Foundation distributes nearly $300,000 in grants

The Parsons Area Community Foundation granted $296,698 Tuesday night to agencies, museums and programs in and near Labette County. Of those, $220,623 were in competitive grants and $76,075 were from designated grants. Last year, $304,754.90 was distributed by the PACF, $228,345.90 in competitive grants and $76,400 in designated grants.

Becky Dantic, PACF executive director, said the board had applications totaling. $550,000 for the competitive grants.

“So our board had some really tough decisions to make,” she said.

In all, 41 organizations received a competitive grant. Other organizations have designated grants from PACF funds, including St. Patrick Catholic School and St. Patrick Catholic Church. 

Dantic said that this year the board added a mini-grant program, funded by $30,000 that was included with the competitive grant total. Details are still being worked out on this program. 

Labette Community College and the Labette Assistance Center received the largest competitive grant awards, $20,000 each.

Mark Watkins, LCC president, said the money will go toward the foundation’s capital campaign that paid for the new Wiener Family Athletic Complex. Money for this award came from the Pearl Brennecke Fund, the PACF Touched the Future Fund, the Memorial Fund for Native Sons and Daughters and the Taylor Family Fund.

Jean McCandless of the LAC said the money will help with the center’s multitude of programs that help those in need in the community. Last year, the LAC helped 1,928 families. The agency had requests totaling $192,140 and paid out $74,977.31. The LAC offers a food pantry, hygiene items and diapers, prescription assistance and USDA commodities. 

“We appreciate the foundation for the support very much,” McCandless said.

Four agencies received grant awards of $10,000: Historic Oakwood Cemetery, Parsons Police Department, Parsons Middle School and Eden Early Learning Center.

Dave Mattox accepted the $10,000 grant for Oakwood from the PACF Taylor Family Fund. He said the cemetery was recently listed on the State Register of Historic Places and he’s waiting on a similar national designation. He said the money will help with planned improvements to the Grand Army of the Republic Circle No. 2 at the cemetery.

“I think this might be the year that we make some big improvements there,” Mattox said.

Police Chief Robert Spinks said the money will be helped by matching funding from the city and the department to get the Are You OK telephone reassurance service operational. The free service will check on seniors and others to receive a daily automated call from the police department to confirm their well-being. The system costs about $13,000 to purchase the initial hardware, software, licensing and maintenance, according to the police web page. If an alert is triggered when a call is not answered then a police officer is dispatched to check on the welfare of the person.

Kandy Rushing, owner of Grow at Eden, said she opened her day care three years ago. Since then, she’s received countless calls from parents and in-home providers about her ability to accept children with neurodevelopmental disorders or children with exceptionalities. She said she did not have the resources to say yes. 

Since opening, the center is now at capacity, 74 children, and is adding another 48 spaces this year. She said she and her board knew it was time to start a non-profit to support children and purchase enhanced equipment for the children.

Grow at Eden also has a center in Iola.

Parsons Middle School students Marissa Valdez and Allen Keaton thanked the PACF for the $10,000 to the middle school’s community communication project. The funds will help purchase a digital sign that will share information with the community and the achievements of the middle school students and staff.

Twelve organizations received grants awards of $5,000 each: The Parsons High School Technology Student Association, the city of Altamont, the Kiwanis Club’s Pancake Special, the Labette County Fair, the SEK Point of Pride, the Care Cupboard Hygiene Pantry, the Chetopa Police Department, the Kansas Food Bank, the Osage Township Fire Department, the Parsons Historical Museum, the Proud Animal Lovers Shelter and the Labette County High School trap shooting team.

Jayce Quirin, Noah McIntosh and Lucas Fugate accepted the $5,000 for the TSA. Quirin said many smaller schools cannot afford to attend the national competition because of cost. Nationals will be in Louisville, Kentucky, and the three addressing the PACF qualified as did Samuel Brewer, Conner Barcus, Antonio Aita, Landan Swafford and Anthony Bauer.

Quirin thanked the PACF for the grant.

“It is really meaningful for us up here,” he said.

The city of Altamont will use the money for its veterans memorial. The Kiwanis in partnership with the city of Parsons will use the $5,000 to build a 14-foot by 24-foot depot for the Pancake Special. The depot will match other structures in Forest Park and will have bench seating around it. 

“I know that many of you grew up here in Parsons and that the train has a very special place in a lot of people’s hearts,” City Manager Debbie Lamb said in accepting the grant.

The Labette County Fair will use its $5,000 to buy fans for the livestock barn.

SEK Point of Pride will use the money for Christmas lights and decorations. 

