Look closely at many of the furniture pieces at Custom Creations – the new downtown Hays storefront staffed by individuals with disabilities through DSNWK’s Employment Connections program. There are intricate cut and engraved wood pieces amid the refinishing work in all shapes and sizes.
Thanks to a $6,990 grant from the Heartland Community Foundation, DSNWK staff purchased a GlowForge machine for the store. With it, artisans with disabilities can create intricate embellishments and details for the furniture and other pieces. Staff have been able to create new merchandise – increasing sales for the store and sparking new, creative ideas. The sense of pride among the staff with disabilities is especially priceless!
Listen closely near the kindergarten classrooms at Trego County Grade School in WaKeeney. In between spelling word practice and math problems, you’ll also likely hear the enthusiastic chatter of children exercising their imaginations!
One classroom favorite is a new wooden, make-believe grocery store – with a working pretend cash register, conveyor belt, and toy food. Students take turns pretending to be customers and employees – working on their social skills, practicing with money, and taking turns being the store manager. Teacher Kristin Crawford was awarded $1,545.37 from the Heartland Community Foundation to purchase the make-believe grocery store and other items to enhance her classroom.
And, when you get the chance, peek in the windows at 223 W. Mill in downtown Plainville – a historic building that has anchored the corner since the early 1900s. Inside, history meets modern innovation. The beautiful limestone walls sit in contrast to the new features that the developers have added -- all in an effort to make the space comfortable, inviting, and fully connected for users.
The Hub – a new co-working space developed by Downtown Plainville – will give short-term office rental access to remote employees, small business owners, and other individuals who need an office space or conference room. The Heartland Community Foundation proudly granted $6,563 to Downtown Plainville Inc. to put toward renovations and supplies in The Hub.
These stories, along with the countless others like them, demonstrate the importance of U.S. community foundations, which are uniquely situated to improve their regions by enacting innovative solutions and creating powerful partnerships. From November 12-18, we celebrate National Community Foundation Week -- a time when we can share and reflect on stories of local impact and human connection over the past year. Though you may not yet know your local community foundation, you’ve likely felt its impact!
That’s because Heartland Community Foundation and more than 750 other community foundations across the country help to bring donors and residents together. Community foundations work to support the efforts that will help the places we call home continue to flourish and grow.
By the end of 2021, Heartland Community Foundation will have granted more than $360,000 to nonprofit organizations in Ellis, Trego, and Rooks counties for new and innovative charitable projects. The impact from that investment is enormous, with immeasurable ripple effects. But beyond our grants, the staff and board members at Heartland have also strived to be community leaders – contributing to community development meetings about childcare, arts, housing, sustainability, schools, and more. We are striving for transformation, not merely transaction.
As we enter the giving season, millions of people from every background will be looking to give back to the communities that have supported them. They’ll also look to ensure that their heartfelt giving—however they choose to give—will have the most impact.
That’s why so many of them will choose to give to their local community foundation! A gift to the Ellis County, Trego County, or Rooks County Legacy Fund, which are an endowed funds, will have an impact forever. The more each fund grows, the more we can grant from the investment income to charitable groups exclusively in each applicable county.
Additionally, Heartland Community Foundation houses many other types of funds specific for local organizations and causes. We also are uniquely equipped to receive non-cash gifts -- such as stocks, retirement distribution, bonds, grain, real estate and more -- at a tax savings to the donor. With the donor’s help, those gifts can be directed to the causes or organizations they select.
An annual gift or estate gift to your local community foundation is an investment in the future of your community. We like to say that community foundations are “here for good.” At Heartland Community Foundation, we don’t think about the next election or business cycle, we think about the next generation and the next after that.
That can seem a daunting task, but it’s one that we all share. During National Community Foundation Week, I hope you’ll join us in recognizing our collective impact and the difference we can make together.
For more information about Heartland Community Foundation, contact Sarah Meitner at 785-621-4090 or sarahmeitner@gscf.org. Learn more at www.heartlandcommunityfoundation.org or follow us on Facebook.
