The Golden Belt Community Foundation recently completed one of its three competitive grant cycles and awarded $22,236 to charitable agencies and projects in Barton, Pawnee, Rush, and Stafford counties.
Twenty six applications were received with agencies requesting over $41,000 in funding. Programs or projects must demonstrate need and show how the program will benefit the communities of the Golden Belt. Programs that established new or fostered existing collaborations among various groups or organizations also were considered favorably.
Since 2002, over $1.35 million has been reinvested into charitable projects and agencies of the Golden Belt. Over $43,000 has now been awarded in grants for 2011. The recipients are:
Grants made possible through the Kansas Health Foundation Youth Fund:
• $895 to USD 112- Central Plains Claflin Elementary to purchase five e-readers along with e-books from the William Allen White reading list.
• $2,116 to Macksville Lion’s Club to complete funding for a new vision screening instrument to benefit children in all of Stafford County.
• $400 to Great Bend After Prom to assist in funding for activities pertaining to the High School After Prom Party.
• $1,200 to Barton County Health Department to purchase material for local sewing groups to sew receiving blankets for the Healthy Start Home Visitor Program.
• $1,680 to 20th Judicial District Juvenile Services to purchase handbooks and a facilitator guide geared toward high risk offenders and a set for gang involvement as well.
• $1,500 to Dominican Sisters of Peace Heartland Farm to provide matching tuition and daily transportation for a week long summer camp.
• $750 to Kansas Children’s Service League to purchase a laptop for more efficient and effective on-site enrollment procedures.
• $1,535 to USD 495 Fort Larned Middle School to purchase exercise equipment and implement a healthy and active living summer program.
• $ 1,000 to Healing Hearts Ranch, Inc. for supplies and an additional therapist to expand the Mentorship Program for those on the waiting list.
• $1,800 to USD 495 Fort Larned Middle School to purchase three LCD projectors.
• $3,000 to the Salvation Army of Barton County to purchase supplies to fill backpacks for those in need of them in grades K-12.
• $780 to Rush County Historical Society and Kansas Barbed Wire Museum to purchase materials, teacher packets, and promote school tours of the museums.
• $1,974 to Great Bend Zoological Society to purchase materials for their new education department to be used in interactive educational programs.
• $450 to USD 355 Ellinwood Grade School to provide a speaker, classroom equipment, and supplies for their grade school Science Day.
• $450 to USD 349 Stafford Schools to purchase items for an open house/Pay It Forward kick-off.
Grant made possible through the Health and Human Services Fund and Community Improvement Fund:
• $500 to Southwest Kansas Area Agency on Aging to provide funds to support their Peer Support Program.
Grant made possible through the Arts & Culture Fund:
• $270 to Stafford County Historical and Genealogical Society to assist in their efforts to clean and catalog 5” X 7” glass plate negatives for access to the public.
Grants made possible through the Albert Gumbir Charitable Fund:
• $950 to Social Concerns of Trinity Lutheran Church to help others in need with bills, food, etc., throughout the year.
• $985 to The Life Giving Center to purchase new mattresses for the center.
At $6.9 million in total assets and over 119 funds under management, the Golden Belt Community Foundation has been helping donors fulfill their charitable wishes since 1996. For more information about the Golden Belt Community Foundation, call (620) 792-3000 or visit their website at www.goldenbeltcf.org.