Students in the SCPB awarded a grant of $2,500 to Mid-KS Community Action Program (Mid-KS CAP).  Mid-KS CAP is going to partner with the K-State Research and Extension Cowley County to provide a nutritional program to income-sensitive families in Cowley County.  The program is intended to reach approximately 126 families.  The program will provide participants with education but also with food that they will practice preparing in the classes and can then take home to their families.  In a recent pilot session, participants received a slow cooker and a cook book, and prepared two freezer-ready healthy slow cooker meals to take home.  Benefits of the classes include:

• Healthy meal and cost effective meal ideas;
• Experience in meal planning;
• Increased kitchen skills;
• Familiarity of nutritious foods and values;
• Building community support and networks.

According to Lindsay Wilke, assistant director for Leadership Southwestern, the SCPB aimed to grant funding this year to a program that would improve the wellness of individuals in Cowley County, a central element of the county-wide strategic plan, Vision 2020.  The students indicated a broad definition of wellness that included spiritual, emotional, physical, and mental components.  A total of 11 grant applications were received from non-profits throughout the county for a myriad of programs and projects.

“The depth and breadth of the applications the SCPB received highlights the good work that is taking place throughout the county and is a testament to the strength of the SCPB grant application,” Wilke says.  “The students worked hard to develop an application that would allow their funding to be put to good use, and they succeeded.  The collaborative partnership between Mid-KS CAP and K-State Research and Extension Cowley County is an exciting one that promises to strengthen the health of Cowley residents through a unique nutrition program.  It is rare that students get to sit in the seat of the funders, and in doing so, they learned valuable lessons about stewardship. I am proud of their work.”

Southwestern College students that participated were Jessie Riggs, Hannah Podschun, Mariam Mamah, Michael Bond, Katy Hamilton, Sally McGuire, Lauren Strain, and Sydnee Nelson.

If anyone would like to donate to the work of the SCPB or learn more about the student group, email scpb@sckans.edu or visit the web site at www.sckans.edu/makeagift/contribution/category/102/.

Students began the process back in November.  Understanding grant-making is the centerpiece of the KICC program. The students work to create and refine a Request for Proposals (RFP) under the supervision of the Leadership program at Southwestern College, then each group accepted applications from other organizations in their school.
KICC is funded through an endowment held with Legacy Regional Community Foundation. Legacy Regional Community Foundation creates a stronger future for our area by building endowments, providing informed leadership, and connecting donors to the critical needs of the region.

Michael Bond is the director for KICC this year and he has been impressed with the dedication of the high school students.

“Their passion to help their community is exciting,” Bond says.  “They have done a lot of work and it’s hard work at times but they have had a positive attitude throughout the year and it has been such a great joy to be able to work with people who want to make an impact in their school and their community.”

According to Lindsay Wilke, assistant director for Leadership Southwestern, the goal of the KICC program is two-fold: give young people the skills to become better leaders and provide them with a community arena to put their skills into practice right now.

Students who are a part of KICC and participated are:

• Winfield High School—Megan Lance, Alessandra Bevilacqua, and Avery Osen;
• Arkansas City High School—Madison McDowell, Jesus Del Angel, Manny Green, Jesus

Rodriguez, and Marissa Leake;
• Udall High School—Kelsie Hoffman, Darby Aldrich, Abby Hoffman, Zach Kratochvil, Heath Sattarlee, and Michael Propst;
• Central (Burden) High School—Zach Koppelmann, Travis Wham, Shelby Bannister, Greg Hilario, John Taylor, Grant Loewer, Rylee Liebau, Josh Koppelmann, Lucas McMichael, Michael Delaney, Jordyn Foley, Jeremiah Klick, Saydi Loewer, Cooper Dennett, and Bailee Ellis.

In addition to awarding the grants, all of the students in KICC visited the 2012 Winfield Habitat House and did service at Twin Rivers Developmental Supports to plant raised flower beds and gardens for their residents. 

“We work from a definition that philanthropy is ‘voluntary action for the public good,’” Wilke says. “Students learn that philanthropy is about giving both money and service to others.  To do this effectively, one has to become aware of what exists in the community.  What are the needs and assets?  This knowledge then informs the grant-making cycle.”

