Editorials

May 10, 2016 12:08 AM

Sooner Kansas Supreme Court rules on school funding, the better

Rhonda Holman

Eagle Editorial Board

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Adding to the heartache for the creative community is the news that renowned industry body and key music export organisation Sounds Australia has been denied funding among the latest round.

“Almost $24 million in funding grants has now been published on the Ministry For The Arts website, but the way in which the government has handled the funding announcement does nothing to build confidence in its approach to arts funding,” she said.

You can only imagine how disappointed we were to learn that music export has not been funded by #Catalyst.

How is @SoundsAustralia unable to secure @CommsAu funding?

If you have loved new Australian music in the last few years, @SoundsAustralia is why.

Why has @SoundsAustralia music export has not been funded by #Catalyst?

A BIG reason why @BIGSOUNDtweets creates outcomes for artists & industry is because of @SoundsAustralia #Catalyst https://t.co/D0Ev0nYekc

Music industry’s invaluable #export service @SoundsAustralia failed to secure @CommsAu #Catalyst funding https://t.co/ZhHytRDSPN

The Douglas County Commission will consider Wednesday awarding $245,000 in grants to eight projects meant to preserve the county’s cultural and natural resources.

The Douglas County Natural and Cultural Heritage Task Force will present its annual recommendations to the County Commission as it has since 2011. The improved access, which the Kansas Historical Preservation Office has approved, and the planned rehabilitation of the building’s second floor would allow the museum to double exhibition space and help preserve the historic property, the Eudora Area Historical Society’s grant application states.

Next on the list in terms of dollar amount is a $67,775 recommendation from the Douglas County Sustainability Office to fund a nine-month planning process to aid the Delaware Tribe in developing 90 acres of property it owns in north Lawrence near the Interstate 70 interchange.

The consensus would develop the property as an educational and job-training site for Delaware Tribe youth and students from local schools, for the production of high-value crops for local markets, for producing and marketing of seeds the Delaware and other Native American tribes used for foods and medicines, and a nutritional outreach resource.

The grant would fund a baseline analysis, master site plan and business plan, as well as identify funding sources to complete the project. Activities will include cleanup near Bowersock Dam, education float trips on that section of the river and two river fishing workshops.

$8,000 for Douglas County Conservation District’s planned two-year Douglas County Water Festival. The kiosk would make available local materials from the 1960s and 1970s on the Civil Rights Movement, American Indian Movement, Vietnam-era peace activities and LGBT rights activism.

$4,000 for the Clinton Lake Historical Society for completion of a site master plan and planning for a large-group meeting space at the Wakarusa River Valley Heritage Museum.

Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation names teen leaders | News OK

The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation has chosen 53 teens from across the state for its fourth annual Teen Leaders in Philanthropy class.

They will visit OMRF every month during the 2016-17 school year to meet philanthropic leaders while learning about nonprofit organizations and the impact giving can have on a community.

The program is for Oklahoma high school students. Each submitted a written application and a letter of reference to qualify and then participated in an interview process.

The diverse group of teens will work together on team-building and fundraising projects tailored to instill the basics of philanthropy, development, board structure, networking and fundraising.

Previous classes worked to create, organize and operate communitywide events to raise money for childhood disease and autoimmune disease research at OMRF, as well as a Trivia Night that raised money for overall research at the foundation.

Six of this year’s Teen Leaders were named to the advisory council, a group of two-time Teen Leader participants who aid Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation development officers by contributing ideas and feedback for the program. They also take leadership roles by heading committees for the fundraising project.

“We are thrilled that this program is continuing to grow and become known around the state,” said Director of Development Kelley McGuire, who coordinates the group.

The 2016 Teen Leaders in Philanthropy, listed by high school, are:

ASTEC Viney Kumari.

Atoka Gabriella Cochran.

Bishop McGuinness Ellie Baze, Alexander Best, Olivia Derryberry, Lena Do, Cooper Larson.

Casady Safra Shakir, Mariam Shakir.

Classen School of Advanced Studies PhiYen Nguyen, Dangminh Nguyen.

Crossings Christian School Matthew Loper, Megan Szymanski, Nancy Wilkinson.

Deer Creek High School Renee Horky, Alycia Pisano, Nicholas Oldham.

Dove Science Academy Gabriela Rueda.

Duncan Graham Cox, Hattie Stockton.

Edmond North Sharon Bouvette, Carolina Collins, Reese Weingaertner.

