Blog

Meg Pearson, Director of Donor Engagement for United Way of Kaw Valley, reported on the work of the well known community organization. The recent merger of the United Way organizations of Greater Topeka and Douglas County, along with Jackson and Jefferson Counties, have created efficiencies of operation to better serve the people of North East Kansas. United Way of Kaw Valley is the primary funding and volunteer recruiter for local nonprofits. Meg stressed that funds raised in Douglas County stay in the county. The organization engages in a variety of support tasks, including planning, training, professional development and advocacy. Community impact grants are awarded to collaborating partner organizations to help achieve these goals. Meg also spoke of the work of the Roger Hill Volunteer Center that recruits and creates an individual volunteer skills profile to match with the needs of over 122 organizations. United Way of Kaw Valley also works with the national 211 emergency hotline for people in need of services.

Leticia Cole is Lawrence Central Rotary Club’s point person for recruiting young people to participate in the annual Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) program. Most Rotary Clubs participate in RYLA, which typically consists of a week long summer camp for students 14 years and older. Students learn a variety of leadership skills and the value of civic involvement. Rotary District 5710 sponsors RYLA on the Kansas University campus the first week in June. District Rotary Clubs select and cover the costs of student participants who learn leadership and communication skills, form new friendships and have fun. Community leaders are utilized as presenters and mentor figures, and students may engage in community service projects. Typically, our selected student will visit the club to report on their RYLA experience. Leticia states that her work with RYLA is very satisfying.

Lawrence Central Rotary’s own Sam Camp presented an update on his work as an Economic Development Analyst for the City of Lawrence. The City received a grant for ecosystem analysis and Sam has been working on creating a resource map for entities that can assist local entrepreneurs in the development of small businesses. Sam explained that prosperity and economic security are important outcomes in the Strategic Plan for the City. Part of the plan focuses on diversity and assisting minorities and women entrepreneurs. Accordingly the City has worked with various groups and organizations including CORE and Black:30. These efforts have made a new loan fund, training opportunities and coaching available for entrepreneurs. Sam moved to Lawrence from Florida and is very enthusiastic about his work and the community.

Children’s Mercy of Kansas City is a premiere health care provider for children in the region. Mathew Briggs and Liz Wolfe, Philanthropic Giving Officers, talked about the array of medical and health services provided by Children’s Mercy of Kansas City. The institution boasts some 800 pediatric specialists on staff and last year served over 600,000 patients from the region, including 47 states and 14 foreign countries. Children’s Mercy is a nonprofit organization with various locations and partners in the area and maintains a productive Research Institute.

Mathew and Liz spoke about Illuminate, a new program designed to address the growing crisis in mental health disorders in children. Nationally, one in five children have a serious mental health disorder and treatment resources are particularly inadequate in our region. Children’s Mercy has experienced a 67 per cent increase in referrals of children with mental health problems. Gifts to support the work of Illuminate will provide early intervention, increased specialty services, expanded hospital care, and new research and innovations. Some 82.3 million dollars of the 150 million dollar goal has been raised to date. A show of hands from the group showed a majority present had some family member who had received services from Children’s Mercy.

Rotarians Kate Campbell and Bob Rademaker love to travel, so their recent trip to Panama was no surprise. However, this trip was special for Bob as he became fascinated with the Panama Canal as a school boy. Bob shared some early history of canal building in Panama noting that early Spanish explorers made the dangerous overland trip from ocean to ocean. It was a dangerous trip through the jungles and over the mountains. The French were the first to try to dig a canal, but the climate, disease, and difficult terrain put an end to the project. President Theodore Roosevelt championed a United States effort which benefitted from power equipment and the eradication of yellow fever. The construction was a marvel of engineering as lakes and a series of locks were built that made it possible to raise and lower vessels 85 feet on their 40 mile journey between oceans. The canal opened in 1914, saving vessels as much as 8,000 nautical miles.

Panama assumed ownership and operation of the canal in 1999, providing the country with its main source of income. In 2006 a system of new locks were added to accommodate the bigger cargo vessels. Today considerable cargo is offloaded and transported overland and reloaded to continue its journey. Kate said she enjoyed the trip, meeting new people and learning lots. Both travelers agreed that the trip was enjoyable and worthwhile.