For more information about Legacy Regional Community Foundation, call (620) 221-7224 or (620) 442-1322 or visit www.legacyregionalfoundation.org/.

On Saturday, April 20, the first year Leadership students spent several hours providing services to multiple locally owned organizations such as Neives,’ Graves Drug, Eagles Nest, Posh, S & Y Industries, Bradbury Kitchen, and Hometown True Value.  In return, many local businesses are providing discounts to Southwestern College students.

“Since small town locally owned stores thrive on local customers, our students will be providing one of the greatest services that these businesses could ask for, customers,” says Southwestern College freshman and Leadership Southwestern student Michael Becker.

“This event will give Cowley County residents the opportunity to discard old electronic items to be recycled,” McGuire says. 

By definition of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, e-waste includes all types of obsolete, unused, or unwanted electronic equipment.  The presence of lead in many of the items has caused some states and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to express concerns about disposal in non-hazardous waste landfills. 

Electronics will be delivered to Asset LifeCycle in Topeka, a state authorized e-waste recycling facility.  This facility accepts laptops, monitors, keyboards, scanners, cell phones, printers, controllers, and much more.  Items are accepted for free except CRT monitors ($10) and televisions ($20).  It is advised to remove all personal information from electronic devices; however, Asset LifeCycle assures removal of all personal information upon receiving the devices. 

According to McGuire, the project would not be possible without the help of Frito-Lay, Inc. in Topeka, who will be providing a semi-truck for transportation to the recycling facility free of charge.

For a full list of accepted items or for any other questions, contact McGuire at sally.mcguire@sckans.edu.

According to Lindsay Wilke, associate director for Leadership Southwestern, this is a competition hosted at Washburn in which teams of students participate in a Leadership simulation and are judged by a variety of persons (business executives, faculty, and community leaders) on their performance as individuals and as a group.  A total of eight college teams were at the competition from the following schools: Fort Hays State University, Missouri Southern State University, Tabor College, Kansas State University, Metropolitation Community College, and Southwestern.

Southwestern College earned the Team Communication award and the Team Collaboration award.  This marks the second time that Leadership Southwestern has taken teams to this event and both times SC teams have won an award.

“The students’ performance at the challenge event is a testament to the strength of the Leadership program at Southwestern and the caliber of the students participating in the program,” Wilke says.  “Students in the Leadership program spend a great deal of time developing their personal strengths and weaknesses and learning to utilize these effectively in a team setting.  The awards from Washburn prove that the students are making great strides in leadership development work and can stand up against competition from recognized universities and colleges across the state. I could not be more proud of their efforts.”

The participating Southwestern students were: Taylor Fogle and Katy Hamilton, Bartlesville, Okla.; Dalton Carver, Ozawkie; Carlos Cruz, Crowley, Texas; Sara Peck, Wellington; Tavinia Tucker, San Antonio, Texas; Stevie Heidzig, Rogersville, Mo.; Lauren Strain, Pryor, Okla.; Kelcey Gabriel, Lincoln, Neb.; and Michael Bond, Wichita.

“I think that Southwestern Leadership did so well because we really know each other as individuals and we are like a little family,” says student Sara Peck.  “We truly build off others’ ideas, and we are not afraid to step in when things get out of hand.  I think we did a great job at realizing each individual’s strengths and weaknesses and in turn using them to our advantage when it came to the challenge event.  The two-day event was a great experience and brought us closer as a team.”
 

A total of 36 middle school students visited campus to learn about servant leadership practices and to design a service project for their school.  While on campus, the students participated in a service project of writing 43 Thanksgiving and Christmas letters to be sent via Operation Shoebox to American troops serving overseas.  
Lindsay Wilke, assistant director for Leadership Southwestern, hopes that the middle school students will take the lessons they learned on campus back into their school to help foster service and leadership at WMS. 

“The Leadership students designed an interactive and engaging day for the middle school students,” Wilke says.  “They worked hard to provide the students with lessons that will help them make positive contributions in their school and in their personal lives.”

Leadership Southwestern student Mandy Watson says that it is the small things that make a big difference.