Edmond Santa Fe Maleha Anwar, Moeed Fawad.

Epic Charter Addalyn Wyatt.

Heritage Hall Devavrat Dave, Tahirah Naidu, Alina Wilson.

Newcastle Karima Soliman.

Norman Kathryn Garn, Izra Lodangco, Ella Powers.

Norman North Kendyll Gavras.

Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics Katherine Liebl, Jacqueline Oh, Amanda Pan, Abel Zacharia, Anet Zacharia, Ann Zacharia.

Putnam City Ashley Sunil.

Southeast High School Heidy Briones, Jocelyn Garcia.

Trinity School Curran McGuire.

Western Heights Jenny Ha.

Westmoore Ashley Langston.

Woodward Paige Hughes.

Advisory Council members are:

Bishop McGuinness Charlotte Edmonds.

Bridge Creek Macie Shelden.

Dove Science Academy Marcel Martinez.

Heritage Hall Madison Baetz.

Norman North Anna Smist.

Putnam City North Josephine Nwankwo.

ASHTABULA aA Ashtabula County Water Watch received a grant from the Center for Health, Environment and Justice, a national environmental organization.

ACWW was one of only eight groups across the nation to receive these funds.A

Funds received will be used to promote environmental awareness in the county starting with a Toxic But Terrific Tour of environmental sites in Ashtabula County beginning June 4.

BATAVIA Conversations over a proposed downtown healthy living campus joining the Genesee County YMCA and Rochester Regional Health’s United Memorial Medical Center will continue to progress from a shared spirit to a potential structure with a boost from the City of Batavia.

City Council on Monday backed a previously-submitted request for $45,000 in Rural Business Development funding to aid a feasibility study for a new development on adjacent Main Street land housing the YMCA and UMMC’s Cary Hall.

Officials from both UMMC and the Y remain optimistic that the project, driven by a task force of local leaders, can be transformational for Batavia.

Rob Walker, the CEO of the GLOW YMCA, envisions a facility that enhances the Y’s services and tightens the link between health care providers and treatment delivery. “We’re trying to make the connection points closer, so people can change their behavior and health right here.”

For the YMCA, the project could substantially expand a reach that currently has approximately 3,000 members. Walker said similar projects have doubled membership in other communities.

“That would be another 3,000 happier people, better families, stronger lives, increasing the scope and impact we can make in the community,” Walker said.

Daniel Ireland, UMMC’s president, pictures outreach efforts for chronic illnesses, diabetes and nutrition eliminating a barrier on the path to healthier lives; as well as easier navigation to specialized health care services.

“It’s the perfect opportunity: at the Y, people are working to stay healthy. This is another piece to making healthier communities.”

For UMMC, the project is viewed as reinforcing its primacy as the region’s source for health care.

“What we’re trying to do as a health care resource is to find different ways to get patients to level of care they need,” Ireland said. “At first glance, people seem to be very well behind it.”

Conducting a feasibility study is an important step in clarifying the details of the partnership, the project and what a future Batavia will need in terms of healthy living services.

“It’s (to see) that we’re doing the right thing, built to right size, with the right programs in right locations,” Walker said.

“A lot of it is validating the assumptions on the table, not how big architecturally, but conceptually,” Ireland said. In a memo to the city council, he estimated the study would cost $100,000, with the remaining funding coming from the state’s multi-million annual Consolidated Funding Application and other grant funds.

The design phase for the proposed partnership Ireland estimates that the market research phase of information-gathering will take the group into the summer, with more feedback coming as the 2016 calendar gets shorter.

“My heart is so motivated to make this work that I’ll jump through every hurdle I can,” Walker said, “and Dan is built the same way.”

Eric Karraker (left) talks with Jackie Jacobs, project coordinator for the Joplin Area Fuller Center for Housing, on Monday at the site of Karraker’s new home.A GLOBE | ROGER NOMER

Eric Karraker (left) talks with Jackie Jacobs, project coordinator for the Joplin Area Fuller Center for Housing, on Monday at the site of Karraker’s new home.A GLOBE | ROGER NOMER

He donated his entire collection to a charity that distributed them to young storm survivors so the children would have a toy.

When he learned his sister was to have a baby, he cashed in his penny collection and deposited all if it, $87, in an account for the child’s college fund.

Now, Karraker is being rewarded for his selflessness.