The money will help the Care Cupboard, which operates out of the First Baptist Church once a month, with is funding. Aquila Winchell said the program distributed 17,000 rolls of toilet paper in 2023. 

“This will continue to help us provide hygiene products for those who are very, very grateful to get them every month,” she said. Volunteers hear a lot of thank you and appreciation and gratitude for those helped by the program. Last week, the program helped 260 families with these products.

“We are very blessed, and we continue to bless a lot of other people,” Winchell said.

Chetopa Police Chief Scott Feagan said the $5,000 will buy his department Tasers. He said his small agency doesn’t have the budget to purchase the devices. The Tasers his officers use now were donated by the Parsons Police Department but they are about 12 years old now.

The Kansas Food Bank operates the Food 4 Kids program in Parsons and the numbers of children served by the program continue to grow. The program provides weekend food to students identified as in need. The food is distributed to the students on Fridays.

The Osage Township Fire Department will use the money to jump start the Dennis community’s upgrade to the park.

The Parsons Historical Museum will use the money to continue the rail yard restoration project at the museum.

PALS uses the money to help with medical expenses for its dogs and cats, such as spaying or neutering.

Dave Jones and Dewayne Rosson, coaches for the LCHS trap shooting team, said the grant will help fund the building of a $50,000 multipurpose building for use by the team. Rosson said trap shooting is growing in the nation and LCHS has 31 students competing this season. 

Rosson said there are 1,625 high schools and colleges with trap shooting teams and there were 49,337 participants last year. Last year, the LCHS team finished third in the state. Two years ago the team won state.

Other award recipients: 

— Celebrating Parsons Inc., $3,000, Kids Crossing activities at Katy Days;

— City of Parsons, $4,670, swimming pool water soaker;

— Labette Community Band and Orchestra, $400, mileage for out-of-town musicians;

— Osage Mission Historical Society in St. Paul, $1,000, for a conference and education center;

— SEK Juneteenth, $2,500, SEK Juneteenth 2024 celebration;

— Brown-Bishop Post No. 704, Veterans of Foreign Wars, $4,325, to remodel the post’s restrooms.

— Altamont/Mt. Pleasant Fire Department, $3,200, extrication equipment;

— Crosstimbers Food Pantry, $3,000, food for lower half of Labette County;

— Erie Community Foundation, $1,000, 2024 Erie Christmas baskets;

— Faith United Methodist Church, $1,000, for its Celebrate Recovery program;

— Space Community Garden, $600, to supply electricity to greenhouse on the grounds of the First Christian and First Presbyterian churches, 1500 S. 29th;

— Labette Fire District No. 9, $2,500, power hand tools;

— Labette Health Foundation, $3,800, CPAP therapy project;

— Parsons Foursquare Church, $2,500, food ministry for citizens in need;

— Wesley United Methodist Church, $2,500, to continue its Grab-N-Go food ministry that takes place in the parking lot of King Cash Saver on Thursdays;

— Bartlett Grade School, $2,000, for junior high basketball uniforms;

— Labette Community College Foundation, $1,000, for Cardinal Kindness (helping students with unexpected expanses);

— McCune Osage Township Library, $1,128, increased computer and internet access;

— Meadow View Grade School, $2,000, wall padding in the gym;

— Oak Grove School Historical Society, $2,500, for a water meter and water line for bathrooms;

— Parsons Presbyterian Manor, $1,500, Generation Buddies;

— SparkWheel, $2,500, integrated supports for Parsons students;

— Vikings Dance and Color Guard, $4,500, dance, color guard and drum corp;

These organizations received designated funds:

— Labette County Emergency Assistance Center, $7,500, Paul and Berniece LaForge Fund;

— St. Patrick Catholic Church, $7,500, Paul and Berniece LaForge Fund;

— St. Patrick Catholic School, $37,200, Taylor Family Fund;

— Stella Wells Christmas Baskets, $1,000, Bonnie Oden Fund;

— Leadership Labette, $18,000, Kansas Health Foundation and leadership and children’s funds.

PACF board members and officers announced the awards on Tuesday. Board members are: Jennifer Eichinger, president; Anne Allen, vice president: Ned Wall, treasurer; Sandy Babcock, secretary; Dennis Banning, Kendra Barcus, J.J. Bebb, Nancy Bolt, Frances Graves, Carolyn Kennett, Bill Lassen and Erin Martinez.

Dantic said the foundation raised $225,000 at Giving Tuesday this year and PACF was able to increase matching funds from $25,000 to $40,000 thanks to a Patterson Family Foundation grant.

She thanked donors for their continued generosity and people in the community for sharing time, talents and treasures.