“It’s an amazing feeling working with younger kids that are so enthused about service learning,” Schmitt says.   “It’s nice to know that you can start early with the kids in teaching them how to build community and what an impact it can make, even if it is something as simple as writing a letter to a soldier.  Sometimes it doesn’t seem like a big deal, but for some it can make a big difference.”

Jalaine Richardson, coordinator of the WMS Builder Club, helped coordinate the event.

“The Southwestern students have proven that they care about the issue of hunger and are willing to act on their convictions. And by contributing funding and support to the event, the institution as a whole is living out its commitment to service,” said Lindsay Wilke, associate director of Leadership Southwestern.

“I know the Kansas Food Bank will be so appreciative because they have been responsible to provide this,” Campbell says.  “They are always looking for partners because there is such a huge need here and across the state.”

SCPB members presented a $2,000 grant to the Eastern Cowley County Resource Center (ECCRC).  ECCRC was founded in 2003 with a focus on computers and reading literacy. ECCRC is the sponsor of the Lighthouse Library project, an ocean-themed rural library with a 21,000 book collection. The funds granted to ECCRC will fund computer towers that will be used in robotics programming for youth and senior citizen computer workshops.
The SCPB awarded $1,000 to Family Life Services located in Arkansas City.  The funds granted will go towards 40 hours of counseling sessions for parents who are having problems with abuse in their families or parents who have had abuse problems growing up.

The SCPB also awarded $800 to Eagle Nest of Winfield.  The funds granted will go towards class scholarships for women. 

The SCPB was formed four years ago as a senior Leadership Southwestern student’s project.  A grant was written, and Southwestern College was chosen by Campus Compact’s Students4Giving program as one of 10 institutions to receive a start-up grant of $15,000.  The college also contributed to this amount.
With this funding, a group of students from the three Southwestern College service learning teams (Leadership Southwestern, Discipleship Southwestern, and Green Team Southwestern) formed the SCPB.  The board consists of five members from the three programs.
The mission of the SCPB is twofold.  First, it exists to teach college students about philanthropy and grant-making.  Each year, the SCPB creates Request for Funding Proposals (RFPs) and distributes them to Cowley County non-profit organizations.  The board then meets to review and award grant applications.  The second part of the mission is to help students connect and build relationships with local non-profits.  This year, the board worked toward this goal by visiting past grant recipients and hosting an on-campus philanthropy awareness week.
According to SCPB advisor Lindsay Wilke, the focus for this year’s RFP covered three areas and was derived from the county’s Vision 2020 plan:
• Decreasing the high incidence of child abuse in the county
• Increasing recreation and educational opportunities for young people ages 0-25
• Improving services for senior citizens.
A total of 11 non-profit organizations submitted funding requests, but programs that met one or more of the areas above were given priority.
Wilke has been pleased with the group.
“The board and the class took their job of crafting an RFP very seriously this year,” Wilke says.  “They researched county needs and assets and studied Vision 2020 thoroughly to ensure that the grant money would make a difference.”
Members of the SCPB include Sally McGuire, Denton, Texas; Jessie Riggs, Wellington; Sydnee Nelson, Clay Center; Mariam Mamah, Tulsa, Okla.; and Hannah Podschun, Winfield.  Members of the philanthropy and grant making class that worked in conjunction with the SCPB to develop the RFP and award the grant include: Tavinia Tucker, San Antonio, Texas; Michael Bond, Wichita; Taylor Fogle and Katy Hamilton, Bartlesville, Okla.; Stevie Heidzig, Rogersville, Mo.; Kaley Rodriguez, Gypsum; and Lauren Strain, Pryor, Okla.

The gazebo started off as a Green Team fundraiser.  McGuire was attempting to build something out of recycled aircraft pallets to sell for the Green Team. This eventually morphed into a gazebo.

According to McGuire, the inspiration for a gazebo that features a solar charging dock came from the "Solar Docks" freshman Leadership survey in 2011.

“The survey asked the student body if there was an interest in outdoor solar powered picnic tables. The student body liked the idea but not the $11,000 price tag,” McGuire says.

The gazebo is 8'x8.5' and is made from one aircraft pallet. The roofing material is Ondura which is 50% post-consumer recycled material. The gazebo also features a 45-watt solar panel that powers two LED lights and, according to McGuire, will charge a computer, play a boom box, and run a number of other things.