The Joplin branch of the Fuller Center for Housing is building Karraker his own home, and the branch is helping to put funding in place to aid in making Karraker’s earnings stretch as far as it can.

On Monday, representatives of the Joplin Regional Community Foundation presented the Fuller Center with a $10,000 check toward the cost of the $65,000 house that is being built. There is a ministry in Louisville, Kentucky, Crossroads Ministry, that finds churches that want to provide the labor to do a weekend blitz to build wall panels that can be obtained for projects like the Karraker home, Jacobs said.

“They have worked with Fuller Center for Housing nationwide before,” Jacobs said, and a woman in the national Fuller Center office helped connect the local group with those who provided the panels.

Volunteers will build the house, though skilled tradesman will be used for the installation of plumbing and electrical aspects.

The 1,000-square-foot house will have 2 bedrooms, 1 1/2 bathrooms, and the interior safe room will double as a laundry room.A

“This is a big help getting this donation from the Community Foundation,” to help toward the starting costs of materials for building Eric’s house, Crane said.

Center’s efforts

The Joplin Area Fuller Center for Housing has built four houses and repaired 40 to 50 homes since the Joplin tornado, director Randy Crane said.

In amounts large and small, they place their wealth under the umbrella of the Community Foundation, secure in the knowledge that North Central Florida and its people will benefit.

There is good reason people trust the Community Foundation to carry out their charitable wishes. Consider the evidence of work that is being done:

Since its inception in 1998, the Community Foundation has distributed more than $10 million in charitable grants.

Foundation grants have helped a multitude of groups that touch nearly every aspect of life in North Central Florida, from addressing childhood mental health issues to promoting the arts.

Community Foundation management has helped several local organizations Fisher House, Meridian Behavioral Healthcare, Alachua Conservation Trust, for example grow their endowments so clients are never turned away for financial reasons.

Twenty-four local organizations helping local women and girls have received more than $650,000 in support from the Foundation’s Women’s Giving Circle since it started 10 years ago.

Numerous charities in our community have received invaluable training and education around nonprofit management topics through the Foundation’s Center for Nonprofit Excellence since it launched in January 2015.

What happened last week was truly amazing for our community. Thank you to all for making this Amazing Give a huge success.

Barzella Papa is president and CEO and Mitch Glaeser is board chairman of the Community Foundation of North Central Florida.

Barzella Papa and Mitch Glaeser: Foundation committed to helping communityGuests and representatives from local nonprofits mingle during the Amazing Give event at Swamp Head on May 3.May 9, 2016 5:03 PM

The power of one can accomplish great things, but when people unite with a common goal, their achievements swell to unlimited heights.

Last week, new philanthropic heights for our community were reached when more than 45 local nonprofits gathered together for the inaugural Amazing Give and raised more than $286,000 from 1,405 donors in just 24 hours. In amounts large and small, they place their wealth under the umbrella of the Community Foundation, secure in the knowledge that North Central Florida and its people will benefit.

There is good reason people trust the Community Foundation to carry out their charitable wishes. Consider the evidence of work that is being done:

Since its inception in 1998, the Community Foundation has distributed more than $10 million in charitable grants.

Foundation grants have helped a multitude of groups that touch nearly every aspect of life in North Central Florida, from addressing childhood mental health issues to promoting the arts.

Community Foundation management has helped several local organizations Fisher House, Meridian Behavioral Healthcare, Alachua Conservation Trust, for example grow their endowments so clients are never turned away for financial reasons.

Twenty-four local organizations helping local women and girls have received more than $650,000 in support from the Foundation’s Women’s Giving Circle since it started 10 years ago.

Numerous charities in our community have received invaluable training and education around nonprofit management topics through the Foundation’s Center for Nonprofit Excellence since it launched in January 2015.

What happened last week was truly amazing for our community. Thank you to all for making this Amazing Give a huge success.

Barzella Papa is president and CEO and Mitch Glaeser is board chairman of the Community Foundation of North Central Florida.

Copyright 2016 Gainesville.com – All rights reserved.

Birch Creek receives fourth straight Les Paul grantShare This Story!

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Birch Creek receives fourth straight Les Paul grant

Foundation grant will help underwrite instruction for guitar students

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Birch Creek Music Performance Centeras was recognized for a fourth consecutive year with a grant from the Les Paul Foundation that will partially underwrite guitar instruction for Birch Creek students in 2016.

Birch Creek’s guitar education is led by Rick Haydon, professor of music at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville and head of that school’s guitar program.