Grantmaking and scholarships are a large part of the mission of the Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas (CFSEK). The earliest CFSEK grants date back to the year of our establishment, 2001, and the first CFSEK scholarships were awarded in 2007.
As CFSEK continues to celebrate our 20th anniversary of serving the Southeast Kansas area, we are pleased to announce the completion of two more grant opportunities and our annual scholarship cycle. Please join us in congratulating the recipients below and the recipients of Rita J. Bicknell Women’s Health Fund grants announced earlier this year.
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Dylan Meier Get Busy Livin’ Foundation 2021 Grants
The Dylan Meier Get Busy Livin’ (GBL) Foundation awards grants up to $500 for projects and activities to area organizations who support and promote Youth Volunteerism. These projects keep Dylan’s spirit of adventure, fitness, curiosity, generosity, and a daily zest for life experiences alive and thriving. The GBL Foundation “is determined to break down the boundaries that keep people from living life to the fullest, whether those boundaries be social, economic or imaginary.”
The GBL Foundation established a fund with CFSEK in 2010 and added grant making to the many ways it gives back to the community in Dylan’s memory in 2016.
This year a total of $4,100 went to 9 organizations:
- Cherokee County Leadership – The Cherokee County Fairgrounds signage project for efficiency and user friendliness will be completed by the Cherokee County 4-H Leadership group.
- Fostering Connections – Moms Coffee & Cookie Decorating Event for Foster Moms and daughters supported by SEK area high school students and PSU students.
- Labette County Fair Association – Labette County Fair: Boy Scouts collaborate to keep the fairgrounds trash free during fair week.
- Pittsburg Community Schools USD 250 – ‘Always Remembered’ is a new PHS Key Club project to collaborate with local cemeteries to clean veterans’ headstones.
- SEK Humane Society – Kid-Focused Experiential Retail Experience at the Doggie Bag which will benefit the animals at the shelter.
- SEK Interlocal 637 – The Learning Class Volunteer Class (TLC) will begin a course focused on volunteering and complete community projects.
- Thrive Allen County – Humboldt High School RESIST Chapter members and other recruited volunteers will conduct a cigarette butt pick up day for Humboldt’s Tobacco-free parks.
- USD 246 Northeast Arma School District – Junior High Recycling Project will develop and manage a paper recycling center at the Jr. High and Elementary schools.
- USD 506 Labette County – 7th & 8th grade Bartlett Elementary students will stencil paint outdoor games on the outdoor concrete playground area to be used by all elementary students in wet weather.
Elm Acres Foundation At-Risk Youth Grants 2021
The purpose of the Elm Acres Foundation, Inc. is to provide “support for at-risk youth in the Southeast Kansas community, (Crawford, Cherokee and Labette counties), including supporting any entities that provide services for at-risk youth.”
The Elm Acres Foundation began their grant making through CFSEK in 2017.
Elm Acres Foundation 2021 grant funds went to 8 local organizations for a total of $22,749:
- Communities in Schools of Mid-America – Basic Needs Assistance in the Pittsburg and Parsons areas.
- Fostering Connections – Teen Boys Life Skills Class for youth in care and at risk of placement in foster care.
- Kansas Big Brothers Big Sisters – Great “Axe”pectations will provide two male recruitment events to increase matches.
- SEK Interlocal #637 – Bike for Success program at the PCMS Autism classroom.
- Special Olympics Kansas – Unified Sports in SEK will provide sports competitions in SEK.
- Spring River Mental Health & Wellness – will build an outdoor play fort at the Columbus, KS, office.
- Wesley House – “Covered from Head to Toe” will provide basic supplies and resources to low-income families with children.
- USD 250 – PHS Club 209A for students’ basic needs.
2021 CFSEK Scholarships
The Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas had the privilege to assist in the granting of scholarship funds to 57 students valuing $69,630 for the 2021-2022 school year:
Bill House Hereford Foundation Scholarship
- Joshua Butler
- Breann Flaharty
- Taylor Nulik
- James Osburn
- Courtney Priest
- Drew Perry
- Kyndel Randall
- Kara Riffel
- Dexter Small
- Hannah VanCleave
- Nagomi Watanabe
Commerce Bank Pittsburg Scholarship
- Emma Fischer
- Mary Grace Goetting
Craig Crespino Scholarship
- Emma Brill
- Cormick Logue
Dylan Meier Get Busy Livin’ Scholarship
- Douglas Brown
- Cory Brynds
- Hannah Eckstein
- Rachel Fox
- Mary Grace Goetting
- Cole Jameson
- Emily McGowen
- Bree Murphy
- Lara Wells
Dylan Meier Get Busy Livin’ PHS Dragon Award
- L.J. Butcher
Gabriel John Ison Memorial Scholarship
- Elanor Hendrickson
- Douglas Brown
- Blaise Dawson
- Paige Potusek
- Jay Joe Tenry
Haberbosch Family Scholarship
- Mykayla Ard
- Haylee Meiwes
Joe & Margarita Sauer Scholarship
- Makaila Ausemus
- Lara Wells
Larry & Regina Weaver Scholarship
- Elanor Hendrickson
- Paige Potusek
M. Lee & Noretta Caldwell Scholarship
- Lauren Dowling
- Macy Lindberg
- Faith Mustain
- Noemi Pizarro
- Traci Powers
- Malerie Ramirez
- Hannah VanCleave
Minnis Oral Health Scholarship
- Preston Landis
Nancy Evans Community Health Nursing Scholarship
- Kelsey Curran
Pat Forbes Scholarship
- Anna Guilfoyle
Short Family Fine Arts Scholarship
- Genevieve Allison
- Emma NooNoo
Stacy Goedeke Scholarship
- Tanner Duncan
Tyler Jeck Scholarship
- Kaitlin Crossland
- Blaise Dawson
Vinylplex, Inc. Scholarship
- Blaise Dawson
- Daniel Jackson
- Ron Jubber
- Matthew Moore
- Brice Wood
William Sollner Family Scholarship
- Rachel Fox
Congratulations!
The Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas is pleased to be the host agency for these grant and scholarship funds and is proud to assist them in granting awards on an annual basis.
Congratulations to all the grant and scholarship recipients listed above, and thank you to all the many donors who make these programs possible!
Last updated Nov. 8, 2021