The financial donation to the project was $1,000 made by McGuire, which was the approximate cost of the solar powered system.  The gazebo was placed on the south side of Reid next to the sand volleyball court April 23, however, the final installation site for it has yet to be determined. 

Taking the L.E.A.D. (leadership, exercise, action, and diet) was taught by the SC students with assistance from community members Terri Fields, Nancy Miller, and Becky Reid.

A celebration for the culmination of the curriculum was held on April 18 at Lowell.  Funding for the celebration was provided by a grant from Youth Service America for Global Youth Service Day.

“It has been fun watching the Leadership students build relationships with the second graders,” says Lindsay Wilke, assistant director for Leadership Southwestern.  “The Leadership team took on an extensive project over the course of the semester and secured grant funding to make it happen.  Watching the project unfold has been extremely rewarding for everyone involved.”

“Special Pops” Night on the Town was a four-event program for the developmentally disabled adult population in Cowley County. The program took place from Monday, April 2, to Wednesday, April 11, concluding with a service celebration of the program on Saturday, April 14. The program consisted of four different events: Bowling Night, Bingo Night, Dance Night, and Boys/Girls-Night-Out.

During the course of the program, there were 128 participants and 61 Southwestern student volunteers.

“My ultimate goal is to have the Winfield Recreation Commission continue permanent regular programming for the developmentally disabled population in the county,” McCurdy says.

The daughter of Jackie Kernell, Newkirk, Okla., Gentry has focused her studies and activism on sexual trafficking. She has volunteered at a community safe house for abused women and children and has worked over the summers with children who are at risk for educational success. Her senior project will connect use of pornography to sexual trafficking. She plans to pursue counseling psychology in order to equip herself to make a difference for exploited women around the world.
“Meeka is an example of a student who is making the most of her college experience,” says Cheryl Rude, director of Leadership Southwestern.  “We are confident she will be a force for good in the world and will be an asset to the community of Newman Civic Fellows.”
Through service-learning courses and other opportunities for community engagement, colleges are developing students’ public problem-solving skills, such as the ability to analyze community needs, the willingness to participate in public processes and debate, the commitment to raise awareness about challenges, and the ability to inspire others to become part of solutions.
“These students represent the next generation of public problem solvers and civic leaders. They serve as national examples of the role that higher education can, and does play in building a better world,” notes Campus Compact Board Chair James B. Dworkin. 

Students decided to work in conjunction with the Haysville Activity Center and Haysville City Hall to build a concessions stand at the Junior League football fields in Haysville. The project included all aspects of constructing the building. In 2010, 49 students and staff members donated a total of 281 hours from March 29-April 9.

With the success of the 2010 project, the Haysville Student Council again elected to work with the Haysville Activity Center and the Haysville City Council in 2011. The 2011 projects included installing a disc golf course at one of the city parks, working on the remodeling project at the city hall building, and working on bleacher painting and reassembly project for the Haysville Heat baseball organization. Sixty-six students and staff spent a combined 296 hours from March 28-April 2 working on the three projects.
When applying for the 2012 Heart of Leadership award, the student council noted some projects that they would like to work on including a Rake and Run where volunteers help older citizens with spring yard preparations. Another idea includes adding character to the hallways at Campus High School.

Leadership Southwestern students that presented the award were Dylan Moore, Elizabeth Macy, Hannah Podschun, Erin Buster, Kaley Rodriguez, Jessie Riggs, and Caitlin McCurdy.

           
“When coming up with a project idea, I decided I wanted to help influence younger students to be more open and receptive to the subjects of math and science,” said Topham. 
             
Topham decided this program was needed by noticing numerous requests for math and science help in the Jinx Tale, a daily email sent to Southwestern faculty, staff, and students.  He began the project by collaborating with Diane McKinney, counselor at Winfield High School, on how it would operate. In addition, Topham said he received input from fellow students and from Ed Loeb, assistant professor of mathematics at Southwestern.
             
“I decided on enlisting volunteers to be tutors and have set up a pipeline with the high school to pair students with tutors,” Topham says.
               
