Congrats to the 2023 Daniel Keating Foundation Grantees!

Over $134,000 granted in 2023 alone!

The DKF 2023 grant of $5,435 provides 72 scholarships for youth to attend Wonder Workshop’s “Think Big” 6-week Summer Enrichment Camp. The Wonder Workshop Mission is to promote education in the arts, sciences and humanities through programs and exhibits. Campers receive educational opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM) during the summer camp. The goal is to develop self-reliant children, families, and community members. The hands-on activities and exhibits instill a desire for lifelong learning, leadership opportunities, recognizing cultural diversity, and fostering creative potential. The youth attendees are primarily from Riley and nearby counties.

The DKF 2023 grant of $10,000 provides funding towards The House Café’s multiple projects to expand and continue their work with young people through their Teen Center, Coffee Shop and Early Learning Center.  The funds go towards a mural for the playground, teen field trips, etc. The Mission of The House Café is to mentor, influence, challenge, and confront behaviors and thought processes that contribute to a life of poverty and equip youth with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to break the generational cycle of poverty in Ogden, Kansas. They influence roughly 100 kids and teens in a given year.

The DKF 2023 grant of $30,000 goes towards stipends for 55 youth interns to attend Operation Breakthrough’s Ignition Lab located in Kansas City. Their Mission is to provide a safe, loving and educational environment for children in poverty and to empower their families through advocacy, emergency aid and education. The Lab is focused on providing STEM activities to students. All learn industry recognized skills through hands-on learning experiences which provide a springboard for students economically depressed, often from violent neighborhoods to help prepare them for post-high school training programs, additional entrepreneurial ventures or college admission. The Lab includes hands-on experience in writing and producing a podcast, testing the PH of the water in their hydroponic tower garden, computer tech, digital electronics, culinary arts, additive manufacturing, automotive engineering and other STEM priorities. They all experience a Teen led Hydroponic Container Farm, powered by renewable energy, crops sold at markets; Breakthrough Bites through Soul Food Truck with a business plan written by youth; Product Design Repair Shop; Product Design and Video Productions.

The DKF 2023 grant of $10,000 awarded to the Kansas City Ballet’s Mobility Assistance Equipment for the Kansas City Ballet’s Adaptive Dance Program. The mission of Kansas City Ballet is to inspire and engage through the beauty, power, and passion of dance. The Adaptive Dance program, was developed in partnership with the Down Syndrome Guild of Greater Kansas City, Brain Balance, and Children’s Therapy Group, Inc., and includes two weekly, 30-minute classes for a total of 10 weeks per semester, specifically designed for students, age 3-11, with a variety of disabilities. Students have the opportunity to perform in the KCBS end of year showcase. This is a one-time support to help purchase and install ceiling tracks and three sets of harnesses in their new Kansas City Ballet School location in Prairie Village, Kansas. Within the Adaptive Dance class setting itself, teachers give older Adaptive Dance students the opportunity to demonstrate or lead the group in a dance move or a dance around the room, providing early experiences in leadership and self-confidence. With the DKF grant the KCB can purchase mobility equipment, and enroll a total of 40 children in the coming year, nearly doubling the number of children served.

The DKF 2023 grant of $16,500 awarded to Pawnee Mental Health is for the Pawnee Mental Health S.T.A.R.S. Camp (Strength, Teamwork, Attitude, Relationships, Self-Esteem) program. The mission of Pawnee Mental Health Services is to provide comprehensive quality mental health and substance use treatment and recovery services to strengthen the wellness of our communities. Children with SED who receive community-based case management services typically experience an improvement in their symptoms, educational outcomes, behavioral health, and a reduction in law enforcement contact. This project will serve at least 100 youth with a maximum of 150 (50 youth will reside in Manhattan or Riley County. This scholarship funding allows thirty (30) children (needing financial assistance) with serious emotional disorders (SED) from the Manhattan area to attend S.T.A.R.S. Camp.

The DKF 2023 grant of $10,000 is awarded to Mattie Rhodes Center (MRC) Youth Leadership Programming– MRC which enriches the lives of individuals, families, and communities in a respectful, multicultural environment. MRC meets the needs of the greater Kansas City community in five programmatic areas: community behavioral health, community economic development, emergency assistance, cultural arts, and youth development. MRC’s youth development programs promote civic engagement and leadership through activities that foster peer mentorship, increase self-confidence, and build leadership skills. Specifically, MRC offers youth leadership programming as an investment in youth that reside in Kansas City’s Historic Northeast neighborhood. The Youth Development program provides incentives, field trips, events, and awards in a constructive setting for at-risk youth. MRC’s youth leadership programming will serve a total of 40 youth over the course of a school year, including 12 youth participating in the Leadership Academy and an additional 28 youth participating in the Youth Advisory
Board.

The DKF 2023 grant of $5,000 is for HALO’s HALO Maker program to cover supply costs of serving ten, primarily homeless youth in the program annually. The HALO mission is: “Help one more child spend one less day alone.” Youth make awesome cutting boards (trays too) to be sold on their website. The DKF grant allows ten youth to learn new life skills and set themselves on the path to a positive financial future through their Future Fund. The money raised from the sale of the items the youth make goes right back into their Future Fund. They can use their proceeds for down payments on an apartment, a vehicle, tuition, or anything else they need to jumpstart their lives as a young adult.

The DKF 2023 grant of $20,000 goes to Bags of Fun, KC to deliver a Bag of Fun to every child fighting a long term or life-threatening condition. Bags of Fun “fosters genuine care and respect while bringing the power of therapeutic play to children Fighting life…conditions.” Youth are totally involved in creating, giving and receiving the Bags making the goodies age appropriate and fun. This Grant is for 250 medical bags, 30 sibling bags and some mental health bags of fun. Contents consist of backpacks, educational toys, manipulative toys, electronics and are customized for age, gender and diagnosis as advised by medical providers.

The DKF 2023 grant of $5,000 to Riley County Community Corrections, Protective Homes Project provides effective Juvenile Intake & Assessment Services to children-in-need-of-care (victims of abuse & neglect) to include assessing the family’s risk and needs and providing resources while keeping the children safe. Children taken into protective custody are provided with food, hygiene items, and caregivers are trained to provide these children an immediate place to stay. The program maintains at least 15 homes and currently has 18. During a 6-month period 106 youth were processed, 9 children placed in 4 homes for a total of 47 days.

The DKF 2023 grant of $22,950 to No Stone Unturned Summer Reading Program Camp. Their Mission is for “Everything the No Stone Unturned Foundation does is driven by the belief that children with all types of disabilities and their families deserve access to the services they need.” The No Stone Unturned Therapeutic Learning Center has served 1,400 children from 25 counties in Kansas. The large majority of the youth come from Riley and Geary counties. The DKF Grant will be used for the Summer Reading Program Camp for youth scholarships, to secure a therapist and a Special Ed Teacher. The Camps are 2hrs/week for 8 weeks. Each two-hour group will have 4-8 children, and they will spend one hour with a Speech Language Pathologist and Occupational Therapist and the other with the special education teacher.