IN THIS ISSUE:
- It's Time to Get Outdoors
- PRIDE Community Happenings
- Facebook Live QnA Session on Folios and Awards Available to View
- Support Kansas PRIDE, Inc.
- Caregiver Resources
- Continuing Opportunities Section - Grant Writing Workshops Are Back!
- Additional Funding Resources
- Up for a Community Visit? We Are, Too!
- Catch Us on Facebook & Facebook Live!
- First Friday e-Calls - Check 'em Out
- Shout Out to Our Newest Sponsor
- Events Calendar
- 2021 Kansas PRIDE Communities
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It's Time to Get Outdoors
Not long ago we were experiencing record cold temperatures, and as I write this today it’s 80 degrees. Sure, the wind is blowing at 60 mph but at least I’m not placing space heaters around frozen pipes. This puts me in the gardening spirit.
I’ve been outside working on the raised beds, getting them ready for the seedlings I have growing in my office. My daughter and I also planted some peach trees, not just because we like free fruit – they’re also really pretty with their pink flowers and long leaves. Luckily we’ve got K-State’s gardening and landscaping resources to fall back on when we don’t know what we’re doing, or just need a little advice. One of those resources, the K-State Garden Hour webinar series, has been a great help – I highly recommend it for your personal and community horticulture projects.
No, this article isn’t a blog post about my life, trust me. When the weather starts to warm our thoughts move to being outdoors and working on projects. Home projects can be just as important to your community as city-wide efforts. Planting trees and flowers in my yard improves the look of my neighborhood, as do small repairs like fixing loose guttering, and painting trim. In fact many Kansas PRIDE communities reward residents with Yard of the Month programs for just those types of efforts. Winners receive recognition in local media, and sometimes monetary rewards or gift certificates to local nurseries or home improvement centers to help continue their efforts.
Other PRIDE communities plant flowers along main streets, around welcome signs, and in parks. Community gardens are a popular project, allowing people to come together to spend time enjoying a hobby they have in common while growing food for themselves or their local food pantry. K-State Research and Extension’s Shawnee County office has some excellent community garden resources if that’s a local project you’re considering.
If gardening isn’t on your agenda, perhaps hosting a cleanup/fix-up campaign is. Offering to paint houses, businesses, clean cemeteries, parking lots, and paint park equipment are just a few of the outdoor activities that can make your town look amazing.
Need more ideas? Feel free to browse through the reports database to see what other PRIDE groups have been up to.
All links in bold above will take you to the resource mentioned.
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PRIDE Community Happenings |
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Moran PRIDE gives out up to 30 boxes of food each month. Some food is donated by Feeding America, but the most dependable source is from the community and cooperation from the local grocery store. For those who cannot drive to the Senior-Community Center building to get a box, volunteers deliver. |
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Caldwell's PRIDE program worked with VISION Caldwell, the city, and local churches to set up and volunteer to man the "Caldwell Helpline" which was found to be a need for those at risk in the community during the pandemic. Whether the person needs errands or more, the helpline is there to assist. |
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Osawatomie PRIDE shared with us that the city council declared April the 2nd Semi-Annual Community PRIDE month. They've also been working on cleanup projects on Main Street, received a grant to replace fencing, lighting and add flowers to the Osawatomie Soldiers Monument, and have donated to the local Rotary club to assist with a project to benefit the homeless. |
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Facebook Live QnA Session on Folios and Awards Available to View
Thank you for all who joined, viewed and asked questions during our Facebook Live QnA session on March 29th! We had some great interaction! If you weren't able to join, we have the session recorded for you to review (CLICK HERE to or on Mr. PRIDE to Watch).
Major highlights that came from the presentation/questions:
- Folios are required (one per community, not one per award that you are applying for), but all of the education on the folios is not. Good standing is definitely required, but anything after that counts towards points on their applications.
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To clarify that, more weight is given for points towards grant applications than on recognition. Recognition awards are about telling your story, so don't forget to apply to highlight your projects or honor a go getter/huge supporter in your community (CLICK HERE to visit the Promotions Page for the Project Excellence and Rising Star Applications).
- If you start your folio and end up learning more, feel free to update and resubmit.
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Those that have Community of Excellence expiring in 2021 can still apply for Round 1 awards, and those awards will not be denied if they chose not to enroll as Community of Excellence in 2022. They would still need to be enrolled as a PRIDE community though. If they do intend to continue to be a Community of Excellence, their application is due September 1.
We are excited to see your applications, and if you have questions, don't hesitate to reach out to us at PRIDE@ksu.edu to ask or set up a phone call, we are happy to help! - Jaime Menon, Co-Coordinator of the Kansas PRIDE Program, jmenon@ksu.edu
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Support Kansas PRIDE, Inc.
We've got a new way to support the Kansas PRIDE program! As you may know, the Kansas PRIDE program provides support in the form of resources, education, grants, recognition awards, and technology to participating communities across the state. No tax dollars are used to fund grant and recognition awards to communities. Instead we rely on donations and sponsorships. One way to support the program in this area is to use Amazon's Smile program. Amazon Smile donates a percentage of each purchase to your designated organization, providing you start your shopping session on smile.amazon.com. To select Kansas PRIDE as your organization to support, click on the link here or click on the image in this article: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/48-0978357
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Caregiver Resources
Good Day Kansas PRIDE Communities!