The program will consist of pairing tutors with students. Southwestern students will fill out an information form, including which subjects they are comfortable tutoring. This information will be forwarded to McKinney at the high school. She in return will have a list of students and will match the students based on the information gathered from SC students. The parent’s of the students needing help will be responsible for setting up a time and place where the tutoring can take place. As of now, the tutoring will be at the high school library, during the high school student’s homeroom time.
           
“It’s my goal is that the project will continue beyond this year to provide a community service and learning opportunity for Southwestern students and quality mentoring as an educational aid to students at the high school,” said Topham.

Julie Wilke, Southwestern College graduate fellow, presented her final for her master’s degree on Tuesday, March 1.  Her project is to raise funds for the Leadership endowment program.

There is currently $47,000 in the fund.  Wilke’s goal is to raise $53,000.

“If we reach $100,000, then with the interest, we can offer $5,000 in scholarships to Leadership students that can be used for room and board,” Wilke says.

The Leadership program at Southwestern College does numerous servant activities including Freshman Work Day, Rotary Camp, and trips in and out of state to do service for others.  Wilke is passionate about how important the program is and what it has meant to her.

“Raising this money is so important to me because the Leadership program has shaped me as a leader,” Wilke says.  “I believe it is time for the program to grow financially so that we can help other college students learn about being an effective servant leader.  This program allows students to do service projects and learn about their leadership through that service.” 

For more information or to donate, contact Wilke at (620) 229-6367.

• Leadership SC Back to School Calendar

“We had quite a few non-profits apply throughout Cowley County, but the board found three recipients who they felt truly met the criteria and the goal of the grant internship,” says Laura Morgan, Southwestern College senior from Goddard. 
Morgan was in charge of setting up a student philanthropy board from the four service learning organizations on campus.  According to Morgan, their goal was to educate students on the grant-making process and to learn more about philanthropy.  The board members were Megan Martin, Mandi Bever, Andrew Topham, Lacey Hibbs, and Taggart Wall.  Joni Rankin served as an instructor for the board.
The gift recipients are Winfield Community Theatre ($2,000), Creative Community Living of South Central Kansas ($2,000), and William Newton Healthcare Foundation ($4,000). 
The funds to donate were available thanks to Morgan getting involved with Students4Giving.  The program is sponsored by The Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund and Campus Compact.  It is aimed at promoting philanthropic education efforts at colleges and universities across the country.
“Students4Giving is providing students with unique, real-life opportunities to learn about community needs and how best to manage charitable assets to maximize their impact,” comments Sarah C. Libbey, president of the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund. 

“Currently there is debate surrounding the differences between non-profit and for profit hospitals so it was a timely topic to visit,” says Brae Johnson, Americorps Vista at Southwestern.

Mike Jensen, chief marketing officer in the Olathe Health System, conducted the session.

According to Johnson, the information was specific to the structure and leadership at Olathe Medical Center.

“Beyond that information, our students also found out about jobs and internships available in the Olathe Health Systems,” says Johnson.  

Over the last few years, the Leadership teams have learned about the leadership style of different organizations. Two years ago, the team went to Baylor University. Last year they visited Southwest Airlines. This year the team decided to get the perspective of a leadership style from a non-profit organization.

“Many of the leadership students are familiar with non-profit organizations through the lens of a church or charity. So looking at a non-profit through the lens of a hospital gave everyone a different view.”

The students who attended included: Cassi Reimer, Lyndsie Oathout, Justin Fruck, Lacey Hibbs, Kaydee Johnson, Kyle Luttgeharm, Andrew Topham, Taggart Wall, Kaycie Goff, Dallas Leonard, Anna Macy, Gage Cranmer, Kari Roth, Laura Morgan, Kate Topham, Julie Wilke, Caitlin McCurdy, Scott Rethorst, and Elizabeth Macy. Cheryl Rude, director of Leadership Southwestern; Eric Webb, graduate assistant, and Johnson also attended.

Brae Johnson, SC Alum, will be focusing her work with the Leadership Southwestern team facilitating first-year members’ service work.

Trista Wilson, OSU alum, will be working with several different areas including Student Life, Education, Outreach Teams, Campus Ministry, and Discipleship Southwestern.

The book will be available for purchase by the time school starts.  Check back here on the leadership webpage for ordering details.