Program offers a competitive grant to government, public sector, and/or non-profit entities whereby such entities are eligible to apply for grants to establish community forests through acquisition of private forest land from a willing seller. The purpose is to establish community forests by protecting forest land from conversion to non-forest uses. The amount of grant funding requested cannot exceed $600,000. Deadline is January 10, 2022. For more information, visit: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=336503 The American Academy of Dermatology is offering up to $8,000 for shade structures in outdoor locations that are not protected from the sun (playgrounds, pools, other recreation spaces). You must be recommended by an AAD member dermatologist, so if you know of one, reach out to them. Deadline is December 31 and winners will be announced in March. More details on the opportunity can be found at this link: https://www.aad.org/member/career/volunteer/shade The Skatepark Project offers grants for new skatepark construction, skateable art sculptures, active city space conversion (where skateboarding is legalized in shared spaces), and accessibility improvements or repairs. This is an ongoing opportunity with no set application deadline. Amounts available are $1,000 to $300,000, with the average for the National Program being $10,000 and range for Built to Play grants being $50,000 to $300,000. You can find details on eligibility and how to apply here: https://skatepark.org/the-skatepark-project-grants/ Additional Funding Resources Is your Kansas PRIDE community looking for funding to help with certain projects? Let us know what the project is, how much you're seeking, and what your timeline looks like. We have access to a grants database and likely can give you some links to potential funding sources. Just email us at PRIDE@ksu.edu with your request and project idea. Not a Kansas PRIDE community? This resource is a great reason to join! You can also reach out to your local Extension office which should have access to the database as well. - Jan Steen, Kansas PRIDE Program Co-Coordinator, jmsteen@ksu.edu

Trees & Shrubs Considering a community tree or shrub conservation planting project? The Kansas Forest Service will be taking seedling orders for 2022 starting December 1 and continuing through May 1. A link to the online ordering form and a printable form can be found on their website: https://www.kansasforests.org/conservation_trees/. - Jan Steen, Kansas PRIDE Program Co-Coordinator, jmsteen@ksu.edu

Up for a Virtual, or in Person, Community Visit? We Are, Too! Our offer at the end of each newsletter is to engage your community remotely, or in person! Our model has changed slightly - we prefer virtual for initial steps as our introduction videos can be shared widely throughout the community. We would be more than happy to host a Zoom meeting where your PRIDE group members, city council members, chamber participants, Masonic Lodge, or other groups could individually log in to see the presentation or discussion and ask questions. In person is a great way to get assessments or other community planning done, and we are happy to do a survey read out as a neutral party, or help you through a Strategic Doing session. Just e-mail us at PRIDE@ksu.edu to set up a schedule. To view pre-recorded webinars giving an introduction to the program, step-by-step instructions on how to enroll or report, fundraising, recruiting volunteers, and more, head over to our Education page for more. Keep your eye on that page, as we will be updating our Toolkit soon! - Jan Steen and Jaime Menon, Kansas PRIDE Program Co-Coordinators, PRIDE@ksu.edu We often post items of interest on our Facebook page between newsletters. Grants, volunteer training, project ideas, and even the occasional Live stream will pop up. Click the button below to like and follow the program activity there: Like Us On Facebook!

EVENTS CALENDAR Quarterly Report Dates: January 15th, April 15th, July 15th, October 15th  Awards Deadlines: May 1st, September 1st

2021 Kansas PRIDE Communities The following communities are currently enrolled in the Kansas PRIDE program. To enroll your community visit our Enrollment and Reporting page and click on the light blue "Enroll" button to get started.

Admire Alton Anthony Arlington Ashland Axtell Basehor Belleville Blue Rapids Burden Bushton Caldwell Caney Clifton Columbus Conway Springs Council Grove Delia Dover Dwight Elk City Ellis Erie Florence Fort Scott Glasco Grainfield Grinnell Harper Haysville Herndon Highland Humboldt Independence Iola Kinsley La Harpe Lakin Larned Lecompton Leon Leonardville LeRoy Lewis Lincoln Lucas Luray Macksville Marion McFarland Melvern Moran Mount Hope Newton Norton Olsburg Osawatomie Overbrook Ozawkie Perry Potwin Quenemo Randolph Riley Riverton Rossville Rozel Russell Saint George Savonburg Scranton Sheridan County (Hoxie/Selden) Stockton Toronto Vermillion Wakefield Wichita (South Central) Wilson Yates Center

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