As we continue on our 2021 health resource journey, this month’s article provides some opportunities in the area of Caregiving. Yes, I capitalized that, because Caregiving is important and takes a lot of time, love and energy, so to me it is a proper noun. I have had the honor of caring for others within my family (like many of you), and I have Caregivers currently in my family (again, like many of you), so there is a lot of empathy there for people who are current in the role, or are making transition decisions due to the aging of a parent or loved one.
Sometimes it is a sudden reality situation, and it can be hard to take the time to do the research for the most relevant and reliable resources. That’s why I decided to reached out to Dr. Erin Yelland, Associate Professor and Extension Specialist for Human Development and Family Science at K-State Research and Extension, who is in the know on the subject.
Here are some resources that she shared that are focused on Caregiving:
The University of Wisconsin-Madison has a great website dedicated to aging issues, and preparing potential caregivers to help aging adults thrive: https://agefully.me/#/
Thank you Erin, for the awesome resources, and for those out there that this might have been helpful to, we wish you the best on navigating the role of Caregiver! If you are not a Caregiver, but know someone who is, feel free to share.
Thank you for all you do, for Kansas and each other! – Jaime Menon, Co-Coordinator of the Kansas PRIDE Program, jmenon@ksu.edu
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CONTINUING OPPORTUNITIES SECTION |
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GRANT WRITING WORKSHOPS ARE BACK!
In 2021, K-State Research and Extension Grant-writing workshops are going 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 agent to host. There are some coming up soon, so be sure to check them out!
The workshops are based on the same workshop that has been conducted statewide to more than 1,700 participants in 60 local communities. In-person workshop participants who responded to a survey 6-12 months after their grant workshop (36% response), reported writing $48.5 million of grants with $24.8 million of successful grants.
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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 Dollar General Literacy Foundation offers youth literacy grants of up to $4,000 to assist in the areas of implementing new or expanding existing literacy programs; purchasing new technology or equipment to support literacy initiatives, or purchasing books, materials or software for literacy program. The grant application deadline is May 20, 2021. For more details, visit their website here: https://www.dgliteracy.org/#youth-literacy-grants. On the same page you can find details about additional grants for adult literacy, family literacy, summer reading programs, and more.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America funds a Domestic Hunger Grant for up to $30,000. Grants may be for programs that address disparities based on race, gender, economic status, sexuality or citizenship – affordable housing, food access, financial literacy program, job readiness assistance. Must be working with an ELCA congregation in your community to address one or more of these issues to qualify. Registration deadline for access to the grant system is May 5, 2021. You can find out full details here: https://www.elca.org/Our-Work/Relief-and-Development/ELCA-World-Hunger/Get-Involved/Domestic-Hunger-Grants
The Home Depot Community Impact Grant cycle is open until December 31, 2021. The foundation offers grants up to $5,000 to 501c3 and tax-exempt public service agencies using the power of volunteers to improve the community. The grants are given in the form of Home Depot gift cards for the purchase of tools, materials, or services. Check out their grant page for full details on eligibility and how to apply: https://corporate.homedepot.com/foundation/communityimpactgrants
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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
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Up for a Virtual Community Visit? We Are, Too! |
Our offer at the end of each newsletter is to come to your community so we can present an overview of the program, should you be interested in enrolling, or to discuss the program and any of its components or training modules in person if you’re already in the program. Travel restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 situation prevent us from visiting in person currently, but we still 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 and ask questions. 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. - Jan Steen, Kansas PRIDE Program Co-Coordinator, jmsteen@ksu.edu
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Aside from posting news and information on the Kansas PRIDE Facebook Page between newsletters (we don't want to end up in your junk folder!), we (as in Jan and Jaime) are now hopping on Facebook Live on some Fridays for some education and small talk - and sometimes the odd trivia question! Look for schedule updates on our Facebook page linked below. |
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First Friday e-Calls: Check'em Out!
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Have a local event going on? Got great places to visit? Eat? Play?
Why not send your ads here and we will place them in our newsletter? You just have to send a high quality photo and the verbiage you want to use and we will place them in our newsletter for one month!
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Quarterly Report Dates:
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January 15th, April 15th, July 15th, October 15th
Spring Awards Deadline:
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2021 Kansas PRIDE Communities
The following communities have enrolled in the Kansas PRIDE Program for the year of 2021.
To enroll your community for this program year, visit our Enrollment and Reporting page and click on the light blue "Enroll" button to get started.
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- Admire
- Alton
- Anthony
- Arlington
- Ashland
- Axtell
- Belleville
- Blue Rapids
- Bushton
- Caldwell
- Caney
- Clifton
- Columbus
- Conway Springs
- Council Grove
- Delia
- Dwight
- Elk City
- Ellis
- Glasco
- Grainfield
- Grinnell
- Harper
- Herndon
- Highland
- Humboldt
- Iola
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- Kinsley
- La Harpe
- Lakin
- Lecompton
- Leonardville
- Lincoln
- Lucas
- Luray
- Marion
- McFarland
- Melvern
- Moran
- Mount Hope
- Newton
- Norton
- Olsburg
- Osawatomie
- Ozawkie
- Perry
- Potwin
- Randolph
- Riverton
- Saint George
- Stockton
- Vermillion
- Wakefield
- Wichita (South Central)
- Yates Center
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